Saildrone Hires Cuyler as COO and Jones as Sales VP

Mark Cuyler, formerly of Amazon Last Mile, joins Saildrone as Chief Operating Officer, and Dennis Jones joins as VP of Sales.

Saildrone announced two new leadership team members poised to help the company grow its operations and sales support efforts. The addition of Mark Cuyler as Chief Operating Officer and Dennis Jones as Vice President of Sales will help Saildrone to grow and scale ocean data solutions for maritime security, ocean mapping, and science.

“Mark has a proven track record of building teams at startups, established OEMs, and new industry players, and Dennis brings to Saildrone an unmatched depth and breadth of experience in the commercial remote sensing world,” said Richard Jenkins, Saildrone founder and CEO. “We are excited to have both of them, Mark leading operations and Dennis leading a strong sales team, to drive growth, scale our business, and position the company as a market leader in maritime data, analytics, and content services.”

Cuyler brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in advanced manufacturing, lean principles, and operational excellence to Saildrone. He has spent the past 28 years helping introduce new products into the market, from inception through launch. Some marquee products include the Amazon Electric Delivery Van, Tesla Model S, and Pontiac Solstice. Cuyler will use these experiences to drive Saildrone forward across production, fleet, mission operations, and program management as it scales across many new business opportunities.

Most recently, Cuyler served as director of global fleet vehicle design, engineering, and execution for Amazon’s Last Mile program and has also held various senior leadership roles at Faraday Future, Webasto, Apple, and Tesla.

“I'm honored to have the opportunity to work with the talented people driving Saildrone to be the world leader in autonomous surface vehicles. I am excited every day to learn how our technology and applications are working to support the most important ocean science, mapping, and maritime awareness missions,” said Cuyler. “I know my experiences in building great organizations, scaling operations, and attention to customer needs will help Saildrone achieve its goals.  And to add to this career satisfaction is the ability also to support my personal interests in sailing and the environment. I’m looking forward to the years to come.”

Cuyler began his career in manufacturing engineering with 15 years at General Motors. He holds a MS in Engineering Management and BS in Mechanical Engineering.

Jones is a veteran strategy, business development, and sales leader in the defense, aerospace, and geospatial industries. He has over 25 years of experience assisting national and international security customers in adopting commercial remote sensing technology.  In the early 2000s, he helped pioneer the development and take up of satellite-based high-resolution commercial imagery. Later as a consultant, Jones provided expert advisory services and strategic guidance for start-ups, Fortune 500 businesses, and government clients in the commercial imagery, remote sensing, space, and aerospace sectors.

“I am thrilled to join this great team at Saildrone and bring my satellite and space business development and sales experience to promote this cutting-edge maritime technology in the government, commercial, and scientific communities,” he said.

Jones has also served in roles in the Executive Office of the President/Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), as well as various senior leadership roles at HawkEye 360, GeoEye, and Space Imaging. He was formerly chairman of the board at the Earth Observation Industry Alliance and a director of SPADAC Inc. He has served on the advisory boards of Skybox Inc., BlackSky Global, and Chandah Space Technologies.

He has a BA from Yale University and a MA in Government Administration from the University of Pennsylvania.