Dr. Grant started his agriculture career in 1984 working for Allelix Crop Technologies. In 1991, he joined Pioneer Hi-Bred as a Canola Research Director before transferring to corn research in 1997. Shortly after, he became the Product Commercialization and Characterization Director for Europe, located in Toulouse, France and was then appointed Worldwide Director in 2000. He was named Pioneer Vice President, Maize Product Development in 2002 and appointed President of Pioneer Hi-Bred Limited Canada in 2007. In 2008 Ian was named Business Director for the Canada Business Unit. He is a former Chairman of the Board of Directors of Crop Life Canada and a former board director of the Canola Council of Canada. He earned a doctorate in plant breeding and genetics from the University of Guelph.
Mr. Masotti has an Electrical Engineering Degree from Queen's University and an MBA from the Harvard Business School. Mr. Masotti was a member of the board of directors of COM DEV International Ltd., a former TSX company that specialized in satellite technology and was acquired by Honeywell in 2015 for CAD$415 m. Mr. Masotti is currently a member of the board of Firan Technology Group (TSX:FTG), a leading North American manufacturer of high technology printed circuit boards and precision illuminated display systems. Mr. Masotti is also the co-founder and a Director of Defyrus Inc., a life sciences biodefence company.
Previous positions include President of Rogers Telecom Inc., President of Spar Space Systems, a manufacturer of space robotics and satellite components and systems, and Vice President and General Manager of Rogers WAVE™ (@HOME), a provider of high speed internet services. Mr. Masotti is also a recipient of the Top 40 Under 40 business achievement award.
"We are thrilled to welcome Ian and David as the first members of our new Advisory Board," commented David MacMillan, President & CEO of Deveron. "It is an exciting time for our Company and we look forward to leveraging their expertise in continuing to help us scale Deveron's service offering in North America."
Ian Grant commented, "I have spent 30 years trying to improve the productivity of farmers through advanced seed product development. I see other ways to improve productivity on the farm and in particular, the acquisition of on-farm data and turning that data into useable knowledge. Deveron is uniquely positioned in providing on-farm data acquisition services through drone-based sensing technologies. I look forward to assisting Deveron in defining and achieving its strategic goals and seeing this exciting technology deployed on farms in Canada and around the world."
"Deveron UAS' timing is perfect to deliver on their simple goal: to help growers increase yields and reduce costs on the farm," commented David Masotti. "I am delighted to be involved with the Company that is North America's leading provider of drone collected data, using the most technologically advanced drones, sensors and analytics."
In connection with the formation of the Advisory Board, the Company also announces that is has granted 3,560,000 incentive stock options (the "Options") to certain directors, officers and advisors to the Company. The Options may be exercised until 5:00 p.m. EST on November 22, 2022, at a price of $0.365 per share.
About Deveron UAS:
Deveron is a nationally compliant, Transport Canada licensed, UAV operator providing enterprise drone data services to agriculture. Deveron's data helps farmers increase yields and reduce costs using sophisticated Unmanned Aerial Systems ("UAS" or "drones"), sensors, software and analytics. Deveron's drone data service network allows enterprise level customers to obtain on-demand, actionable data without exposure to technology and capital risks. The Company is focused on building a standardized network of drones and sensors to provide data in North America.
For more information and to join our community, please visit www.deveronuas.com.
This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of that phrase under Canadian securities laws. Without limitation, statements regarding future plans and objectives of the Company are forward looking statements that involve various degrees of risk. Forward-looking statements reflect management's current views with respect to possible future events and conditions and, by their nature, are based on management's beliefs and assumptions and subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties, both general and specific to the Company. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in our forward-looking statements. The following are important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward looking statements: changes in the world wide price of agricultural commodities, general market conditions, risks inherent in agriculture, the uncertainty of future profitability and the uncertainty of access to additional capital. Additional information regarding the material factors and assumptions that were applied in making these forward looking statements as well as the various risks and uncertainties we face are described in greater detail in the "Risk Factors" section of our annual and interim Management's Discussion and Analysis of our financial results and other continuous disclosure documents and financial statements we file with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities which are available at www.sedar.com. The Company undertakes no obligation to update this forward-looking information except as required by applicable law. The Company relies on litigation protection for forward looking statements.
Contacts: Deveron UAS Corp. David MacMillan President & CEO 416-367-4571 ext. 221 Email Contact www.deveronuas.com