# Philip van der Burg

> Philip van der Burg is the Sydney-based co-founder and CEO of Kite Aero. A Dutch executive with an investment banking and corporate development background, he previously led Carbonix. Kite Aero acquired Swoop Aero’s aircraft and flight software assets in 2025 and announced Australian KITE production with Sykes Advanced Manufacturing in 2026.

- **Role:** Co-Founder & CEO at Kite Aero
- **Organizations:** Kite Aero, Carbonix (former CEO), Jefferies (former employee), Management Consulting Group (former employee), Dial Partners (advisor biography), Australian Association for Uncrewed Systems (board service, 2022–2025), Nederlandse school de Kangoeroe (former supervisory board chair), Dutchlink (former board member)
- **Nationality:** Dutch
- **Education:** BEng in Business Engineering, Hogeschool van Utrecht (HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht), MSc in Management, Cass Business School (now Bayes Business School), Australian Institute of Company Directors
- **Known for:** Led Carbonix during its Fugro partnership and expansion through ArgenTech Solutions., Led Kite Aero’s restart using Swoop Aero’s acquired aircraft and software assets., Secured a KITE manufacturing partnership in Geelong, announced September 2026.

## Career timeline

- **Date not established** — Worked in Jefferies M&A and aerospace and defence teams in London and New York; later corporate development at Management Consulting Group and CFO work at a London data analytics startup.
- **2017–2019** — Board member, Dutchlink (May 2017–December 2019).
- **2017–2024** — Supervisory board chair, Nederlandse school de Kangoeroe (November 2017–November 2024).
- **2022** — Publicly documented as Carbonix CEO; appeared on Justin Kelly’s Unicorns Podcast in September.
- **2022–2025** — Served on the AAUS board; election announced December 2022 and service acknowledged at the November 2025 AGM.
- **2024** — Led Carbonix when it announced the SA Power Networks long-range inspection flight and RIEGL/Phase One payload integration.
- **2025** — Led Kite Aero as it announced acquisition of Swoop Aero’s assets on 24 March.
- **2026** — Announced KITE production partnership with Sykes Advanced Manufacturing on 14 September.

## Achievements

- Led Carbonix during its Fugro partnership and expansion through ArgenTech Solutions.
- Led Kite Aero’s restart using Swoop Aero’s acquired aircraft and software assets.
- Secured a KITE manufacturing partnership in Geelong, announced September 2026.
- Completed three years of board service at AAUS.

## Latest updates

- **2026-09** — Kite Aero announced production with Sykes Advanced Manufacturing in Geelong; the company reported a pipeline above 100 units, which is not a count of delivered aircraft.

## Links

- Website: https://kite.aero/
- LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/philipvanderburg

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/philip-van-der-burg
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-20