Richard Jenkins is founder and CEO at Saildrone, a company that designs, manufacturers, and manages unmanned surface vehicles that sail the world's oceans collecting scientific data. He developed the company's core technology during a 10-year effort to break the land speed record for wind-powered vehicles, which he achieved in 2009 in Nevada USA with a speed of 126.2 mph. He then moved to San Francisco and began to apply his now-patented wing technology to a fleet of autonomous sailing drones.

Saildrone offers ocean data for a range of applications, such as long-range weather forecasting/oceanography and climate, fish stock analysis, and environmental monitoring and prevention of catastrophic ecological disasters. Powered by solar energy with a zero operational carbon footprint, the drones collect information above and below the sea surface, and can remain active and on mission without the support of traditional support vessels for up to 365 days continuously sending its findings back in real-time.

Jenkins was recognized with the Albert A. Michelson Award, presented at Sea Air Space 2022 by the Navy League of the United States, recognizing outstanding achievement by industry innovators and leaders. He holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Imperial College, London.

Data, Environment, Technology, Innovation, Business Founders, CEO, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Big Data, Drones, Mechanical Engineering, Meteorology Strategic Leadership,