High Fliers: Space Aye Announces Senior Appointments of Former Google Technologist Ed Parsons and RAF Boss Andrew Turner CB CBE

Space Aye, a company which is building a platform merging real-time earth observation (EO) satellite imagery with data from billions of IoT devices, has announced the appointments of Ed Parsons (ex-Google) to its advisory board and Andrew Turner CB CBE (ex-Royal Air Force) as a non-executive director.

These strategic appointments come at a pivotal time for the geospatial and defence sectors following recent European security issues, and signals a significant step by CEO Chris Newlands to expand Space Aye's prominence on a global stage.

Dramatically reduced space launch prices and emerging technology have created a burgeoning SpaceTech sector. The growing number of satellites filling the night sky is driving the emergence of hardware and software companies such as Space Aye, whose Earth Observation (EO) capabilities are now being spoken about at the top tables of international governments.

Colloquially, Space Aye can be likened to a live Google Earth, but the key advantage is that the company's technology uses real-time rather than historical satellite data. This is brought to life by merging the user's location data, within the real-time satellite image, identifying the person or asset in the satellite image, not simply placing their data on a map or historical image.

It is the first appointment for Parsons, who was the EMEA Open Data Lead at Google, since leaving the technology giant last month. Parsons spent 18 years at Google as a Geospatial Technologist, with responsibility for evangelising Google's mission to organise the world's information using Geography. In this role he maintained links with Governments which were involved in the development of Geospatial Technology. He also led Google's efforts in maintaining a healthy Open Data Ecosystem to support AI in Europe and represented the company at the EMTEL committee of ETSI developing geospatial solutions for emergency telecommunications.

Prior to Google, Parsons was the first Chief Technology Officer in the 200-year-old history of Ordinance Survey, and was instrumental in moving the focus of the organisation from mapping to Geographical Information.

Ed Parsons

When asked about his new role, Parsons expressed enthusiasm about two key aspects: 'Space Aye reminds me of back when Google was putting together the platform for maps to become one of the most useful apps of its generation.

What Chris Newlands has brought to Scottish technology and the global geospatial sector is the most exciting thing I have seen for the last 10 years. Space Aye has an incredible opportunity to build out a new phase in geospatial capabilities.'

In addition to Parsons, the former RAF Air Marshal, Andrew Turner CB CBE joins the ambitious Glasgow-based firm as a non-executive director.

Turner, who retired from the RAF in 2022, has been one of the leading advocates in SpaceTech in recent years as both an advisor and investor to a number of cutting edge projects and enterprises including quantum computing.

During his 37 years in service, Turner was a helicopter pilot and served in combat areas across the world including Iraq where he received an OBE in recognition for his leadership during the war, a CBE for leadership in Afghanistan and a CB for his service to Government.

Andrew Turner CB CBE

As one of the highest ranking officers in the RAF, Turner was also the principal UK officer in the White House and Pentagon, Director of Military Operations and the RAF Deputy Chief and Chief Operating Officer. His experience in aerospace is also second to none, having been heavily involved in the UK Space Command as well as the US Space Force formation.

'My previous roles and career in the RAF have always been in high pressure jobs. The world of emerging tech start-ups feels very similar, both require lots of analysis to take informed and educated risks, but we never gamble,' said Turner.

'Since leaving the RAF I have sought out companies that could change how the world works in some way, will have a positive impact on society through technology and are led by really good people who want to move fast.Space Aye has all these and more. Chris Newlands is one of the most exciting and passionate CEOs I have come across. The company is delivering what could become the most important data set in the World, and I feel that my previous strategic roles can help Chris in planning and rapid execution,' Turner affirms.

Parsons and Turner's appointments come at a time of expansion for Space Aye. The new company COO is Peter Gillespie, an experienced senior director and investor in innovative digital businesses across various sectors including media, advertising, recruitment and SaaS solutions, with a focus on commercial strategy, development and implementation.

Peter Gillespie

With a background that includes start-ups and large corporates, Gillespie is now playing a leading role for Space Aye and is looking forward to working with Parsons and Turner: 'Ed and Andrew are true leaders in their fields who have carved out great reputations as knowledgeable and influential strategists. These skills will help accelerate Space Aye's impact across governmental, military and commercial areas in the months and years ahead,' said Gillespie.

'The immediate focus for the new team will be to pull up the societal and commercial benefits of space and the positive impacts for all life forms on Earth that Space Aye's Large Terrestrial Model (LTM) will deliver – real-time data stream, merging 19 billion IoT devices, 8 billion people and thousands of Earth images from satellites.

The LTM, which has been referred to as 'the most powerful data set of all time', will fuel the next generation of AI models, improving accuracy and relevance, whilst reducing energy consumption. We are building a new commercial model for the entire EO sector. These appointments will help us with this as they will add value and direction in the short term and scale for the long term,' summarised Gillespie.