# Mikaël Cardinal

> Mikaël Cardinal is a Quebec-based aeronautical engineer, aerospace entrepreneur, and vice president of program management at Unither Bioelectronics. A co-founder and former CEO of Zénith Altitude, he joined United Therapeutics in 2018 and leads work on advanced aviation systems, including the Project Proticity hydrogen-electric helicopter program. He serves on the Canadian Advanced Air Mobility national board and received NBAA Top 40 Under 40 recognition in Innovation and Technology in 2025.

- **Role:** Vice President, Program Management - Organ Delivery Systems at Unither Bioelectronics
- **Organizations:** Unither Bioelectronics, United Therapeutics Corporation, Zénith Altitude, Canadian Advanced Air Mobility (CAAM), H2CanFly
- **Education:** Bachelor of Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, aeronautics concentration, Université de Sherbrooke, Master of Applied Science, Mechanical Engineering, Université de Sherbrooke, Collège Mérici
- **Known for:** NBAA 2025 Top 40 Under 40 honoree in Innovation and Technology., Helped lead the team behind the March 27, 2025 piloted hydrogen-electric Robinson R44 demonstration., Co-author of Exploration of a Full-scale Hydrogen Fuel Cell Powered Helicopter through Flight Tests and Analysis, recognized with an eVTOL-session Best Paper award at VFS Forum 82 in 2026.

## Career timeline

- **2007** — Entered mechanical engineering at Université de Sherbrooke.
- **Before 2018** — Co-founded and served as CEO of Zénith Altitude, working in aircraft design, systems integration, and certification.
- **2018** — Joined United Therapeutics to lead aviation development efforts.
- **2024** — Joined the CAAM national board; Unither announced its hydrogen helicopter collaboration with Robinson.
- **2025** — His team completed a piloted hydrogen-electric R44 test flight on March 27; received NBAA Top 40 Under 40 recognition.
- **2026** — Project Proticity expanded into circuit flight; Cardinal co-authored an eVTOL-session Best Paper at VFS Forum 82.

## Achievements

- NBAA 2025 Top 40 Under 40 honoree in Innovation and Technology.
- Helped lead the team behind the March 27, 2025 piloted hydrogen-electric Robinson R44 demonstration.
- Co-author of Exploration of a Full-scale Hydrogen Fuel Cell Powered Helicopter through Flight Tests and Analysis, recognized with an eVTOL-session Best Paper award at VFS Forum 82 in 2026.
- Co-founded aerospace engineering company Zénith Altitude.

## Latest updates

- **2026-08** — University of Maryland reported the VFS Forum 82 Best Paper recognition for a Project Proticity paper co-authored by Cardinal.
- **2026-09** — Featured in the September/October 2026 Vertiflite leadership profile.
- **2026-04** — The hydrogen-electric R44 completed its first airport circuit on April 10 at Roland-Désourdy Airport.

## Links

- Website: https://www.unither.aero/en
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mika%C3%ABl-cardinal-72487b46

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/mikael-cardinal
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-23