SWARM – change of director

As of immediate effect, Jim Bowers (Colfax, USA) has stood down from Director of SWARM (Search With An RC Multrotor), and been succeeded by Euan Ramsay (Unterageri, Switzerland). Euan will remain as acting director until the role is made official in January 2017.

Jim established SWARM in 2013 as a volunteer network for drone operators to provide drone based assistance for families searching for loved ones who had gone missing. Under his leadership, the network has grown to 5,000 members worldwide, and is now the largest volunteer drone operator network in the world. Jim is a regular speaker and advocate on SAR drones at public hearings, and his leadership will be missed.

The grown of SWARM has not been without growing pains however, and Euans first activity as director is to execute his strategic “reboot” of SWARM; the objective of the reboot is to bring the SWARM operating model more in line with the increased expectations of the community at large. Through active participation by valued professional members, agencies and members of its own community, the reboot will see new standards, processes (inc pat pending processes) and technology used to break new ground in drone engagements in SAR, and hopes to become the future standard by which all volunteer drone operations will be judged.

The network is glad to know that Jim will still be an active member and mentor to Euan, and will continue to contribute to the community as an ordinary member.