GLOBAL SUCCESS FUELS GROWTH FOR CYBERHAWK

• Global leader in drone and software solutions for energy assets and project management increased turnover by more than 50% in 2020, despite challenging market conditions driven by COVID-19

• Headcount also increased by almost 100% to meet growing demand for services

• New US HQ in Denver to support strategic 2021 growth plans

Cyberhawk, a global leader in drone-based inspection and creator of iHawk, a cloud-based asset visualization software, increased its yearly revenue by 51 percent in 2020 after strategic growth plans saw the company expand its headcount and grow its footprint in key international regions. 

In response to global demand for its drone-based inspection, surveying and data visualization services, Cyberhawk has doubled its headcount, with over 100 staff members based in the UK, India, Qatar, and three offices in the USA. 

At the end of 2020, Cyberhawk appointed Ursula O’Brien to take on the role of Chief People Officer to help develop and nurture new and existing talent, and drive employee engagement as the company accelerates growth. 

Ms. O’Brien joined Cyberhawk from Ventient Energy, the largest independent generator of onshore wind energy in Europe, where she held the role of Head of Human Resources. Prior to this, she was Vice President of Human Resources at Wood Mackenzie. 

Cyberhawk’s growth has been driven by a surge in demand for its gold standard drone-based inspections and asset visualization software, iHawk, which saw the company secure several major contracts with supermajors across the oil and gas, power grid, and construction sectors in 2019 and 2020.  

Significant contract wins included signing a new five-year agreement in early 2020 with one of the world’s biggest state-owned oil and gas producers in the Middle East. The contract allows any local energy operator to procure Cyberhawk’s services through single source, making it the only approved drone inspection and visualization partner in country for the energy sector. Cyberhawk has appointed Leon Borstlap to manage the new regional headquarters located in Doha, Qatar.

The firm also supported a major US utility with inspections of over 50,000 transmission structures in California as part of its critical wildfire prevention and reliability campaign. 

Finally, iHawk has been endorsed by multiple construction projects as the single source of truth for progress monitoring and project visualization. This includes Shell awarding Cyberhawk a multimillion-dollar contract in June 2020 to deliver visual asset management across its onshore, offshore and subsea assets, as well as all global construction projects.

Cyberhawk CEO, Chris Fleming, commented:  

“Although we can all agree it has been a challenging year, our business has proven to be resilient. We have continued to help our customers take a proactive, cost-effective, and environmentally sound approach to asset inspection through our drone-based services. We’ve also seen demand grow for our cloud-based data visualization software, iHawk, as energy and construction majors look to digitally transform their business – particularly as flexible, remote working looks set to become a permanent fixture for many employees long beyond 2020. 

“I’m proud of our team, especially of those who have continued to work out in the field throughout the year for months on end, away from their families to deliver customer projects with unwavering levels of energy and enthusiasm. It is this dedication that has seen us help our customers maintain critical inspection services and ensure energy supply throughout the coronavirus pandemic, helping to keep the lights on and heat millions of homes and businesses.”

Cyberhawk anticipates further growth throughout 2021 and beyond as the firm continues to grow its expertise, release new innovations to meet today’s inspection challenges, and secure new contracts in the energy and construction sectors.   

Mr. Fleming concluded, “With many projects well underway and others already lined up, next year is shaping up to be another buster year.  We have never had such a full pipeline of work and our challenge will be growing whilst maintaining the gold standard we have embodied over the last 12 years. We’re looking forward to further building the team, continuing to develop smart solutions based on industry needs, and ensuring we don’t lose site of the values which got us here in first place.”