Shares in Australian-American defence technology company DroneShield dropped 20 per cent on Wednesday when its American CEO resigned, just a week after its value tanked when its Australian CEO and other senior figures sold tens of millions of dollars' worth of stock.

The company, which manufacturers counter-drone systems and is publicly listed in Australia, announced its US CEO Matt McCrann had resigned from the business, effective immediately.

McCrann joined DroneShield in 2019 and became the company’s US CEO in 2022.

His departure left the company's stock below $2 at the close of trading on Wednesday — the first time it has dipped below the $2 mark since late June.

At the time of publication, the company's share price had still risen more than 160 per cent from its starting point of 75c at the beginning of 2025.

DroneShield's Australian CEO and managing director, Oleg Vornik, said the firm thanked McCrann for his work, and the company remained focussed on expanding in the American market.

“The US represents a very important market for DroneShield, that is anticipated to grow across both military and civilian domains, as drones continue to pose and increasing threat,” Vornik said in an announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).

McCrann said he planned to spend “the next month or two” with family before making any new moves.

“If you’re working on something cool and meaningful that will shape the next generation of American defense, feel free to reach out,” he wrote on LinkedIn.

“If I can help, I’m happy to do so.”


Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (second from left) holds a DroneShield device alongside then-US CEO Matt McCrann (far right) at the White House complex in 2023. Image: DroneShield / Supplied

Share price tanks after Australian CEO sells stocks

The value of DroneShield shares plunged 31 per cent last Thursday, 13 November, after the company confirmed Vornik had sold $49.5 million in stock — his entire pool of fully paid ordinary shares.

DroneShield’s chair Peter James also sold $12.4 million in shares, while director Jethro Marks sold $4.9 million.

The firm told the ASX that the selling was “unrelated to the growth trajectory of the company, which remains strong”, and it was unaware of any information which could have explained the flurry of trading.

“DroneShield understands, based on investor feedback, that the recent trading may have been in response to the disposal of shares,” the company said.

“… Directors have retained a stake in the company through vested options as they have done in the past when disposing of shares acquired on exercise of options.

“The board and executives remain fully committed to the success of the company.”

DroneShield recently advertised a newly created role for a head of investor relations to be based in Sydney, where the company said it expects to have around 500 staff by the end of 2026.


DroneShield's Australian CEO, Oleg Vornik (left), with Minister for Defence Industry, Pat Conroy, opening DroneShield's headquarters in Sydney, March 2025. Image: DroneShield / Supplied

DroneShield backtracks on announcement, CEO goes MIA

McCrann’s departure and the run of C-suite selloffs came just days after DroneShield mistakenly announced it had secured $7.6 million in new US government contracts.

On Monday, 10 November — the same day as that announcement — the company advised the ASX that the contracts were not actually new, but had been “inadvertently marked as new contracts rather than revised contracts due to an administrative error”.

The withdrawal of the announcement and the initiation of share selloffs was followed by Vornik not fronting up to scheduled event appearances.

He had been listed to speak at the Forbes Australia Business Summit on 13 November, but his appearance was cancelled.

Vornik had also been scheduled to discuss DroneShield during an event on Tuesday, 18 November hosted by the Australian Computer Society (ACS) — the publisher of Information Age — but the event was cancelled.