Leadership Team

Kyle Clark is our President and Chief Executive Officer and leads all technical and strategic components of the business including design, test and certification strategy, and commercialization of the ALIA aircraft platform. Mr. Clark has served as our Chief Executive Officer since inception in June 2018. Mr. Clark is one of the test pilots of all of BETA’s experimental aircraft. Mr. Clark has founded companies in the areas of electrification, energy storage and collaboration software. He was previously the co-founder of iTherm Technologies and subsequently the Director of Engineering at Dynapower Company (now Sensata Technologies Holding PLC (NYSE: ST)), where he created and managed an engineering team that designed, manufactured, certified, and deployed power systems ranging from 100 kW to 36,000 kW. Mr. Clark holds patents in the areas of production of electrical aircraft and associated batteries or related technologies. Mr. Clark received an A.B. in Materials Sciences and Engineering from Harvard University School. Mr. Clark is also a pilot and certified flight instructor with over 4,000 hours in fixed wing and rotorcraft aircraft including a type rating in the Embraer Phenom 300, and has completed over 200 test flights in electric aircraft.

Herman V. Cueto is our Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Cueto has served as our Chief Financial Officer since April 1, 2025. Mr. Cueto brings over 30 years of global finance leadership across the medical technology and life sciences sectors. Prior to BETA, Mr. Cueto held senior executive roles including Interim CFO at Dentsply Sirona (Nasdaq: XRAY) from December 2024 to March 2025, EVP & CFO at Azenta Life Sciences (Nasdaq: AZTA) from October 2023 to December 2024, and various roles during his tenure at Becton Dickinson (NYSE: BDX) from June 2004 to October 2023, including as Deputy CFO beginning in October 2022. Mr. Cueto has deep expertise in financial strategy, mergers and acquisitions, operational efficiency and stakeholder engagement, and has helped companies navigate complex regulatory, market and restructuring environments while driving profitability, enhancing transparency, and supporting long-term value creation. He holds a Master of Business Administration in Finance from Seton Hall University and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Fairleigh Dickinson University and is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in the state of New Jersey.

David Churchill, Ph.D. is our Chief Technology Officer and leads the engineering team. Mr. Churchill has served as our Chief Technology Officer since June 2018. Before joining BETA, he was the VP of Engineering for the Sensing Systems business unit of LORD-Microstrain Corp since 2012. While there he led research and development efforts resulting in innovative new product lines including energy harvesting systems and inertial sensors for aerospace applications. He began his career carrying out R&D for the V-22 Osprey program at Boeing Helicopter Co. (NYSE: BA). He subsequently earned a Ph.D. in composite materials targeted for use in total hip and total knee replacement implants. He joined the faculty at the University of Vermont in the Orthopedics Department where his group carried out key research leading to highly successful knee replacement designs. Mr. Churchill holds a Master of Science and Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Bucknell University. Mr. Churchill earned his private pilot’s license while at BETA and has over 300 flight hours.

Brian Dunkiel serves as the Chief Legal Officer, Vice President and Secretary. Mr. Dunkiel has served as our Chief Legal Officer since January 2023. For almost three decades, Mr. Dunkiel has dedicated his legal practice to work with clients pursuing projects, products, services, and missions that are pioneering and often unusually challenging—demanding an innovative and creative approach to meeting their legal needs. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Dunkiel co-founded the Burlington, Vermont law firm Dunkiel Saunders PLLC in 2001 (renamed SRHLaw in January 2023 after Mr. Dunkiel’s departure). At the firm, he served as a trusted legal advisor to some of Vermont’s leading institutional nonprofits, municipalities, and businesses developing ambitious renewable energy and transmission facilities, other large infrastructure projects, and affordable housing. In addition, for nearly two decades, Mr. Dunkiel served as outside general counsel to Seventh Generation, Inc., working with the business’ founders, four CEOs, and through its acquisition by Unilever in 2016. Mr. Dunkiel holds a Juris Doctor and Master of Studies in Law from Vermont Law School and a Bachelor of Science in Public Policy Analysis from Cornell University. Mr. Dunkiel is currently a student pilot.

Sean Donovan serves as the Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Donovan has served as our Chief Operating Officer since October 2024. Previously, Mr. Donovan served in various roles at BETA since March 2019, including Team Member and Battery Lead. For more than 15 years, Mr. Donovan has focused his engineering career on advancing innovative, high-impact technologies in the fields of aerospace, electric vehicles and sustainable energy systems. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Donovan held key engineering and leadership roles at several prominent technology companies. Mr. Donovan began his career at an aerospace company specializing in robotic assembly systems for composite aircraft structures, including those used in the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Airbus A-350. He subsequently joined Tesla, Inc. in Fremont, California, where he spent six years contributing to the company’s rapid manufacturing scale-up and the development of advanced automation for electric vehicle production. His experience at Tesla provided him with deep expertise in high-volume, high-tech manufacturing environments and reinforced his commitment to sustainable innovation. Mr. Donovan holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Vermont.

Shawn Hall is the Chief Revenue Officer at BETA Technologies and leads the commercial operations and business development teams. Prior to joining BETA in September 2024, Mr. Hall was an executive at Signature Aviation (formerly BBA Aviation plc (LSE: BBA)) and a partner at McKinsey & Company, where he focused on aerospace advising and strategic business development. Mr. Hall has over twenty years of experience working in the aviation industry, beginning his career in the US Navy as an FA-18 fighter pilot. Mr. Hall obtained an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, an MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School, and a BS in Civil Engineering from West Point.