Greg Knutson

About Greg Knutson

Aerospace and autonomy executive driving growth at the intersection of deep technology, national security, and operational scale.I serve as Vice President of Business Development and Commercial Strategy at AIRO Group, leading enterprise growth across autonomous systems, avionics, and military training. I am responsible for shaping market strategy, forming joint ventures, and aligning product portfolios to customer demand, ensuring technologies transition from development to fielded capability.My focus is building and scaling businesses around mission-critical systems. I lead go-to-market, capture, and strategic partnerships that position organizations to win in complex, highly regulated defense and commercial markets.Previously, I led Uncrewed Aerial Systems business development at Airbus U.S. Space & Defense, supporting U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard customers. My portfolio included ISR, autonomous logistics, and maritime operations in contested environments, delivering solutions across government, prime, and startup ecosystems.I have also operated within early-stage companies, helping scale pre-seed through Series A ventures including Venus Aerospace and Space Ocean. In these roles, I led operations and commercial strategy, contributing to tens of millions in defense contracts, state funding, and venture-backed growth across dual-use technologies.In parallel, I remain active in the venture ecosystem as an advisor, mentor, and venture scout, supporting founders building in aerospace, autonomy, AI, and national security.I am a Pat Tillman Foundation Scholar and MIT Sloan Executive MBA candidate, applying a systems-level approach that integrates strategy, finance, and data-driven decision making to scale complex organizations.Focus areas:• Aerospace and autonomy• AI-enabled systems and decision advantage• Defense and national security markets• Commercial strategy, partnerships, and capture• Scaling deep technology from R&D to deploymentI build and scale organizations that deliver operational capability where it matters most.

Experience

1. Regional Vice President

   AIRO

   Mar 2026 — Present

Education

• University of San Diego

  Graduate Certificate, Black Belt, Lean and Six Sigma

  2009

• The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth

  Postgraduate Certificate: Business Management

• Smartly Institute

  Business Foundations Graduate Certificate

  2018

• University of San Diego - Knauss School of Business

  Master of Science - MS, International Business and Global Leadership, Graduate Certificate in Project Management

• United States Naval Academy

  Bachelor of Science - BS, Oceanography, Chemical and Physical

• University of California, Berkeley - School of Law

  Graduate Certificate, Venture Capital Finance, VC University

  2022

• MIT Sloan School of Management

  Master of Business Administration - MBA

  2026

• Shift

  Defense Ventures Fellowship, Matched with Pallas Advisors (Ventures)

Skills

• Interagency Coordination
• Information Assurance
• Command
• Intelligence Analysis
• Leadership
• Top Secret
• Military Aviation
• Aircraft
• Government
• Homeland Security
• Piloting
• C4isr
• Aviation
• Organizational Leadership
• Military Training
• Military Experience
• Training
• Electronic Warfare
• Strategic Planning
• Readiness
• Combat
• Military Operations
• Reconnaissance
• Security Clearance
• Government Contracting
• Tactics
• Isr
• Counterterrorism
• Defense
• Operations Management
• Flight Safety
• Helicopters
• Dod
• National Security
• Intelligence
• Force Protection
• Communication
• Military Logistics
• Weapons
• Management