Mr. Patrick Shortsleeve joined General Atomics Aeronautical Systems in 2019 to support the company's commitment to the rapidly growing Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems market. As Vice President, DoD Strategic Development, he leads a team of business professionals in the development of strategies that promote the company's full line of remotely piloted aircraft and associated technologies to the Department of Defense and other U.S. Government customers. Mr. Shortsleeve is responsible for a portfolio that includes Collaborative Combat Aircraft, MQ-9B SkyGuardian and SeaGuardian, MQ-9A Reaper, MQ-1C Gray Eagle, STOL UAS, Avenger UAS, Advanced Programs, Mission Sensors and Payloads, Autonomy, and ISR services. He joined GA-ASI Strategic Development after retiring from the U.S. Air Force in 2019 as a Colonel and senior intelligence professional with over 30 years' experience in military, national, and international intelligence sectors. He’s held posts in the Pacific, Europe, NATO, Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Pentagon.
Mr. Daniel da Silva began at Embraer in Brazil as a Flight Test engineer, later moving to Long Beach to work at Douglas Aircraft, which was later acquired by Boeing. Mr. da Silva moved to Seattle to serve as Vice President of Sales for Latin America for Boeing, among other posts. He also held Board of Director positions at APB and at the Chinese MRO TAECO and was the co-chair of the Aviation Working Group.
Dr. Ehtisham Siddiqui is Vice President and General Manager of the Controls & Avionics Solutions business area, a $1b+ trans-Atlantic operation providing controls and avionics for aircraft engines, air transport, military aircraft, helicopter, regional and business aircraft applications. The business is a key supplier to GE Aerospace, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Embraer, and Gulfstream and supports more than 600 airlines worldwide. Previously, he served as Vice President and General Manager of the Commercial Aircraft Solutions business area which provided avionics solutions for commercial aircraft applications. Prior to that, he served as Vice President, Strategic Development for the Platform Solutions sector. His career began as a development engineer at GE Aerospace in Erie, Pennsylvania where he held a variety of technical positions before being appointed engineering leader for GE's Electrical Systems business in 1984. Mr. Siddiqui transferred to GE Aircraft Engines in 1987 as manager of Hypersonic Propulsion Marketing and became manager of R&D and Technology Planning in 1988. In 1990, he was named Director of Business Development for GE's Aircraft Controls business in Johnson City, New York, which later became part of Lockheed Martin. In 1995, he was appointed Vice President and General Manager of Lockheed Martin Sanders' Avionics Division, a provider of advanced electronic subsystems for aircraft and space applications. In 2000, he became Vice President, Strategy & Business for the Platform Solutions Sector.
Mr. Peter Nicholas Lengyel is responsible for the execution of Safran's strategic vision among the Safran companies and joint ventures operating in the United States. Previously, he was the Vice President for Business Development for Safran USA, and in this role coordinated Group approaches across Safran's aerospace, defense, and security markets in the U.S. Prior to joining Safran, he was a career naval officer and last served as the naval attaché for defense security cooperation at the American Embassy in Paris, France. As the Director of Naval Affairs, he served as a liaison between government, defense, and private sector leaders to increase interoperability of U.S. and French defense and national security systems. In the course of his career, he participated in Cold War antisubmarine operations throughout the Atlantic Ocean, Arctic, North and Mediterranean Seas, as well as naval operations in Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, Somalia, and Haiti.
Prior to becoming President of Military Aircraft in 2023, Mr. Mark Graczyk served as Group Vice President and Chief Business Officer of Aircraft, starting in 2022. Prior to those roles, he was a Vice President within the Company since 2017. Mr. Graczyk started his career at Moog in 2010 as a Finance Manager in Aircraft. Over the years, he held various finance roles within Aircraft and was promoted to Vice President of Finance in 2017. As Vice President of Finance, he was responsible for Aircraft's finance, accounting, cost and pricing, government cost accounting and legal and contracts teams. In January 2021, he joined Industrial as Vice President and General Manager of the Industrial Controls Division. Mr. Graczyk began his career in public accounting at Ernst & Young in Buffalo and worked as a Government Cost Accounting Manager at Northrop Grumman before joining Moog.
Ms. Amy Gowder leads a $5 billion operation focused on developing and manufacturing advanced and next-generation engines and systems for military air combat, trainer, tanker, helicopter, and marine applications as well as civil applications. With more than 26,000 engines in operation for 300 U.S. and international military customers, she and her team also provide service and support to ensure the fleet remains mission ready. Ms. Gowder has over 20 years of leadership experience in the aerospace and technology industry. Prior to joining GE, she served as Chief Operating Officer for Aerojet Rocketdyne where she led the Engineering, Operations, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Quality & Mission Assurance, Safety, Health & Environment, and Information Technology organizations, and had oversight of 11 sites in nine states. During her tenure at Lockheed Martin, she held several key executive positions such as president and general manager of Commercial Engine Solutions. As vice president and general manager for Lockheed Martin's Training and Logistics Solutions in the Rotary and Mission Systems business, she was responsible for the execution and strategic growth of the mission readiness and sustainment programs with more than 5,000 employees around the globe. Prior to Lockheed Martin, she worked for Accenture and specialized in Supply Chain Management for the high technology industry.
