About WISPR Systems

Ground Shot

WISPR Systems is a drone manufacturer providing versatile, rugged, and reliable Commercial drones made in the U.S.A.

Founded in 2016, WISPR Systems strives not only to manufacture reliable and affordable U.S.A. commercial Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) with turnkey payload options for commercial operations. WISPR Systems supports various industries with our drones such as Surveying, Mapping, Telecommunications, Utilities, Public Safety, and much more. WISPR Systems and our affiliated distributors strive to provide the best drone and service money can buy! WISPR Systems is a one stop shop for all your commercial drone needs!

Leadership

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Conor Ferguson

Co-founder, CEO

Conor’s portfolio extends from building computers and deploying fixed wireless networks, all the way to the commercial drone industry. Conor’s father an entrepreneur starting his Computer/Networking business in 1987, had Conor building computers and loading software on them at 6 years old for weekly allowance. After high school Conor managed the build-out of a fixed wireless internet service that provided high speed internet into rural areas throughout Northwest Mississippi.  In 2014 he Attended Mississippi State University, where he received his Bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering from Mississippi State University Bagley College of Engineering. While attending Mississippi State University Conor had the opportunity to work with many professors within the ECE department and other affiliates within Mississippi State on various sUAS and ground robot projects. The engineering experience gained at Mississippi State led to co-founding WISPR Systems with Austin Ratcliffe in 2017, with the goal of provided end-to-end sUAS solutions for commercial applications such as RF and telecommunications purposes. Conor worked with Mississippi State University Center for Entrepreneurship & Outreach to help build a solid business plan and help find investors for this venture raising money via the Bulldog Angel Network and InnovateMS to get the business off the ground. After having success deploying end-to-end drones' solutions into telecommunications markets WISPR expanded into the overall commercial sUAS market in 2020. Now WISPR offers solutions for applications such as Mapping, Surveying, Inspection, Public Safety and much more!

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Austin Ratcliffe

Co-founder, COO

Austin’s portfolio extends from the automotive/mechanical to the commercial drone industry. While attending Mississippi State University Austin had the opportunity to work with Mississippi State University's Electrical and Computer Engineering on various UAV projects. He helped design, build and implement various ground and air robotic systems. The engineering experience gained at Mississippi State led to co-founding WISPr Systems with Conor Ferguson in 2017. The company's goal is to offer reliable and affordable drone solutions for commercial applications.

Austin is a graduate of Mississippi State University Bagley College of Engineering with a degree in Electrical Engineering.

Board of Directors

Chris-Ewing

Chris Ewing

Board Member

Founder, Chairman and CEO of Ewing/Kessler, Inc., one of the largest independent building systems companies in the Mid-South, providing engineered solutions related to air conditioning, power, and energy management.

Chris is a Graduating at the top of his class with a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Mississippi State University, a Distinguished Fellow of Mississippi State University’s Bagley College of Engineering and serves on various higher-education advisory boards at Mississippi State, Liberty University, and Moore Tech.

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Wade Patterson

Board Member

In Wade's prior work he was VP of Engineering for Intergraph Computer Systems where he later became the President and CEO. He was founder and CEO of Smart Appliance Controls that was sold in 2006 and Co-founder and CEO of Synapse Wireless, Inc. which was sold in 2014. Experienced in worldwide corporate management including corporate strategy, intellectual property, engineering management, manufacturing, sales, marketing, finance, organizational dynamics.

Specialties: Organization dynamics, electronics design, software design, networks, user interfaces, big data, cloud, project management, marketing, M&A, startups

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Bruce Deer

Board Member

Bruce brings a diverse 35-year background ranging from hardware engineering, software engineering to executive level management as CIO, CTO, COO and CEO. He has experience in different sizes and types of companies as he has worked for startups, mid-size companies and large multi-national corporations.

He served as COO for Spread Networks, President and CEO of SkyTel, and prior to that Bruce worked for Lockheed Martin in various technical and management responsibilities.

Bruce is an electrical engineering graduate of Mississippi State University and also has a Masters of Engineering from Southern Methodist University.

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Stephen Buehler

Board Member

In Stephen's prior work he was the Managing director of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group and COO of Blackstone Individual Investor Solutions. He was previously a relationship manager with Merrill Lynch in the greater New York City (NYC) area and senior manager of assurance and advisory services at KPMG LLP. He is now founder and CEO of Astra Ventures. Astra Ventures is an alternative investment firm that invest in alternative assets – private equity, venture capital, real estate, direct lending, public markets and more.

Stephen has a bachelors in Business from Mississippi State University and a Master in Business from Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management.

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Conor Ferguson

Board Member

Conor’s portfolio extends from deploying fixed wireless internet services to the commercial drone industry. While attending Mississippi State University Conor had the opportunity to work with Mississippi State University's Electrical and Computer Engineering on various UAV projects. While there he helped design, build and implement various ground and air robotic systems. The engineering experience gained at Mississippi State led to co-founding WISPr Systems with Austin Ratcliffe in 2017. The company's goal is to offer reliable and affordable drone solutions for commercial applications.

Conor is a graduate of Mississippi State University Bagley College of Engineering with a degree in Electrical Engineering.