David McBride as CTO will lead Supernal’s technology strategy and vehicle development and will oversee the company’s 400 ETD employees involved in vehicle engineering, testing, evaluation, certification, and R&D.
Supernal LLC, Hyundai Motor Group’s Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) company, has appointed David McBride as its Chief Technology Officer (CTO), marking a significant step in its journey towards bringing all-electric aircraft to the market. McBride will lead Supernal’s technology strategy and vehicle development, reporting directly to CEO Jaiwon Shin. McBride holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and an executive master’s degree in business administration from the University of New Mexico. He began his career at NASA as a cooperative education student, specializing in digital flight control systems analysis.
With over 40 years of experience in developing groundbreaking aerospace technology, complex program management, and organizational leadership, McBride brings a wealth of knowledge to Supernal’s Engineering and Technology Division (ETD). In his new role, he will oversee the company’s 400 ETD employees involved in vehicle engineering, testing, evaluation, certification, and R&D.
“Following the debut of our product concept earlier this year, Supernal has entered a new phase of our Advanced Air Mobility business – where we turn our innovative vehicle concepts into commercially sound and safe all-electric aircraft,” said Jaiwon Shin, president of Hyundai Motor Group and CEO, Supernal. “David has spent his career making the ‘impossible’ ‘possible’ in aviation, leading numerous successful missions at NASA, and we are eager for him to help lead Supernal in bringing our scalable eVTOL vehicle to market in 2028,” he further added.
McBride’s impressive career includes serving as the director of the Armstrong Flight Research Center at NASA. During his tenure, he led the Center in achieving full operational capability of the Boeing 747SP aircraft, which carried a telescope into the stratosphere, enabling astronomers to observe the infrared universe above 99 percent of Earth’s infrared-blocking atmosphere. Additionally, he led the development of NASA’s all-electric aircraft and conducted global operations for NASA’s Earth Science missions. His role as program manager for NASA’s Flight Research Program was pivotal in expanding aerospace knowledge and capabilities, including the record-breaking flight of the solar-powered Helios aircraft to an altitude of more than 96,000 feet.
David McBride, Chief Technology Officer, Supernal LLC said, “I am honored to join Supernal to help certify and commercialize an aircraft that our team has been working toward for the past several years. It is an exciting time as we transition from the engineering design phase to the build and execution phases. We have an impressive ‘production-minded’ team and we look forward to taking our first flight later this year.”
Also Read – QOCO Systems names Matti Nevala as CEO
Supernal, an Advanced Air Mobility company, is developing an electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicle along with the ground-to-air ecosystem to support the emerging industry. As part of Hyundai Motor Group, Supernal leverages world-class manufacturing, automation, supply chain, and R&D expertise to make this new, efficient transportation option widely accessible in the coming decades. Rather than aiming to be the first to market, Supernal focuses on building the right product and market first.
