Aira Announces Simon McElrea As Chief Operating Officer

McElrea Brings 25+ Years of Technology Leadership Experience to the Creator of FreePower® Wireless Charging

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Dec 17, 2020, 07:57 ET

CHANDLER, Ariz., Dec. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Aira Inc., the company redefining the wireless charging experience with FreePower^Ⓡ, is pleased to announce that Simon McElrea, a global champion for wireless power, has joined its executive team as Chief Operating Officer (COO). McElrea brings with him more than 25 years of leadership experience creating, growing, and pivoting businesses in the high-tech space into the mainstream.

In his role as Chief Operating Officer, Simon McElrea will be responsible for developing Aira’s global business partnerships with OEMs and manufacturers as well as implementing best-in-class operations, supply chain, and product qualification processes.

"Simon is uniquely qualified to bring FreePower^Ⓡ to a range of verticals and new markets, and to drive Aira's growth as we continue to expand our reach," says Jake Slatnick, Aira's co-founder and CEO. "There is a natural connection between our vision for elegant, free-position wireless charging technology and Simon's background in wireless charging and high-volume mass production. I am immensely confident in his ability to implement industry-leading operational practices and help grow our portfolio of partners."

In his role as COO, McElrea will be responsible for developing Aira's global business partnerships with OEMs and manufacturers as well as implementing best-in-class operations, supply chain, and product qualification processes. He also brings extensive connections and experience in the wireless power industry to the table, and will work with Aira's leadership team to drive the company's expansion into a variety of verticals including automotive, furniture, and medical devices.

"Aira's FreePower^Ⓡ wireless charging solution solves the positional freedom problem our industry has struggled with for years," said McElrea. "The ability to efficiently and intelligently charge multiple power-hungry devices over a large area is both unique and limitless, and the fact that Aira-enabled products are shipping in the market today is a testament to their safety and simplicity of integration. I am excited to help the company scale up and expand into automotive, medical and retail markets."

A true pioneer in the electronics and alternative energy space, McElrea is the author of more than 30 US patents, and has delivered keynote speeches at technical conferences around the world. He also brings expertise in full-cycle technology business commercialization and scaling. He has successfully helmed the sale of multiple companies, executed IPOs, and built businesses with combined revenues in excess of $1 billion. McElrea additionally brings significant board-level and fundraising experience to his new position, having raised more than $200 million in funding in his previous roles.

McElrea holds Bachelor's and Master's degrees, with honors, in Engineering Science from Oxford University.

To learn more about Aira's leadership team and offerings, visit airapower.com.

FreePower^® Technology
Aira is setting a new standard for wireless charging with FreePower^®, an elegant hardware and software solution that offers complete freedom of placement across surfaces. Designed and engineered in-house from the ground up, FreePower^® is a flexible platform that can accommodate different surface sizes and any number of devices. As a technology supplier, Aira is partnering with companies that want to integrate free position wireless charging into their products. FreePower^® is a fundamentally new approach to wireless power, equipped with more than 70 patent assets for its groundbreaking hardware, software, and magnetics. Unlike traditional wireless chargers, which require devices to be precisely aligned with a small hot spot, FreePower™ features full surface charging from corner to corner. As Qi-enabled devices are placed across the surface, precise power is delivered and intelligently managed to optimize performance. Aira's FreePower^® technology has already been deployed successfully in consumer devices with Nomad's Base Station Pro.

About Aira
Aira, founded in 2017 by Jake Slatnick and Eric Goodchild, has a focused mission to evolve wireless charging. Its FreePower^® technology is an elegant, adaptable solution that pushes long-standing boundaries to deliver on the fundamental promise of wireless charging – convenience. Built to work with devices operating on the Qi standard, FreePower is compatible with all major Qi devices including those from Apple, Samsung, and Google. Aira is partnering with brands, OEMs, and technology suppliers across several verticals, including consumer electronics, automotive, furniture and hospitality, to make "wireless charging as it was meant to be" available everywhere. To learn more about Aira and FreePower^®, visit www.airapower.com.

SOURCE Aira