This week we celebrated the five-year anniversary of our Head of Legal and Professional Services, Rowan Kimber. Much like our entire Aviassist team, Rowan brought to the table a unique set of skills from his diverse career.
Flashback to 2017, Rowan spent his days working as a corporate lawyer buried in a mountain of corporate advisory work involving insolvency, franchising and litigation.
With a long-standing love for aviation, he embraced consultancy work for aviation clients with enthusiasm. He even started doing the seminar circuit for drones and was asked to speak at several RPAS conferences.
The realisation that he needed to make a change clicked when he was on a ski trip with his friends in New Zealand. Once they landed in Australia, he knew he had to do something about it.
“Being a lawyer is not Suits, it is very different to that. It’s more like Rake, the show on ABC,” laughs Rowan.
“It’s quite brutal (being a private lawyer). I liked getting results for my clients, but I didn’t love my job as my friends did.”
Prior to his time as a corporate lawyer, Rowan worked as a pilot for over a decade.
“I knew I wanted to get back into aviation. I met Ross and it all made sense.”
“I thought, why don’t I try the drone thing?”
Rowan joined our team as an RPAS Instructor, eager to learn everything about drones and the regulations that come with RPAS. Now five years on, Rowan is our Head of Legal and Professional Services and has been involved in the exponential growth of Aviassist and enabled the best of operations around Australia. He is one of very few who get to work in Aviation Law – and is honoured to do so!
As part of the Aviation Law Association, Rowan has crossed paths with many varied skill sets. When asked what he would advise people entering the industry he had some very interesting points.
“There is so much going on in this industry at the moment. Leverage what you can do and find out what sets you apart from everyone else.”
“You will have an independent skill set that you can use. Find the bridge between what you do and what you want to do and leverage that.”
When Rowan isn’t busy with regulatory law, you can find him spending time with his family or as President of the Parents and Friends Association at his children’s school. You may have even seen him at their Father’s Day breakfast last week!
Aviassist would like to extend their thanks and congratulations to Rowan for the last five years – we are lucky to have you. Looking forward to what the future holds for the development and shaping of RPAS regulations.