AAM 2026 Speaker Bio

Dr Adriano Di Pietro

CEO

AMSL Aero

Dr Adriano Di Pietro is a globally recognised aerospace executive and deep-tech innovator with nearly 20 years of international experience spanning aerospace, defence, and automotive systems. He has helped scale multiple high-tech ventures across Australia, the US, and Europe. He holds a PhD in advanced aerospace manufacturing technology and a degree in engineering. 

Dr Di Pietro is CEO of AMSL Aero, a pioneering deep-tech Australian aircraft designer and manufacturer, which builds hybrid electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) platforms. With world best performance in range, payload and speed, AMSL's fleet of aircraft span 2kg drones through to a multi-tonne eVTOL passenger aircraft. AMSL Aero's flagship hybrid-electric eVTOL aircraft is named “Vertiia”. The aircraft has already completed over 150 test flights with more flight test programs scheduled for 2026. 

Dr Di Pietro was previously CEO (Interim) of the Australian Air Mobility Cooperative Research Centre (AAM CRC), where he brought together Australia’s advanced air mobility industry as a key driver of Australia’s future aviation system. Concurrently, as Director of the Aerospace Innovation Research (AIR) Hub at Swinburne University of Technology, he led an expert team supporting the growth of Australia’s uncrewed air systems (UAS) and advanced air mobility development and manufacturing industry with significant development in zero-emission hydrogen-powered flight.

Previously, Dr Di Pietro held key roles at XTEK (now HighCom Group) as Chief Technology Officer, where he led the commercialisation of aerospace and defence technologies. He was also one of the first employees at Zoox, the  Silicon Valley-based autonomous vehicle company acquired by Amazon, and held leadership roles at Quickstep Technologies, a leading aerospace composites manufacturer in Australia and Germany.