News
Former Canada Post CEO joins Drone Delivery Canada
July 19, 2018 By Helicopters Staff
Deepak Chopra has joined Drone Delivery Canada as strategic advisor, commercialization, as the Vaughan, Ont., company focuses on the national and international roll out of its drone delivery business and looks toward revenue generation.
After leading Canada Post Group for seven years during one of the most transformative periods in its history, Chopra recently stepped down as its president and CEO. Under his leadership, Canada Post became the country’s top ranked parcel delivery service in 2015, reaching 16 million addressees across Canada. The crown corporation built this position working with large retailers like Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy and Hudson’s Bay.
“With technology for drones rapidly maturing to fly farther and carry heavier payloads, the list of potential commercial applications is quite large,” said Chopra. “With a head-start on BVLOS testing, Drone Delivery Canada has the first-mover advantage in Canada to be at the forefront of these solutions.” He notes that in the healthcare space, for example, broadband access and drones create a strong mix in delivering tele-health for rural and remote communities.
In addition to remote healthcare, Chopra will advise Drone Delivery Canada (DDC) on identifying commercial opportunities in the areas of transportation and logistics, as well as critical, time-sensitive package delivery with a particular focus on rural and northern communities in Canada and globally.
“2018 is the year DDC moves out of our lab and into the sky enabling our customers to use drones for critical package deliveries. We welcome Mr. Chopra to team DDC and are confident that his global experience and acute understanding of hard-to-serve remote communities will play an invaluable role in achieving our goals quickly and efficiently,” said Tony Di Benedetto, CEO of DDC. “As the year progresses, we will continue adding materially to our team with a direct focus on commercialization and revenue generation.”
