Event Archive

Mr. Alter is a Senior Associate with Booz Allen Hamilton, where he leads the Design for Affordability capability identifying design, acquisition, manufacturability, and sourcing insights to clients. He has managed the DFA project supporting the U.S. Navy for the past 2 years on the VIRGINIA Class submarine Reduction in Total Ownership Cost (RTOC). Mark has worked in government and commercial consulting across most industries – with a concentration in automotive, industrial, and defense companies. 

Mark holds an MBA from Duke’s Fuqua School of Business. He graduated Cum Laude from Princeton University with a BSE in Civil Engineering / Operations Research.  Mark is a licensed Professional Engineer, and previously served as an Air Force officer.

Vice Admiral Architzel currently serves as commander, Naval Air Systems Command, headquartered in Patuxent River, Md. He assumed his duties in May 2010, after serving as the principal military deputy to the assistant secretary of the Navy (Research, Development, and Acquisition).

Previous flag assignments included program executive officer for Aircraft Carriers; commander of Operational Test and Evaluation Force, Norfolk; commander, Navy Region Mid-Atlantic; commander, Naval Safety Center, Norfolk; commander, Iceland Defense Force; and commander, Fleet Air Keflavik.

At sea, Architzel served as the executive officer, USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) and Pre-Commissioning Unit John C. Stennis (CVN 74). He served as the commanding officer, USS Guam (LPH 9); flagship for commander Amphibious Squadron (CPR) 2; and the sixth commanding officer of USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71).

A career naval aviator, Architzel has accumulated more than 5,000 flight hours, 4,300 of those hours in the S-3, and the remainder in some 30 other aircraft types in his role as a test pilot at NAS Patuxent River. He served in Sea Control Squadron (VS) 30, deploying aboard USS Forrestal (CV 59), and as maintenance officer in VS-28, deploying aboard USS Independence (CV 62). He later returned to VS-30 as the executive officer and subsequently as commanding officer.

Architzel was born in Ogdensburg, N.Y., and raised in Merrick, Long Island. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics at the U.S. Naval Academy in June 1973 and also holds a Master of Science degree in aeronautical systems from the University of West Florida. He enjoys major league baseball, model trains and is a really average golfer.

His decorations include two Navy Distinguished Service Medals, the Defense Superior Service Medal, four Legions of Merit, three Meritorious Service Medals, the Navy Achievement Medal and various service related awards and campaign ribbons. He was also awarded the Spanish Naval Cross of Merit from His Majesty, King Juan Carlos of Spain, the Navy League's John Paul Jones Leadership Award for 1998, and the Commander's Cross with Star of the Icelandic Order of the Falcon presented by the president of Iceland.

Mr. Bollinger is a Senior Vice President with Booz & Company, the $1.2 billion commercial management consulting firm formerly known as Booz Allen Hamilton. He has 25 years of experience with Booz & Company and is based in McLean, Virginia. He has worked previously from Booz offices in New York and Sydney.

Mr. Bollinger works with aerospace and defense clients on such issues as business strategy, organizational effectiveness and operational improvements. He has consulted to most of the world’s leading companies in the fields of naval shipbuilding, space, missiles, military aircraft, ground vehicles, C3ISR systems, aircraft subsystems and government technical services.

Mr. Bollinger currently serves on the global Board of Directors of Booz & Company and has also served as one of nine partners on the firm’s global Executive Committee.  He has also led the firm’s business in Asia/Pacific, the global Aerospace & Defense Practice, and the global Engineered Products & Services Practice.

From 2004 to 2008 Mr. Bollinger was a senior partner in Booz Allen Hamilton’s government business, serving on the leadership team of that $3 billion business.  During that time he supported clients in the US Navy/Marine Corps, US Air Force, FAA, NASA and the intelligence community.  While a Senior Partner at Booz Allen Hamilton, Mr. Bollinger twice was elected to the firm’s global Board of Directors.

Mr. Bollinger has supported several Defense Science Board studies of defense acquisition and is often called upon to counsel senior government executives on industrial base issues. Mr. Bollinger served on a working group at the National Defense University examining organizational options for OSD as part of the last Quadrennial Defense Review. He has testified before the U.S. Congress on aviation safety.

Mr. Bollinger earned an MBA (with Distinction) in 1982 from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a BSFS (cum laude) in 1980 from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. He serves as a Director of the U.S. Naval Historical Foundation.

In addition to his consulting work, Mr. Bollinger is a published author in naval and maritime history, with three published books and several articles to his credit. He is also a certificated Commercial / IFR pilot in the U.S. and Australia. Mr. Bollinger currently holds U.S.-government security clearances at the TS/SCI level.

 

Mr. Scott J. Davis serves as the Program Executive Officer for PEO Ground Combat Systems, where he is responsible for managing the portfolio of ground combat vehicle modernization programs for the United States Army.

Selected for the Senior Executive Service in November 2005, Mr. Davis previously served as the Deputy Program Executive Officer, PEO Integration, and was accountable for the organization and management of acquisition programs designed to support Brigade Combat Team (BCT) modernization.

An Army Reserve Officer, Mr. Davis is currently assigned to the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Acquisition, Logistics & Technology) and has held a variety of positions from platoon leader through battalion executive officer.

Mr. Davis began his career in 1986, serving as a Mechanical Engineer, Program Manager, Light Combat Vehicles. He was then assigned as the Lead Project Engineer, Line of Sight Anti-Tank System; Lead Project Engineer, Command and Control Vehicle; and Assistant Product Manager, Bradley Linebacker, Bradley Fighting Vehicle Systems Project Management Office. In 1997, Mr. Davis accepted responsibility as Assistant Project Manager, Bradley Research and Development, after which he served as the Deputy Product Manager, Infantry Carrier Vehicle Variants, PM BCT. His subsequent assignment was Director of Engineering, Future Combat Systems.

From 2005 to 2008, Mr. Davis was assigned as the Deputy Program Manager (Operations) (SES), PM Future Combat Systems (BCT). He then served as the Deputy Program Manager (Platform Integration) (SES), PM Future Combat Systems (BCT), before accepting the responsibility as Deputy Program Executive Officer, PEO Integration.

Mr. Davis holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan Technological University and a Master of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from Wayne State University. His military training includes the Engineer Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, Combined Arms Staff Services School, Command & General Staff College, and the Advanced Program Manager’s Course, Defense Systems Management College.

Randy Garber is a partner in A.T. Kearney. He leads the aerospace and defense practice for the Americas. He has also led the firm’s operations practice in the U.S. West. Randy has 26 years of management consulting experience in conducting and directing client engagements in supply chain management, strategic sourcing, change management, and organizational effectiveness. His experience spans a broad range of industries and government agencies — with a focus on aerospace & defense companies. 

Prior to joining A.T. Kearney, he was deputy director for a U.S. Congressional Board in Washington, D.C., and vice president of a Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm, specializing in supply chain management. Randy directed research on managing the China supply chain, and has published and presented on the trends and issues identified in the study. He has published numerous articles, including “Want a More Flexible Supply Chain?” in Supply Chain Management Review, and “Your Strategy Means Sink or Swim,” Chief Logistics Officer. Randy earned an M.B.A. from the Olin School, Washington University. He has a B.S. from Central Missouri State University in economics. He is a founding member of the North America Transportation Competitiveness Research Council.

Michael Gaydar is currently the Deputy Director, Air Platform Systems Engineering at NAVAIR.  Responsibilities include technical and managerial oversight for NAVAIR chief engineers assigned to program offices.

Mr. Gaydar joined NAVAIR in 2002 after 20 years in the United States Air Force.  In the Air Force he was assigned to Special Operations Command and  Air Force Special Projects, known as Big Safari, working as a project engineer for several reconnaissance programs. 

Mr. Gaydar received a BS in Aerospace Engineering from the SUNY at Buffalo, 1978, and MS in Aerospace Engineering from Cornell University, 1982.  Thesis topic was Diagnostic Techniques in Plasma Physics. 

 

Mike Gibbons is the program manager for the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler – the U.S. Navy’s frontline multi-role strike-fighter and electronic attack aircraft.

Prior to his current assignment, Gibbons, as EA-18G program manager, led the EA-18G Growler team through a $1.2 billion development effort culminating in a successful operational evaluation and low-rate initial production. The EA-18G Growler is a derivative of the two-seat F/A-18F aircraft that integrated advanced airborne electronic attack systems with proven Super Hornet capabilities. It will replace all existing carrier-based electronic attack platforms.

Gibbons’ 28-year career has been entirely with Boeing and McDonnell Douglas. He has supported both development and production efforts and worked on a variety of tactical aircraft programs, including the F-15, F/A-18, A-12, AV-8B, Joint Strike Fighter, and various proprietary programs.

Gibbons holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Georgia Tech, a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Washington University, and an executive master’s degree in business administration from Washington University.

Frank Kendall was sworn in as Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics on March 8, 2010. He has more than 35 years of experience in engineering, management, defense acquisition and national security affairs in private industry, government and the military.  He has been a consultant to defense industry firms, non-profit research organizations, and the Department of Defense in the areas of strategic planning, engineering management, and technology assessment.  Mr. Kendall was Vice President of Engineering for Raytheon Company, where he was responsible for management direction to the engineering functions throughout the company and for internal research and development.  Before assuming his current position, Mr. Kendall was a Managing Partner at Renaissance Strategic Advisors, a Virginia-based aerospace and defense sector consulting firm.  

Within government, Mr. Kendall held the position of Director of Tactical Warfare Programs in the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the position of Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Strategic Defense Systems.  Mr. Kendall is a former member of the Army Science Board and the Defense Intelligence Agency Science and Technology Advisory Board and he has been a consultant to the Defense Science Board and a Senior Advisor to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.  Mr. Kendall also spent ten years on active duty with the Army serving in Germany, teaching Engineering at West Point, and holding research and development positions.

Mr. Kendall is an attorney and has been active in the field of human rights, working primarily on a pro bono basis.  He has worked with Amnesty International USA, where he served as a member of the Board of Directors, with Human Rights First, for whom he was an observer at Guantanamo, and with the Tahirih Justice Center, where he was Chair of the Board of Directors.

Mr. Kendall is a Distinguished Graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and he holds a Masters Degree in Aerospace Engineering from California Institute of Technology, a Master of Business Administration degree from C.W Post Center of Long Island University, and a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center.

Brigadier General O'Donohue graduated from the College of William and Mary with a Bachelor of Arts in History and was commissioned in 1984. He is a distinguished graduate of the Amphibious Warfare School, the School of Advanced Warfighting, the National War College, and the Naval Postgraduate School. He has Masters of Science Degrees in National Security Strategy and Manpower Management.

Brigadier General O'Donohue's command assignments include: Commanding Officer, Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines (1993-1995), Commanding Officer, 2nd Battalion 5th Marines (2002-2004), Commanding Officer, 1st Marine Regiment (2009-2010).

Brigadier General O'Donohue's staff assignments include: Ground Structure Planner, Headquarters Marine Corps (1988-1992); 8th Marines Operations Officer (1995); Operations Officer for Joint Task Force and Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force Liberia (1996); Tactics Instructor and Expeditionary Operations Program Director at the Amphibious Warfare School (1997-2000); Operations Officer, 1st Marine Division (2001-2002); Assistant Chief of Staff G-7 / Division Combat Assessment Officer (2004); Deputy Branch Head for the Secretary of the Defense's Office of Force Transformation (2005-2007); Branch Head, Ground Combat Element Branch, Plans, Policies and Operations, Headquarters Marine Corps (2007-2008); Assistant Chief of Staff G-3 for 1st Marine Division (2008-2009); Director, Capabilities Development Directorate (2010-).

He and his wife, Rani, have been married 27 years. They have 7 children: Erin, Sara, Danny, Michael, John, Mark, and Peter.

Mr. Peak is a senior systems engineering and program management executive with over 35 years of progressive success in marketing, acquisition, research, development, production, test, integration, operation, and support of large scale, high technology airspace management, manned and unmanned space, defense, and command, control, communications, computers, information, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems (C4ISR) through all phases of their lifecycle; He is a recognized authority on systems engineering, Human Systems Integration, and emerging aviation technologies.

He is currently Director, Systems Engineering, Integration, and Test with EADS North America, where he led the Systems Engineering, Integration and Test, Software Engineering, and Specialty Engineering efforts for EADS North America KC-45A Tanker proposal to USAF Aeronautical Systems Center. He provides Systems Engineering and program management expertise to pre-proposal efforts for U. S. Army Armed Aerial Scout, and other projects.

During his career, he has been privileged to provide technical and management leadership to many large programs:

• As Director, Program and Technical Management for SM&A Corporation, He led a team supporting Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works in executing a DARPA/USAF advanced technology demonstration program, ISIS.
• As Deputy Chief Systems Engineer, he led Systems Engineering, Engineering Specialty, Risk Management, & Logistics Support efforts for Lockheed Martin’s Transformational Communications Satellite Development and Production proposal to USAF Military Satellite Communications Space Wing; and also led Proposal Document development and production for Space Based InfraRed System proposal to USAF Space & Missile Command.
• As Chief Executive Officer of Cogent Corporation International, Mr. Peak Led start-up and operational activities providing engineering to aerospace and government organizations, including systems engineering for NASA Advanced General Aviation Transport Experiment & Small Airport Transportation System; a modern decision support system for the FAA; concept design of a flight information system for the German Civil Aviation Authority, and independent systems engineering and program management assessments for the Canadian Automated Air Traffic System and the FAA NAS Infrastructure Management System.
• He was an adjunct professor for graduate and undergraduate courses in Systems Engineering and Human Factors at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
• While at Lockheed Martin (Martin Marietta) he was a Program Director for various phases of the National Airspace System modernization program for the FAA; Managed a Systems Engineering department, and provided systems engineering and project management expertise to the NASA Teleoperator Retrieval System and Orbital Tile Installation and Repair System for the Space Shuttle, the GPS ground segment, and several classified programs.
• At Boeing (McDonnell Douglas Astronautics), he was the Program Manager for the first three Shuttle Missions, Chief of Spacelab Experiment Integration and Advanced Systems and Technology including the US Army Rapier Missile, US Navy Remote Piloted Vehicle, US Navy High Energy Laser, and NASA Skylab Crew Systems Integration.
• Mr. Peak holds a MS in Human Factors and Systems from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, graduate studies in Systems Engineering, Program Management, Human Factors, and Executive Management, and a BA in Mathematics from the University of California at Irvine.
• He has held membership in AIAA, IEEE, and is the EADS North America Point of Contact for INCOSE. He has authored several papers on Systems Engineering and advanced aviation technologies, including 'Effects of a Velocity-Vector-Based Command Augmentation System and Synthetic Vision System Terrain Portrayal and Guidance Symbology Concepts on Single-Pilot Performance', The International Journal of Aviation Psychology, 20: 2, 160-182.

Bill Peterson is a Lean best practices teacher and consultant who draws on over 30 years of hands-on experience using Lean, Six Sigma and other continuous improvement tools to enhance process efficiency, job satisfaction and organizational performance.  Combining the ideas of the great process improvement thinkers with his own experiences and insights, Bill began developing his approach to Lean methodology during a 26-year career with Delta’s Technical Operations Division.

While focused primarily on operational processes, he saw firsthand that the productivity and job satisfaction of frontline workers was often constrained by the impact of processes in other areas such as HR, purchasing, engineering, and sales/marketing.  This awareness put him at the forefront of one of today’s most important trends: applying Lean to business processes.

Since 2006, Bill has been dedicated to teaching professionals in diverse industries how to apply Lean best practices to improve business processes.  He does this via his consulting firm, LeanBP, and as a faculty member in the University of Tennessee’s Center for Executive Education (CEE).  In addition to creating and teaching Lean Applied to Business Processes, an intensive one-week course available through CEE, he is also a lecturer in CEE’s Aerospace & Defense Executive MBA program.  His consulting clients have included Harrah’s Casinos, Stone Energy and Aerotron, and he has done extensive work with AFSO 21 (Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century) initiatives. In the classroom or on site, Bill emphasizes practical application over academic theory, personal engagement, and the alignment of processes with the organization’s mission and the creation of customer-defined value.

Bill holds an MBA in Lean Aerospace from the University of Tennessee, a BS in Professional Aeronautics from Embry-Riddle, Six Sigma Black Belt certification, and FAA Airframe and Power Plant Licenses.

LTG William N. (Bill) Phillips became the Principal Military Deputy to the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Acquisition Logistics and Technology) and Director, Acquisition Career Management on 1 February 2010.  In his previous assignment, he was the Commanding General, Joint Contracting Command-Iraq/Afghanistan in Baghdad, Iraq from February 2009 to January 2010.  Prior to that assignment, LTG Phillips served as Commanding General, Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey; Program Executive Officer Ammunition; and Commander, Joint Munitions and Lethality Life Cycle Management Command from May 2007 to January 2009.  He also served as Deputy Program Executive Officer, Aviation, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. 

Commissioned a Second Lieutenant of Field Artillery on 28 May 1976, LTG Phillips entered Active Duty at Fort Sill, Oklahoma serving with 3rd Battalion, 18th Field Artillery.  In 1979, he completed Rotary Wing Aviation Training at Fort Rucker, Alabama and was assigned to 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.  He was later assigned to United States Army Aviation Center, Fort Rucker joining the Aviation Branch.  In 1986, LTG Phillips completed a Training With Industry tour with McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Company in Mesa, Arizona and was assigned to Army Aviation Systems Command as the Contracting Officer for AH-64 Apache,  AH-1, UH-1 aircraft, and Assistant Program Manager for Longbow Apache.  He deployed as Chief of Contracting, Joint Task Force Bravo, Honduras.  In 1991 he was assigned as Aviation Brigade S1, 2nd Infantry Division, Korea.  In 1992, LTG Phillips was assigned as Chief of Flight Operations, Defense Plant Representative Office (DPRO), Boeing Helicopters, Philadelphia.  From July 1994 to June 1996, he commanded DPRO McDonnell Douglas, Huntington Beach.  In June 1997, LTG Phillips was assigned as Director for Information Management for the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Research, Development and Acquisition) and managed the Army’s Procurement Information Systems.  He commanded Defense Contract Management San Francisco from September 1999 to June 2001.  From July 2001 to August 2004 he served as Director, Unit Set Fielding and Acting Director of Integration for the Army G-8.

LTG Phillips holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from Middle Tennessee State University, Master of Science Degree in Procurement and Materials Management from Webster University, and Masters of Personnel Management, Troy State University.  He is a graduate of Command and General Staff College, Defense Systems Management College, and Industrial College of the Armed Forces.

His awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit (3 OLC), Bronze Star Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal (1 OLC), Army Meritorious Service Medal (2 OLC), Army Commendation Medal (2 OLC), Joint Service Achievement Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, and Army Staff Identification Badge.  In 2001, he was named the Army’s Acquisition Commander of the Year. 

LTG Phillips is a native of Bell Buckle, Tennessee and is married to the former Marilyn Hopkins of Shelbyville, Tennessee.

Lt. Gen. Mark D. "Shack" Shackelford is the Military Deputy, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C. He is responsible for research and development, test, production, and modernization of Air Force programs worth $40 billion annually.

General Shackelford entered the Air Force in 1977 as a distinguished graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy. He has more than 2,700 flight hours in 40 aircraft types with operational experience in the F-4 and F-16. The general was an experimental test pilot in the F-16 and the first Air Force pilot to fly the YF-22 Advanced Tactical Fighter prototype. He managed the F-22 Cockpit Development Program and directed the T-38, F-5, F-16 and F-22 programs. The general commanded a test squadron at Ogden Air Logistics Center, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, and the test wing at the Air Armament Center, Eglin AFB, Fla. He also served as Deputy, Test and Assessment, for the Missile Defense Agency, and then Director of Plans and Requirements, Headquarters Air Force Space Command, Peterson AFB, Colo. Prior to his current assignment, he was the Director, Global Power Programs, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C

General Shackelford holds Department of Defense Acquisition Corps Level III certifications in Test and Evaluation; Program Management; and Systems Planning, Research, Development and Engineering. He holds master level certification in the Space Professional Development Program. The general is a distinguished graduate of undergraduate pilot training, F-16 Fighter Weapons School and the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School.

Mark Signorelli assumed his current position as vice president/general manager, Ground Combat Vehicle in February 2010. In his current role he oversees the GCV program capture, design and development activities for the integrated BAE Systems team. In his previous role as vice president/general manager New Vehicles and Amphibious Systems, he led the development and production of future combat systems, amphibious vehicles, mine-protected vehicles, and the JLTV program. Prior to that, he was the vice president for Army Programs, Armament Systems Division.

Before that Signorelli was the Armament Systems director, Manned Ground Vehicles responsible for the design, development, integration, test, and production planning for the NLOS-C as the lead platform for the FCS Manned Ground Vehicles and the NLOS-Mortar. His previous positions include program manager for the Future Combat System, Non-Line-of-Sight Cannon deputy, Army Programs, deputy program manager Crusader, Crusader logistics manager, and Crusader support products development team lead.

Signorelli joined the former United Defense in 1997 after serving 21 years as a field artillery officer in the U.S. Army. His career culminated with an assignment as assistant deputy director for operations in the National Military Command Center. Before that he served in a wide variety of command and staff positions in III Corps, the 1st Cavalry Division, Eighth U.S. Army, U.S. Field Artillery School, and 72nd Field Artillery Brigade. During Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, Mark served as the 1st Cavalry Division artillery operations officer in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq.

He was born in Hempstead, N.Y., and lived his childhood as an Air Force brat. He received a Bachelor of Science from the University of Florida in 1976 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the field artillery through the ROTC program.

Signorelli is married to the former Pamela Warm, a nationally board certified art teacher. Their son John focuses on playing lacrosse and snowboarding with occasional interest in school. Their daughter Maria skis, snowboards and sings. Together they enjoy fishing, hunting, golf, running, and bicycling.

Vice Admiral W. Mark Skinner is currently serving as the Principal Military Deputy to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Development, and Acquisition).  He assumed his duties August 9th, 2010.

Vice Admiral Skinner was born in Houston, Texas and graduated from the United States Naval Academy in June 1977.

As a flag officer, he was the Program Executive Officer for Tactical Aircraft Programs and commanded Naval Air Warfare Center, Weapons Division and served as Assistant Commander, Test and Evaluation, Naval Air Systems Command.

VADM Skinner held both operational and shore commands to include Commanding Officer Patrol Squadron FORTY SEVEN, Chief Test Pilot and Commanding Officer of Naval Force Aircraft Test Squadron, and Program Manager for a Chief of Naval Operations Special Project.

VADM Skinner is a graduate of the Navy Test Pilot School and served in Force Warfare Aircraft Test Directorate, where he was recognized as Directorate Test Pilot of the Year in 1986.  Additionally, he received a degree in Financial Management from the Naval Post Graduate School, where he graduated as a Conrad Scholar and was awarded the Department of Navy award for excellence in financial management and the Rear Admiral Thomas R McClellan award for excellence in administrative sciences.

His awards include Legion of Merit (3 awards), Meritorious Service Medal (4 awards), Navy Commendation Medal (2 awards), Navy Achievement Medal, and other unit deployment citations and ribbons.

Dinesh Verma received the Ph.D. and the M.S. in Industrial and Systems Engineering from Virginia Tech.  He is currently serving as the Founding Dean of the School of Systems and Enterprises and Professor in Systems Engineering at Stevens Institute of Technology, concurrently he serves as the Executive Director of the Systems Engineering Research Center (SERC), a US Department of Defense sponsored University Affiliated Research Center (UARC) focused on systems engineering research.  During his seven years at Stevens he has successfully proposed research and academic programs exceeding $75m in value.  Verma concurrently serves as Scientific Advisor to the Director of the Embedded Systems Institute in Eindhoven, Holland.  Prior to this role, he served as Technical Director at Lockheed Martin Undersea Systems, in Manassas, Virginia, in the area of adapted systems and supportability engineering processes, methods and tools for complex system development and integration. 

Before joining Lockheed Martin, Verma worked as a Research Scientist at Virginia Tech and managed the University’s Systems Engineering Design Laboratory.  While at Virginia Tech and afterwards, Verma continues to serve numerous companies in a consulting capacity, to include Eastman Kodak, Lockheed Martin Corporation, L3 Communications, United Defense, Raytheon, IBM Corporation, Sun Microsystems, SAIC, VOLVO Car Corporation (Sweden), NOKIA (Finland), RAMSE (Finland), TU Delft (Holland), Johnson Controls, Ericsson-SAAB Avionics (Sweden), Varian Medical Systems (Finland), and Motorola.  He served as an Invited Lecturer from 1995 through 2000 at the University of Exeter, United Kingdom.  His professional and research activities emphasize systems engineering and design with a focus on conceptual design evaluation, preliminary design and system architecture, design decision-making, life cycle costing, and supportability engineering.  In addition to his publications, Verma has received three patents in the areas of life-cycle costing and fuzzy logic techniques for evaluating design concepts.

Dr. Verma has authored over 100 technical papers, book reviews, technical monographs, and co-authored two textbooks: Maintainability: A Key to Effective Serviceability and Maintenance Management (Wiley, 1995), and Economic Decision Analysis (Prentice Hall, 1998).  He is a co-Editor of a textbook on Space Systems Engineering (McGraw Hill, 2009).  He is a Fellow of the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE), a senior member of SOLE, and was elected to Sigma Xi, the honorary research society of America.  He serves as on the Core Curriculum Committee of the Delft University’s Space Systems Engineering Program (Holland).  He was honored with an Honorary Doctorate Degree (Honoris Causa) in Technology and Design from Växjö University (Sweden) in January 2007.

Mr. Stephen P. Welby is the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Systems Engineering. Mr. Welby is responsible for establishing and executing systems engineering policy and oversight across the Department of Defense. This includes early systems engineering and pre-acquisition development planning; system engineering support to design, development and manufacturing; and independent engineering review, technical risk assessment and engineering analysis across the Department’s portfolio of major system acquisition programs. Mr. Welby serves as the principal systems engineering advisor to the Secretary of Defense and the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics. Mr. Welby is the Department's functional leader for the systems planning, research, development, and engineering (SPRDE) and production, quality, and manufacturing (PQM) workforce; together these career fields encompass more than 40,000 DoD acquisition professionals. Mr Welby also serves as the Defense Standardization Executive.

Mr. Welby has more than 22 years of government and industrial experience in cross-disciplinary technological product development, including senior leadership positions at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). His areas of focus included technology and program management for development of advanced aeronautical and space systems, high energy lasers, ground and maritime systems, robotics, advanced weapons, high-performance software, real-time signal and image processing, and military sensor systems.

Mr. Welby holds a bachelor of science in chemical engineering from The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, a master's degree in business administration from the Texas A&M University, and master's degrees in computer science and applied mathematics from The Johns Hopkins University.

Jeffrey J. Wilcox is Lockheed Martin’s Corporate Vice President for Engineering.  In this position, Mr. Wilcox is responsible for developing and executing strategy for the Lockheed Martin Engineering Enterprise and its 66,000 engineers and scientists.  He collaborates with Business Area leadership to ensure the right people, processes, tools, and technology are in place to successfully deliver solutions to customer’s most complex challenges. 

Prior to this position, Mr. Wilcox was the Corporation’s Vice President for Systems and Software Engineering.  He was responsible for directing the development and implementation of enterprise-wide systems and software engineering processes, tools, technology, and training with special emphasis on complex, software-intensive systems development.

Before joining Lockheed Martin, Mr. Wilcox enjoyed a successful career at Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), where in his last position as a Senior Vice President, he led business planning and analysis for the multi-hundred million dollar Technology and Advanced Systems business unit.  During his tenure at SAIC, he progressed through the executive ranks and held positions of increasing responsibilities in areas such as advanced weapon systems engineering and the integration of complex sensor systems.

A native of LeRoy, N.Y., Mr. Wilcox has a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pa., and is a graduate of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, with a degree in Biomedical Engineering.  Mr. Wilcox holds a honorary doctorate of Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, New Jersey.