Chris Drye CEng FIMechE
Mk2 Volkswagen Golf
Diving, mountain biking
Shawshank Redemption
Safari, jungle or diving
Eduardo Dominguez Puerta
First car:
Hobby:
Favourite movie:
Go to holiday:
Best boss:
Engagement Model Offered
Day Rate / Hourly Rate; Project-Based; Technical / Advisory; Interim / Contract; Fractional
Suited to Organisational Types
Start-ups; Scale-ups; SME; Corporate
Chris helps engineering and technology businesses bring difficult programmes back under control and turn ambitious plans into credible delivery. A former Head of Programme at Vertical Aerospace, with senior roles at Dyson and a technical consulting background at Ricardo, he brings over 20 years of experience across aerospace, automotive and advanced technology.
Through Clearly Driven Consulting, he supports organisations launching complex programmes, navigating critical delivery phases or recovering lost momentum. He combines engineering expertise with calm leadership, aligning teams, suppliers and senior stakeholders around the decisions needed to move forward.
Through Clearly Driven Intelligence, Chris helps leaders turn AI potential into practical improvements. He helps teams understand delivery challenges, identify opportunities for AI and better workflows, and develop focused pilots and implementation roadmaps.
Chris’s Arena
Sectors: Aerospace, automotive, marine, electrification and advanced technology.
Technical focus: Complex engineering development, prototype build, test and validation.
Functional expertise: Senior programme leadership, recovery, independent programme assessment, governance and supplier delivery.
Superpowers
Quickly establishes what is holding a programme back, listening across teams and testing the evidence.
Turns competing priorities into a credible plan with clear ownership, decisions and delivery milestones.
Rebuilds alignment and confidence between engineering teams, suppliers and senior leadership.
Introduces practical governance that fits the organisation and helps teams deliver.
Impact in Action
Vertical Aerospace: Led the £100m VX4 prototype programme from clean-sheet design through build, first flight and testing, overseeing 150 specialists and eight Programme Managers.
Dyson EV: Recovered a critical battery workstream after two failed attempts, achieving a successful Target Set gateway pass within eight weeks.
Vertical Aerospace: Recovered the AC2 Airframe Structures organisation in eight months, aligning teams and suppliers to key milestones, then led VX4 through a successful Preliminary Design Review.
Ricardo: Delivered diverse engineering programmes spanning Indian hybrid two-wheelers, McLaren supercar engines, icebreaking escape vessels, semi-autonomous aircraft towing vehicles and complex calibration and root-cause investigations.
Working Style
Calm, approachable and direct, bringing perspective and clarity under pressure.
Listens first, understands the problem and makes the next steps clear.
Moves comfortably between senior leadership, engineering detail and supplier discussions.
Builds team ownership and leaves behind stronger delivery processes and frameworks.