President
FLIGHTWAVE
We’re proud to highlight Shawn Webb, President of FlightWave Aerospace, a Red Cat (RCAT) company based in Carson, California.
A results-driven operations leader with a lifelong passion for aerospace, defense, and advanced manufacturing, Shawn has built deep expertise across electronic assemblies, unmanned aircraft systems, loitering munitions, and lean manufacturing — leading teams that turn bold ideas into real-world capability.
At FlightWave, Shawn is focused on scaling a new generation of unmanned systems through a fast, agile, and resilient manufacturing model — one built to meet mission needs at the speed of relevance.
Before joining FlightWave, Shawn served as Vice President of Operations at AeroVironment, where he led a period of record growth in the Loitering Munition Systems business, driving lean transformation and uniting operations, supply chain, and quality under a shared vision of execution excellence. Earlier in his career, he held key leadership roles at BEGA North America and Bombardier Aerospace, where he helped launch the Learjet 85 program — experiences that shaped his belief in disciplined innovation and operational precision.
Driven by a passion for building high-performing teams and scaling organizations that adapt fast, execute with purpose, and continuously improve, Shawn embodies FlightWave’s core philosophy: Fast, Focused, and Fearless.
Vice President, Operations
FLIGHTWAVE
Introducing Bree Madison, Vice President of Operations at FlightWave Aerospace. A seasoned operational leader known for driving strategic transformation, scalable growth, and high-impact organizational change.
With more than 15 years of experience across aerospace, defense, biotechnology, and advanced manufacturing, Bree has built a career defined by measurable results and operational excellence. She has led major revenue turnarounds, established high-performing teams, and built world-class quality and continuous improvement systems that strengthened compliance, reduced risk, and unlocked multimillion-dollar efficiencies.
Throughout her career, Bree has delivered standout achievements such as achieving zero-finding quality audits, transforming underperforming operations into top-performing organizations, tripling revenue through operational recovery, cutting lead times and boosting on-time delivery, and implementing data-driven improvement frameworks that elevated performance enterprise-wide. Her leadership repeatedly turns complex challenges into sustainable, scalable success.
At FlightWave, Bree leads Operations with a focus on innovation, quality, and process optimization—laying the foundation for our next phase of growth as we scale production and enhance performance across the organization.
We’re grateful to have Bree’s vision, integrity, and operational expertise helping shape the future of FlightWave.
Vice President, Engineering
FLIGHTWAVE
Today, we’re excited to highlight Douglas Rieck, FlightWave’s Vice President of Engineering — a leader whose career journey embodies resilience, innovation, and the relentless pursuit of excellence.
Doug joined FlightWave in 2022, right as the small UAS industry was reaching a major turning point. Since then, he’s been at the helm of engineering and production for the Edge 130, building the systems that allow us to scale with both speed and discipline.
His path here has been anything but traditional. With an aerospace engineering degree earned during the Great Financial Crisis, he pivoted to opportunity in medical devices at Medtronic, later moved into AR and computer vision, led rapidly growing engineering teams, and helped launch a nine-figure robotics program at Amazon before finally returning to aviation technology at FlightWave.
Today, Doug leads with clarity, urgency, and a deep commitment to engineering rigor. He’s hands-on when it counts, but equally focused on building an environment where ownership scales and world-class engineering talent thrives. His work ensures every aircraft we deliver is reliable, robust, and ready for mission-critical operations.
What drives him most?
Turning raw innovation into products that scale — and building a team that consistently punches above its weight.
We’re proud to have Doug’s leadership shaping the future of FlightWave.
