Our Advisory Council

Chris Bley

Chris Bley is a Santa Cruz based serial entrepreneur and founder of a drone innovation hub, Airspace Integration. Chris has been involved in the renewable energy industry for 20 plus years.  He founded Rope Partner in 2001, a rope access service company located in Santa Cruz which uses ropes to gain access on utility scale wind turbines throughout the world for inspection, maintenance and repair. Rope Partner was acquired by Magnesium Capital in 2020.  In 2012, Chris cofounded InspecTools, applying emerging drone, image database and software capabilities in the wind energy, solar and utility industries to have a better understanding of their assets.  InspecTools was acquired by PrecisionHawk in 2018. Chris is currently focused on several additional drone related projects including Monterey Bay DART (a non-profit focused on supporting and connecting drone innovators), Insight Up Solutions (drone and sensor resale) and AirSpace Integration (provides shared work spaces, air space management and training). These companies are all located in the Monterey Bay region. Chris holds a BA in Biology from UC Santa Cruz.