Jia Xu is a proven leader in building at the intersection of electrified, autonomous, and accessible flight, currently serving as the CEO of SkyGrid, where he leads the organization toward its strategic goal of transforming the aviation sector through the integration of unmanned aircraft. Prior to SkyGrid, Xu worked as the CTO for unmanned aerial systems and urban air mobility at Honeywell Aerospace, where Xu led strategic technology and product development and engineering execution.

Before joining Honeywell, Xu worked as chief architect for UAM systems at Airbus, where he built operational architectures and data-driven business cases for UAM vehicles and networks. He also held leadership positions at the RAND Corporation, where he drove its advanced technology portfolio in AI/ML, UAS, and autonomy. On the air vehicle side, Xu worked on UAS design at General Atomics and taught aerodynamics as an adjunct lecturer at Stanford. Xu received his Ph.D. in aeronautics and astronautics from Stanford. He also holds Master of Science degrees in aeronautics from Imperial College London and in international relations from the London School of Economics.