Vancouver, British Columbia, Nov. 21, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Draganfly Inc. (CSE: DFLY) (FSE: 3U8) (“Draganfly” or the “Company”), an award-winning, industry-leading systems developer within the commercial Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (“UAV”) and the Unmanned Vehicle Systems (“UVS”) space, is pleased to announce that John M. Mitnick, former General Counsel and Regulatory Policy Officer of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) and Raytheon senior executive, has been engaged as a consultant to the Company to advise on government and commercial business opportunities, effective immediately.
In his capacity as General Counsel of DHS, Mr. Mitnick served as the chief legal officer of a federal security and law enforcement agency with over 240,000 employees, was responsible for providing legal advice and counsel to DHS and all of its components, and supervised over 2,500 attorneys. His recent position at DHS was a continuation of his homeland security public service. Beginning in November 2002, he assisted in establishing DHS and then served as Associate General Counsel for Science and Technology until August 2004, when he moved to the White House. He served in the White House Counsel’s Office as Deputy Counsel of the Homeland Security Council from August 2004 until April 2005, and then as Associate Counsel to the President, with responsibility for the entire homeland security portfolio, until October 2007.
Mr. Mitnick has also had a distinguished career in the private sector. He served from 2007 to 2013 as Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary of a $3 billion division of Raytheon Company with over 9,000 employees and business operations in over 40 countries and on all continents, which provided training, logistics, engineering solutions, manufacturing, and product and operational support services to defense, government, and commercial customers. He began his legal career at the law firm now known as Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP, where he was a partner specializing in mergers and acquisitions, strategic alliances, commercial contracts, and business start-ups.
Mr. Mitnick received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Virginia School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Jurisprudence from the University of Oxford. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Political Science (summa cum laude) from Emory University.
“We are honoured to have John Mitnick actively engaged as a consultant to our management team. He recognizes the tremendous and unique opportunity Draganfly has and is a testament to the quality of talent that Draganfly is able to attract to execute on this opportunity,” said Cameron Chell, CEO of Draganfly.
Patrick Imbasciani, COO of Draganfly, said: "John’s service at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and his experience as a senior executive of a major U.S. defense contractor, align well with many of the areas of our business that we are actively working to scale. His insights will complement and strengthen our go-to-market strategies.”
Draganfly announced the appointment of former White House Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr. as a member of the Board of Directors of the Company on November 7, 2019.
Corporate Update
The Company also announced today the grant of incentive stock options (“Options”) and restricted share units (“RSUs”) to certain consultants of the Company. Options to purchase up to 650,000 common shares of the Company were granted, pursuant to the Company’s share compensation plan, exercisable at a price of $0.50 per common share. The Options shall have a term of 10 years and vest over tranches and based on certain criteria over two years from the date of grant. Also, 250,000 RSUs were awarded to a consultant pursuant to the Company's share compensation plan. The RSUs shall vest in tranches and based on certain criteria over three years from the date of grant.
About Draganfly
Draganfly Inc. (CSE: DFLY; FSE: 3U8) is the creator of quality, cutting-edge, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (“UAV”), Unmanned Vehicle Systems (“UVS), and software that revolutionizes the way people do business. Recognized as being at the forefront of technology for over 21 years, Draganfly is an award-winning, industry-leading manufacturer within the commercial UAV and UVS space, serving the public safety, agriculture, industrial inspections and mapping and surveying markets. Draganfly is a company driven by passion, ingenuity and the need to provide efficient solutions and first-class services to its customers around the world with the goal of saving time, money and lives.
For more information on Draganfly, please visit us at: www.draganfly.com. For additional investor information, visit www.thecse.com searching DFLY or visit https://www.boerse-frankfurt.de/ searching 3U8.
Media Contact
Arian Hopkins
email: arian@businessinstincts.com
Company Contact
Paul Sun, CFO
Email: paul.sun@draganfly.com
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains certain “forward looking statements” and certain “forward-looking information” as defined under applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements and information can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “may”, “will”, “expect”, “intend”, “estimate”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “continue”, “plans” or similar terminology. Forward-looking statements and information are based on forecasts of future results, estimates of amounts not yet determinable and assumptions that, while believed by management to be reasonable, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Forward-looking statements and information are subject to various known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the ability of the Company to control or predict, that may cause the Company’s actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied thereby, and are developed based on assumptions about such risks, uncertainties and other factors set out here in, including but not limited to: the inherent risks involved in the general securities markets; uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future; the inherent uncertainty of cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses, currency fluctuations; regulatory restrictions, liability, competition, loss of key employees and other related risks and uncertainties. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information except as required by applicable law. Such forward-looking information represents managements’ best judgment based on information currently available. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed and actual future results may vary materially. Accordingly, readers are advised not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information.
The CSE has not in any way passed upon the merits of the listing of the common shares of Draganfly and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release. Listing of the common shares of Draganfly is subject to satisfaction of the listing requirements of the CSE, including customary deliverables in satisfaction of the conditional approval.