Timothy E. Conver has served as our President since 1991, as our Chief Executive Officer since 1993, and as a member of our board of directors since 1988. Prior to joining AeroVironment, Mr. Conver served as President of Whittaker Electronic Resources, a supplier of engineered products for military electronics and industrial instrumentation, for ten years. Mr. Conver is a graduate of the University of Montana and has an M.B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Steve Wright Chief Financial Officer
Stephen C. Wright has served as our Vice President of Finance, Chief Financial Officer and Secretary since September 2002. Prior to joining us, Mr. Wright served as the Senior Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer of L-3 PrimeWave Communications, a fixed wireless equipment provider, from January 2002 to August 2002 and as the Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer of Cellotape, a hi-tech component and label manufacturer, from May 2001 to November 2001. Prior to joining Cellotape, Mr. Wright also served as the Chief Financial Officer of both Adicom Wireless, a fixed wireless equipment provider, and Globalstar L.P., a wireless telecom service provider. Mr. Wright has a B.S. in business from California State University Northridge and an M.B.A. from San Diego State University.
Cathleen Cline Vice President of Administration
Cathleen S. Cline has served as our Vice President of Administration since 1992. Prior to joining us, Ms. Cline was the Human Resources Manager at both Whittaker Electronic Resources and the law firm of O'Melveny & Myers LLP. Ms. Cline has a B.S. in psychology and a B.S. in business management from the University of Oregon.
John Grabowsky Executive Vice President and General Manager, Unmanned Aircraft Systems
John F. Grabowsky joined us in April 2003, serving initially as our Director of Programs from April 2003 to March 2004, as our Vice President and General Manager, Unmanned Aircraft Systems from April 2004 to August 2006, and since September 2006 as our Executive Vice President and General Manager, Unmanned Aircraft Systems. Prior to joining us, Mr. Grabowsky served as the Vice President and General Manager of the OptoElectronics business unit of Teledyne Technologies Incorporated, a leading provider of sophisticated electronics and communications products, systems engineering solutions, and aerospace products and components, from March 2000 to April 2003. From 1997 to 2000, he served as the Vice President of Teledyne’s Broadband Communications division. Mr. Grabowsky has a B.S. in electrical engineering from Lehigh University.
Mike Bissonette Vice President and General Manager, Energy Technology Center
Mike Bissonette joined AV in 2007 as Assistant General Manager of the Energy Technology Center. Prior to joining AV, Mike spent 11 years at Western Digital Corporation where he held executive level positions directing groups within Engineering, New Product Development, Product Assurance, Procurement, and Program and Product Management. He began his career as a radar systems engineer at McDonnell Douglas, and spent 17 years in the Aerospace industry, including key positions in Business Development, Strategic Planning and Program Management at Lockheed Martin (formerly Ford Aerospace). Mike earned his Bachelor's of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Clarkson University, a Masters degree in Electrical Engineering from California State University, Long Beach and a Masters degree in Business Administration from the University of California, Irvine.
IIker "Ike" Bayraktar Vice President of International Initiatives
Ilker "Ike" Bayraktar has served as our Vice President of International Business Development since 2002, and joined AV in 1992. He previously held a variety of positions in engineering and management with Southern California Edison, RD&G (Research Decision Support Group), IWT (International Weapons Technology), the Whittaker Corporation, the U.S. Navy, and the Turkish Navy. He graduated from the Turkish Naval Academy in 1976 with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, and from the U.S. Naval Post Graduate School with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and then an M.S. in Electrical Engineering in 1982.
