Aviation Technology Company Skyryse Appoints Blake Bilstad as Chief Legal Officer

Bilstad Joins Company with 25+ Years Experience Supporting Industry Disruptors

LOS ANGELES, May 17, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Skyryse™, bringing trust, safety, and the accessibility of flight through a highly-automated and touchscreen flight control system, has named Blake Bilstad as the company's new Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary. In this role, Bilstad will lead all legal matters for Skyryse as the company continues to develop its highly automated flight control system, including the protection of the company's intellectual property and innovative business model within the industry.

Bilstad brings more than two decades of corporate legal experience to Skyryse, supporting the growth and leadership of several category-disrupting companies. Before joining Skyryse, Bilstad served as the Chief Legal Officer at Beachbody (NYSE: BODY) as it evolved the connected fitness industry beyond traditional workouts and nutrition into digital and subscription-based models. 

Bilstad was also the Chief Legal Officer and a board of directors member for dosist^™, an award-winning cannabis startup. Previously, Bilstad led the legal charge for sports entertainment pioneer WWE (NYSE: WWE) during its transformation into a global digital platform and its most dramatic period of market-cap growth. Bilstad also served as the General Counsel of Provide Commerce (Nasdaq: PRVD), the parent company of the brands ProFlowers®, Shari's Berries®, and RedEnvelope®. 

Bilstad began his in-house legal career helping music industry disruptor MP3.com go public (Nasdaq: MPPP) and its eventual acquisition by Vivendi Universal, where he served as the Senior Vice President, Legal Affairs of its U.S. Internet group. 

"Blake will be a valuable addition to Skyryse as we plan for exponential growth and expansion, as we launch and expand into new markets and revenue streams," said Dr. Mark Groden, founder and CEO of Skyryse. "His deep legal knowledge of high-growth, high-revenue disruptive technology companies will allow us to navigate complex legal landscapes and revolutionize transportation, making urban air mobility as common as driving a car."

Skyryse's intuitive, airframe-agnostic flight control system is designed to accelerate accessibility, safety, and overall ease of flight by decades, by providing safe air transportation for all. The company's proprietary, FlightOS technology enables pilots to fly any aircraft while reducing the need for extensive training and improving safety through a triply redundant, fly-by-wire system. Bilstad will provide the legal and regulatory leadership necessary for Skyryse to achieve compliance, growth, and mass adoption.

"Skyryse is set to be a major transportation disruptor in the United States and globally," said Bilstad. "I joined Skyryse to be a part of an incredibly talented leadership team and to support the company in the application of FlightOS across multiple airframes and complementary industries."

Bilstad started his legal career as a business associate at Cooley Godward after a clerkship with the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.  He earned his Juris Doctor cum laude from Harvard Law School and his Bachelor of Arts degree in History magna cum laude from Duke University.

About Skyryse

Los Angeles-based Skyryse is bringing trust, safety, and the accessibility of flight for all through FlightOS, its easy and intuitive integrated flight control system. FlightOS removes many complexities of managing an aircraft during standard flight operations, inclement weather, and emergencies. Skyryse has raised more than $260 million from leading investors, including Fidelity Management & Research Company, Monashee Investment Management, ArrowMark Partners, Venrock, Eclipse Ventures, Cantos, Stanford University, and Bill Ford, Executive Chair, Ford Motor Company. For more information, visit www.skyryse.com or watch videos of Skyryse in action on YouTube.

SOURCE Skyryse