Mr. Sash Tusa has over 30 years' experience as an equity analyst, specializing in Aerospace & Defense. For over a decade he led European A&D research at Goldman Sachs, where he was consistently ranked by independent external surveys amongst the Top 3 analysts for the European A&D sector. Prior to that, he was at UBS, Robert Fleming, and a fund manager at Schroders. His career started as a graduate trainee in the military aircraft industry, and a reservist officer in the British Army, specializing in Air Assault operations and logistics. Mr. Tusa has also acted as an advisor to A&D companies, government departments and agencies globally on corporate transactions, spending reviews, and market analysis. These have included the mergers of British Aerospace and GEC Marconi, DASA, CASA and Aerospatiale, Saab/Celsius and Rolls-Royce/Vickers as well as privatizations. Public offerings have included Tadiran and Tadiran Telecom, EADS, Finmeccanica, and MTU Aero Engines.
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.
In January 2023, Mr. Tracy Glende took over as Chief Executive Officer of a Private Equity roll up company, APEX Space & Defense Systems, led by Charger Investment Partners in El Segundo, California. With headquarters in Santa Ana, CA, APEX has five locations across the United States with a specific focus on space launch vehicle applications, autonomous military vehicle applications as well as satellite and critical communications infrastructure applications. Previously, he served as Chief Executive Officer of Valence Surface Technologies, the largest independent Aerospace & Defense Special Processing business in North America. Prior to his role at Valence Surface Technologies, he held positions as the Chief Executive Officer of Veritas Steel, President of the Aerospace, Defense and Energy Business at Bodycote Plc, President and Chief Operating Officer at Applied Surface Technologies and Vice President Customer Service at Honeywell Aerospace. Over his career, he has held positions in marketing, sales, program management, manufacturing, engineering, operations and Six Sigma.
Mr. Rob Freeland serves as the Director of Government Relations and as the Bell Advance Vertical Lift Center Site Lead in the National Capitol region. Mr. Freeland and his team practice advocacy through education to inform, educate, excite, influence, and ultimately motivate-to-action our military, political, civil and international leaders. They convey Bell's innovations on weapon system affordability and sustainability, advanced manufacturing, advanced designs, a Modular Open Systems Approach to architectures and the Digital Engineering Ecosystem in support of Future Vertical Lift programs. Mr. Freeland interacts with influential thought leaders, decision-makers, resource and requirements sponsors and influencers to properly understand warfighter, government, and industry needs and technology and geopolitical trends. Mr. Freeland is a retired Colonel of Marines with a distinguished 25-year military career, and over 4,000 operational flight hours.
Mr. Eric Chase leads the defense, intelligence, security and government services practice at the firm, supporting transaction due diligence and strategy engagements for private equity sponsors, corporate clients and institutional lenders active in the defense and aerospace sectors. Prior to joining CSP Associates, he was with Toffler Associates where he helped form the emerging national security technology practice. Mr. Chase's passion for aerospace & defense began nearly 20 years ago in the Marine Corps where he served in numerous roles including the Marine Corps Intelligence Activity, the Defense Attaché Service, and the newly formed Marine Innovation Unit where he continues to serve today as the Head of Defense Engagement as a reservist in conjunction with his private sector work.
Mr. Byron Callan joined Capital Alpha Partners in 2010 to cover defense and broader industrials and serves as a Managing Partner. Most recently, he spent three years on the buy-side, including as a Portfolio Manager at Lion's Path Capital and as an analyst and cofounder of Perella Weinberg Partners' Aerospace Defense & Security investment fund. Previously, he served as Senior Vice President at Prudential Equity Group, responsible for equity research in the A&D sector. Prior to Prudential, he was First Vice President at Merrill Lynch where he also covered A&D stocks and was Global Coordinator for the sector. His research has been recognized by Institutional Investor magazine, where he was ranked for a total of 15 years. Mr. Callan is a member of the Atlantic Council and is a non-resident expert at Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
Mr. Jacob Markish formulates, coordinates and helps to implement the North America growth roadmap of Thales Group, a leading global integrator of complex systems in aviation, space, defense and security. His responsibilities include identifying, assessing and implementing the pursuit of a range of growth initiatives, from organic to inorganic, in support of the evolution of the Thales footprint in the US and Canada geographies, across all the Thales market verticals and key transverse topics such as digital innovation and AI. Prior to joining Thales in 2017, he spent 14 years as a management consultant in the aerospace and defense sector with Renaissance Strategic Advisors as a Principal for the firm. Mr. Markish also served as a consultant with Charles River Associates. As a consultant, he led engagements in strategy, market assessments and merger and acquisition support for strategic and financial clients across a broad range of market segments and technologies, including commercial aviation, defense and space. His areas of focus included corporate planning under uncertainty; technology situational awareness; new venture investing by established players and new entrants; and the implications of commercial technology innovation dynamics on defense and national security markets.
Mr. Todd Harrison focuses on defense strategy and budgeting, the defense industrial base, and space policy and security. Previously, he served as senior vice president and head of research at Metrea, a senior fellow and director of Defense Budget Analysis and the Aerospace Security Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), and the senior fellow for defense budget studies at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. Mr. Harrison has also served as a captain in the US Air Force Reserves and held affiliations with Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs.
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.
Ms. Abby Lilly is responsible for leading and integrating across the Enterprise to establish the vision and strategy for our Supply Chain function. She is also responsible for optimizing Lockheed Martin's Supply Chain performance, reducing risk and complexity, and increasing resilience to strengthen program execution. Ms. Lilly brings approximately 30 years of aerospace industry experience to Lockheed Martin. Previously, she served as the Vice President Global Supply Chain for Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems, where she was responsible for all aspects of supply chain strategy, supply chain operations, and subcontract program management for the Rotary and Mission Systems Business Area. Prior to her tenure at Lockheed Martin, she was Vice President of Global Supply Chain for Eaton Aerospace where she had overall supply chain responsibility for 25 plants around the world. Prior Eaton Aerospace, she served as the Vice President of Supply Chain for GKN Aerospace North America with responsibility for 14 plants in North America. Earlier in her career, she held several leadership positions in Supply Chain, Operations and Programs with Rolls-Royce North America, gaining extensive experience in the fields.
Mr. Vago Muradian has been an international security reporter, editor, commentator and broadcaster for nearly 25 years. For 14 years, he was the editor of Defense News, expanding its network of correspondents to 21 countries. Also, he was the founding host of Defense News with Vago Muradian. Before joining Defense News, he was the founder and managing editor of Defense Daily International and the business and international reporter for Defense Daily, the leading U.S. daily newsletter covering the defense and aerospace industry. Mr. Muradian joined Defense Daily from Air Force Times, the independent U.S. publication covering the U.S. Air Force where he covered global operations. His career started at Inside the Army.
Ms. Kathleen Boyle provides strategic leadership to achieve enterprise growth through the development and delivery of supply chain risk and supplier performance management solutions which help customers assure compliance, eliminate supply chain risk and receive quality product on time. Starting with an internship in 1991, she has over 30 years of organizational and management experience with the Verify group of companies. Ms. Boyle is a member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors for Aerospace Industries Association, Founding President and current Board Member of Women In Defense – Greater Los Angeles Chapter and serves as the FBI's Defense Industry Sector Chief for the Bureau's West Coast InfraGard association.
Mr. Pierre Chao brings three decades of A&D investment, equity analysis, investment banking, strategy management consulting and M&A due diligence expertise. Founded in 2019, Proteus Capital Solutions is focused on making control investments in middle-market aerospace, defense and government services companies with the strategic goal of building the next generation of mid-tier competitors in the sector. Prior to Proteus Capital Solutions, he co-founded Renaissance Strategic Advisors — a premier Washington, DC, and London-based A&D strategy and M&A due diligence firm. From 1995-2003, he was an Institutional Investor ranked A&D equity analyst with Smith Barney, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and Credit Suisse First Boston. Mr. Chao led the #1 ranked U.S. and global A&D team every year eligible. His career began as an M&A banker in the New York and London offices of Prudential-Bache Capital Funding.
Mr. Jay Wynn has led or supported more than a hundred strategy engagements and M&A transactions in the aerospace, defense, and government services sectors. His career began as an advisor in the A&D sector over 20 years ago, working as a consultant with ANSER Corporation, serving clients at the Pentagon. Prior to founding Fairmont Consulting Group, he served as a managing director with CSP Associates where he led or played a key supporting role in transaction and strategic advisory engagements. Previous to CSP, he was with Bain & Company in their Private Equity Group, providing due diligence advisory services to clients across a range of industries.
Mr. Jeremiah Gertler provides market intelligence, analysis, and insight to private clients worldwide. Prior to joining Teal Group, he was the military aviation analyst for the Congressional Research Service for 12 years, where he testified before Congressional committees, briefed members and staff on policy, budget, technical, and other matters, and wrote and maintained reports on major military aviation programs. In previous Capitol Hill billets, he oversaw the entire defense procurement and missile defense budgets on the professional staff of the House Committee on Armed Services for FY2000 through 2005, responsible for $78 billion a year. Earlier, he served as military legislative assistant to a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. As senior fellow at the Center for Strategic & International Studies, he was principal author or co-author of major reports on Department of Defense reform and missile defense, and initiated studies on reserve component roles and missions, systems acquisition, military logistics, and Special Forces aviation.
Dr. Kevin Michaels has 37 years of professional experience, including more than 600 consulting engagements for leading aviation and aerospace companies across the globe. In 2001, he co-founded AeroStrategy and successfully grew the consultancy until its acquisition by ICF International in 2011. Earlier, he was Director, Strategic Development at Rockwell Collins Government Systems and a Principal with The Canaan Group — a consultancy that co-founded the MRO Conference series with Aviation Week Network. Dr. Michaels is a globally recognized expert in the aerospace manufacturing and MRO sectors and has significant functional expertise in corporate and business strategy, M&A advisory, technology and market assessment, and cluster development. His experience spans commercial and military markets. Dr. Michaels authored AeroDynamic: Inside the High-Stakes Global Jetliner Ecosystem, winner of the 2019 Choice Outstanding Academic Title Award. In 2021, he was the recipient of the Annual Gilbert W. Speed Award for leadership across the global aerospace supply chain. Currently, he is co-authoring Time Machines: A Modern History of Business Aviation with his colleague Richard Aboulafia.
Dr. Ronald J. Epstein actively covers Aerospace, Defense and Multi-Industrials with large aerospace components listed in the United States, Canada and Brazil. In the Institutional Investor All-America Research poll, he was ranked as a top-three analyst in Aerospace & Defense Electronics for the last 15 years and led the #1 team for the last eight years. Dr. Epstein is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, a Technology Advisor to United Airlines Ventures, on the Board of Regents of the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, an Affiliate Professor at the University of North Carolina and is a mentor for the Techstars Space Accelerator. Previously, he worked as a research scientist in applied aerodynamics technology at Boeing Phantom Works. He was also an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, teaching fluid dynamics and control systems.
Joanna Speed specializes in uniting prominent and influential aerospace industry leaders to illuminate pressing issues, proactively confront industry challenges, and deliver answers to stakeholders. She recently served as Chief Growth Officer of an alliance of distribution companies, providing supply chain solutions to the A&D industry, and previously was the Managing Director, Aerospace and Defense Events for the Aviation Week Network — which included the SpeedNews Legacy — where she led the launch and execution of multiple events, marketing strategies and audience engagement platforms. During her prior tenure, she emerged as a thought leader for pioneering forecasting and intelligence forums in the A&D arena. In 2022, she played a pivotal role in the successful launch of AeroOne — a groundbreaking initiative for the Aerospace Industry Association of Michigan, to unite aerospace OEMs and suppliers. Also, she advised the Association for Corporate Growth - Los Angeles, particularly through the successful launch of the annual Aerospace & Defense Middle Market Leadership Forum, a program strategically designed for leaders and key dealmakers within the sector. Joanna is a recipient of the Service to the Flag Award for Industry by Women In Defense and served as President for the Women In Defense Greater Los Angeles Chapter — a subsidiary organization under the National Defense Industrial Association. She is a member of the Board of Directors of LeFiell Manufacturing. Recently, she was recognized by Business Insider as one of the top 15 most influential women in aerospace.
Mr. Richard Aboulafia joined AeroDynamic Advisory in January 2022. Since 1988, he has tracked aircraft programs, markets, and companies as an analyst and consultant and now manages consulting projects in the commercial and military aviation field and analyzes broader defense and aerospace market and industry trends. Mr. Aboulafia has advised numerous aerospace companies, including most prime and many second- and third-tier contractors in the US, Europe and Asia. Additionally, he advises numerous financial institutions on aerospace market conditions.
