Grant Williams

Technical Director, Thales

Grant is the Technical Director for the Airspace Management Solutions (AMS) business line of Thales, in Australia. In this role Grant is responsible for a team of Authorities that provide oversight and governance in the areas of Design, Safety, Cybersecurity, Software Assurance and Platforms for all products, bids and programs delivered from Australia by Thales AMS. He is also responsible for all R&D and innovation activities for Thales AMS within Australia, including research collaborations with universities. Prior to taking on the Technical Director role, in September 2020, Grant was the global Design Authority for the TopSky Automation Product Line, based in France, providing design and technical oversight to the entire AMS product range, including the world leading TopSky-ATC air traffic management system and TopSky-Tower tower automation product.

Starting as a software engineer, focusing on user interface design and development, over 25 years ago, Grant has extensive experience in all aspects of the Air Traffic Management industry covering delivery of new or upgraded Air Traffic Management systems to AMS’s global customer base through to working directly with Air Navigation Service Providers to refine their requirements for their own air traffic management system. Grant was also responsible for setting up the CASIA Innovation Laboratory, located in AMS’s Melbourne office, in 2011 and in the years following the launch of this facility establishing strong relationships with a number of leading Australian universities and research organisations, which continues to this day. The CASIA Innovation Lab falls under the responsibility of the AMS Technical directorate and is part of Thales AMS’s global network of Innovation Labs where new ideas and concepts related to Air Traffic Management are evaluated, prototyped and demonstrated in collaboration with end users, customers and other research organisations.