John Sommerfield

Rotor Review • 19th February 2024

How to Win the Maritime Resupply Logistics War

Recent technological advancements hold the promise to make highly automated VTOL unmanned aerial systems (UAS) an ideal solution for shore-to-ship, ship-to-ship, and ship-to-shore logistics, and the U.S. Navy is working with industry partners to fast-track innovation.

PteroDynamics • 19th December 2023

The Future of Commercial Maritime Resupply

Air taxis and package deliveries dominate the headlines when it comes to unmanned aerial systems (UAS). However, the latest advances in automated vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) UAS technology are set to disrupt a key part of the global economy: maritime logistics and resupply. PteroDynamics’ successful demonstration in October of the advanced capabilities of its autonomous Transwing® VTOL UAS aircraft from the deck of the USNS Burlington offers a clear view into the future of autonomous m

PteroDynamics • 13th December 2023

What I Learned from Flying the Transwing UAS from the Deck of the USNS Burlington

Over six days last October, PteroDynamics conducted nine successful flight demonstrations of its autonomous Transwing® vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft from the flight deck of the USNS Burlington during the U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet Hybrid Fleet Campaign Event (HFCE). PteroDynamics is a smaller player in the UAS space, but the Transwing’s success at the HFCE surprised a lot of people. Here are my takeaways from that experience and all the hard work we and our industry partners put into that success.

PteroDynamics • 30th November 2023

Seeing is Believing: Transwing Flies at Sea

Take a look at the video of one of the nine test flights of PteroDynamics’ autonomous Transwing® aircraft from the deck of the USNS Burlington during the U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet Hybrid Fleet Campaign Event (HFCE). Our vision for the future of UAS vehicles centers on building highly adaptable autonomous VTOL aircraft that have robust capabilities to complete missions safely, reliably, and at significant cost savings to operators. Successful automated UAS aircraft like the Transwing will offer a simpler, lower-cost way to deliver critical cargo to hard-to-reach locations with no runways, even in austere conditions.

Wealth Management Real Estate • 1st August 2023

There's Plenty of Opportunity in Commercial Real Estate If You Know Where to Look

Recent headlines are enough to make most investors more than a little nervous about direct real estate investing. However, we believe that not all property sectors face these headwinds.

AL.com • 13th July 2023

STOP! Don't Make These 3 Real Estate Mistakes in a Down Market

Spiking interest rates and unrelenting inflation have many real estate investors on the sidelines, content to park their long-term investment capital on the sidelines. But is that the right play? Market volatility can be nerve wracking, but it can also set the stage for new investment opportunities.

Experian Partner Solutions Blog • 25th July 2019

Credit Education and Millennials: a BIG Opportunity for Fintechs

Consumers don’t always understand the context of their credit scores and it’s not always obvious what is needed to improve their creditworthiness. The truth is there’s a lot more to a what makes up a credit score than just a number, and the stakes can be high for everyday people. Higher scores can save money and help consumers get approved for lower interest rates, reducing fees on everything from credit cards to home loans. This is particularly important for millennials, the largest generation

Experian Partner Solutions Blog • 25th July 2019

Fintechs: Customers Need an Ally to Fight ID Theft and Fraud

Today's consumers have to be more informed than ever as digital fraud has quickly become the norm—with an estimated 60 percent of consumers worldwide, having experienced an online fraud incident, according to Experian’s 2019 Global Identity and Fraud Report. Consumers expect companies they do business with to protect their personal information, for their families as well as themselves, as an estimated 1.3 million personal records bel

Experian Partner Solutions Blog • 2nd April 2019

Fraud and ID theft: Helping your customers fight back

There’s never been a better time to be a fraudster. Fraud is a big business and a growing threat to consumers, e-commerce businesses, and financial institutions in today’s digital landscape. The rewards are high for cyber criminals who remain masked by the anonymity of the Internet, and increasingly sophisticated attacks expose the personal information, payments methods, and transactional data of consumers around the world. According to Experian’s 2019 Global Identity and Fraud Report, 60 perce

Boku Inc. • 14th February 2023

Spending on Digital Goods Via Mobile Wallets Set to Double by 2026

4.7 billion phones with active mobile wallets will be in consumers’ hands by 2026 according to the latest calculations from Juniper Research. That represents an impressive 57% increase in just four years, and the ubiquity of mobile wallet-enabled handsets will translate to a huge lift in the value of mobile wallet transactions worldwide. Mobile wallet transactions totaled $6.9 trillion in 2022, and that figure will grow to an astounding $11.2 trillion in 2026, accounting for 93% of all digital wallet transactions.

New York Business Journal • 29th June 2023

The rise of necessity-based real estate: The hottest real estate investment trend for 2023

Central to the success of necessity-based CRE is the focus on acquiring and developing spaces for communities that facilitate basic consumer essentials, such as grocery stores, goods and services, workforce housing and last-mile distribution centers.

Experian Partner Solutions • 26th April 2019

Fraud and ID theft: Helping your customers fight back

Fraud is a big business and a growing threat to consumers, e-commerce businesses, and financial institutions in today’s digital landscape. The rewards are high for cyber criminals who remain masked by the anonymity of the Internet, and increasingly sophisticated attacks expose the personal information, payments methods, and transactional data of consumers around the world.

Forbes • 3rd January 2020

Community-First Opportunity Zones: Why Local-First Developers And Funds Are Essential

The American economy enjoyed record expansion for the past decade, but robust growth has not extended to many of the country’s economically distressed communities. The bipartisan opportunity zone (OZ) program is a creative solution to bridge that gap by encouraging long-term private investment in these areas. This influx of capital will fuel economic growth and build the housing and other infrastructure needed to revitalize communities that have been left behind. The significant tax benefits to

Propmodo • 28th May 2020

A Grassroots Approach to Developing Community-Focused Opportunity Zones

The largest city in Northern California and the tenth largest city in the U.S. is probably not the one you’d guess when thinking of the “Bay Area.” But San Jose lies at the heart of Silicon Valley, and its downtown corridor is experiencing a transformation. Over the past three years, developers, investors, and tech companies have spent over $3 billion buying downtown properties. The plans and investment will continue in spite of the post-pandemic economic environment. Solid fundamentals remain i

The DI Wire • 31st August 2020

Key Questions to Ask Before Investing in Opportunity Zone Funds

Right now, the investment community is paying close attention to qualified opportunity zone funds, anticipating that they could be part of a longer-term investment strategy during volatile market conditions. The opportunity zone program was passed into law as part of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Acts to fuel an influx of private investment to propel growth in local communities, and there are now hundreds of Funds investing in over 8,700 federally designated opportunity zone. Investment in opportun

Forbes • 12th December 2019

Community-First Opportunity Zones: How Everyone Can Win

The opportunity zone (OZ) program is designed to funnel private investment into distressed communities across the nation, creating housing and essential infrastructure and spurring economic revitalization. Program proponents call it a once-in-a-generation opportunity for local communities in need and a creative way for private sector investors to fund improvements. Skeptics argue the program is a tax break for the wealthy and doesn’t address fundamental issues facing the low-income areas it was

FinTech Futures • 4th April 2018

It’s time to level the playing field in cards payments

Market dynamics in payments are being redefined by changing consumer expectations and technology adoption, and 2018 is proving to be a critical year for banks and card issuers looking to be their customers’ brand of choice. It’s a common misnomer that only the larger financial institutions (FIs) with deep pockets and innovation labs or emerging fintech players will come out on top. A closer look reveals that with the right mix of technology and planning, FIs of any size can be nimble enough to

Postal and Parcel Technology International • 1st September 2018

Payments solutions

Post services must build new strategies to transform their business beyond parcel delivery, and offering a suite of feature-rich financial services and payments products is a natural place to start.

The Paypers • 8th June 2019

Putting payments innovation into practice in Europe

Amir Wain, CEO at i2c Inc.: Trying to out-innovate the competition by developing point products or collaborating with fintech firms and innovation labs is NOT the answer

15th November 2017

What defines global customer success?

Payments are changing rapidly, and the industry is struggling to keep pace. Many banks and other card issuers — including the service providers they rely on — lack the agility to stay competitive and quickly deliver the new products, features, and payments experiences today’s customers want.