Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), Aviation Decarbonisation, Aerospace & Industrial Sustainability, Biofuels, Sustainable Energy Technology, Advanced Biomanufacturing, Technology Commercialisation & Scale-up

William Lyons is a technology executive and aerospace decarbonisation specialist with more than 30 years of experience in aerospace, advanced manufacturing, and decarbonisation. He brings deep technical and commercialisation experience in hard-to-abate sectors, with particular expertise in sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), industrial productivity, bioenergy, and the industrialisation of the bioeconomy.

William spent 27 years at The Boeing Company, most recently as Senior Executive Director of Enterprise Technology Strategy, where he directed the strategy for more than $4 billion in annual R&D investment across AI, autonomy, sustainability, digital engineering, and advanced manufacturing. He built Boeing’s global innovation ecosystem across Australia, Brazil, Japan, Korea, Turkey, and the Middle East, and developed global technology partnerships spanning multiple sectors. He chaired the Boeing-CSIRO Steering Committee—a $250 million partnership that produced breakthroughs in aviation decarbonisation, new fuels, and battery technology. He contributed directly to two national SAF roadmap initiatives and founded the Sustainable Bioenergy Research Center in the UAE.

His broader bioeconomy work spans AI-assisted engineering optimisation, sustainable manufacturing processes, and the development of research partnerships with more than 100 global institutions including NREL, CSIRO, MIT, Caltech, and Cambridge. A Boeing Technical Fellow, William holds a PhD in Atmospheric Physics (University of Queensland), five international patents, and is the author of more than 20 scientific publications. He was named a Distinguished Alumnus of James Cook University in 2023. William holds dual US and Australian citizenship and is available globally. Contact William.