Hyundai appoints J Scott Drennan as Vice-President of Urban Air Mobility Division

Hyundai Motor Group has appointed J. Scott Drennan as Vice-President of its Urban Air Mobility (UAM) Division. Drennan will report to Jaiwon Shin, Executive Vice- President (EVP) and Head of UAM Division. In this role, Drennan will lead UAM research and development.

Prior to joining Hyundai, Drennan spent more than 25 years with Bell Textron and made significant contributions to the V-22, the AW609 and the V-280, all vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft. He most recently served as Vice-President of Innovation at Bell Textron, where he was responsible for developing advanced configurations, technologies and vertical lift missions to advance Bell Textron’s commercial and military business. His expertise and leadership will be a crucial driver in establishing the Group as the leader in future urban mobility.

“We are fortunate to have Scott join our UAM Division,” said EVP Shin. “I’ve had the opportunity to collaborate with Scott closely in the past and found him not only superb in his technical knowledge and experience but also excellent in leading people. Leveraging his vast experience in the VTOL and UAM fields, Drennan will lead the engineering development to turn our vision of Urban Air Mobility into a reality, transforming our life styles for many decades to come.”

“I am honored to contribute to Hyundai’s vision of future mobility,” said Drennan. “Since my childhood, I have dreamed of teaming with fellow engineers and designers to develop technological marvels. EVP Shin and the Hyundai Motor Group have given me the opportunity and great responsibility to do just that. In our daily lives, we lose too much precious time in traffic congestion. I want to give that time back to people through safe, accessible and sustainable vertical mobility.”

Through its UAM Division, Hyundai Motor Group aims to provide innovative smart mobility solutions to address ever-increasing traffic congestion in megacities around the world that suffer economic and environmental tolls due to lost productivity and air pollution.

Earlier this year at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the Group’s flagship unit Hyundai Motor Company presented its vision to offer an integrated mobility solution, including UAM, Purpose Built Vehicles (PBV) and Hub, that will help vitalise cities and improve people’s lives.

The Group showcased a concept personal air vehicle (PAV) model S-A1 that was built in collaboration with Uber Elevate, as Uber and Hyundai agreed to work together in the aerial ridesharing field.  

Drennan started his career as an engineer in 1990 as a co-op student with GE Aircraft Engines. Since then, he held various positions of increasing responsibility in engineering and program management. Prior to his innovation role at Bell Textron, he was a functional director of air vehicle integration and a program manager and chief engineer on the AW609 commercial tiltrotor program. His experience includes applied research, new aircraft development, certification and engineering support to experimental and production manufacturing.

Drennan was appointed an Aeronautics Committee member on the NASA Advisory Council in June 2018.

Drennan holds a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Maryland and a Masters of Liberal Arts from Southern Methodist University. He has received executive leadership training from the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School.