Leadership Team

Wahid Nawabi has served as our Chief Executive Officer and a member of our board of directors since 2016. He was appointed as Chairman of the Board of Directors in September 2021. Wahid joined AeroVironment in 2011 as senior vice president and general manager of the EES business segment, where he reshaped the segment’s business strategy, launched several award-winning, innovative new products, and significantly improved its position in the market. Prior to his current role, Wahid served as President and Chief Operating Officer of the company, where he managed all aspects of AeroVironment’s two business segments. Wahid also managed multiple business process improvement projects, which led to significant improvements in customer satisfaction and operational efficiency. He led the integration of the company’s engineering, operations, supply chain and quality functional organizations into a single corporate shared services model across both business segments and all product lines.Wahid spent 16 years of his career at American Power Conversion Corporation (APC) in multiple leadership roles helping the company achieve its business strategy. As a former Vice President of the enterprise business segment at APC, Wahid played a key role in launching the company’s ambitious and successful strategy of entering the data center critical power and cooling infrastructure business. During his tenure, APC became the global leader in designing and manufacturing fully integrated data center power and cooling infrastructure solutions. Wahid played a key role in growing the company from $50 million to more than $2.4 billion in annual revenue, and its eventual sale to Schneider Electric for $6.1 Billion.This was the largest acquisition in the history of Schneider Electric.

He says AeroVironment is a great place to work because:
“There is no place like AeroVironment where a group of honorable, smart, and hardworking people can make such a big and positive impact on our lives and society. I am excited and honored to lead such a team in order to help all of our 3 stakeholders Proceed with Certainty.”

Wahid earned his bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from The University of Maryland at College Park. He has also successfully completed multiple executive management and leadership training programs.

Prior to joining AeroVironment in 2020, Kevin McDonnell served as chief financial officer of JAMS, Inc., which provides alternative dispute resolution services. During his tenure at JAMS, Kevin helped the company nearly double its revenue and more than double its EBITDA. Kevin brings more than 30 years of experience in financial, IT and HR leadership roles, including serving as chief financial officer for companies in the technology, automotive and health industries. Most notably, Kevin held various senior financial roles at Teradata Corporation during its high-growth phase, where the company grew from $3 million to $300 million in revenue and expanded globally into Europe and Asia. Kevin also served as CFO of Digital Insight, where he was instrumental in significantly growing its annual revenue, taking the company public and leading three acquisitions.

He says AeroVironment is a great place to work because:
"I am proud to be part of the AeroVironment team. We have a team dedicated to providing mission critical product and services to our customers. Our team is innovative and has a culture which promotes collaboration and innovation."

Kevin earned his J.D. at Loyola Law School and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration from Loyola Marymount University.

Melissa Brown joined AeroVironment in 2015 as the company’s Corporate Counsel. In 2016 she was appointed the company’s Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. Prior to joining AeroVironment, Brown served as an associate attorney at K&L Gates LLP in Los Angeles, California and Jennings Strouss and Salmon PLC in Phoenix, Arizona, advising clients on a range of securities transactions, mergers & acquisitions and corporate governance issues.

She says AeroVironment is a great place to work because:
"I love being a part of the AV family, where people truly care about the company and each other. I enjoy the constant challenge of the variety of work I do and learning something new every day - no day for me at AV is like any other. It’s exciting to come to work each day and be a part of the innovative and creative work that we do and see how our products help our customers."

Melissa earned a juris doctor from the Arizona State University College of Law and a Bachelor of Science in microbiology and molecular genetics from the University of California Los Angeles.

Colin Walker has served as the Vice President of Fulfillment since December 2018 and is accountable for the introduction of new manufacturable products, strategic forecast planning, procurement and inventory management, and operational planning of customer deliverable hardware to contract requirements. Colin previously served in various leadership positions at AeroVironment including Sr. Director of Operational Services and as Director of Corporate Quality.

Prior to coming to AeroVironment, Colin served in a variety of industries including enterprise analytics software development, nuclear electronics, medical equipment, aerospace, and automotive manufacturing, and he rounded out his career with new business startups and Fortune 500 companies.

Starting his career in engineering, Colin broadened the scope of his responsibilities with management roles in business development, operations, quality, supply chain and continuous improvement. He is certified in both Six Sigma and Lean Manufacturing and his guidelines and methodologies for supply chain improvements are known professionally. He is a noted speaker on best-in-class Lean Six Sigma Sourcing and has presented at both domestic and international venues. His methodologies have been published on Purchasing Automation.com, and he has presented his topics at the Boston Top 100 Companies Learning Summit, Supplier Performance Summit, and the American Production and Inventory Control Society.

He says AeroVironment is a great place to work because:
“AeroVironment is the place where challenging boundaries and pushing beyond the norm is a way of life and part of the cultural DNA. Where creativity is applauded, results are rewarded and we strive to make a positive difference in the lives of the customers we serve.”

Colin holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Liverpool and earned a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University Of London.

Charlie Dean joined AeroVironment in 2021 as the company’s Vice President of Global Business Development, Sales and Marketing. Prior to joining AeroVironment, Charlie served as a vice president at both FLIR Systems and Endeavor Robotics, leading the global sales of unmanned systems. Charlie also held multiple positions over many years at QinetiQ North America related to ground robotics, leading the business development and sales team, product management team, co-led the engineering team, and served as a senior program manager. He also led business development activities at Draper Laboratory and TIAX where he served as an executive vice president. Charlie is DAWIA Level III certified in program management and completed a successful career in the U.S. Army as an Infantry officer and acquisition professional.

He says AeroVironment is a great place to work because:
“AeroVironment has a legacy of highly talented team members creating some of the most advanced aircraft in the world to solve challenging problems. That tradition continues in high gear today.”

Charlie earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Military Academy in Aeronautical Engineering, a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and graduated from Phillips Academy (Andover). He taught Mechanical Engineering courses at the United States Military Academy where he also coached Army Men’s Crew and conducted ground-breaking high temperature research for Picatinny Arsenal on 155mm cannon-projectile interfaces. In addition while in the Army and in industry, Charlie has earned multiple patents.

Mike Cross has served as our Vice President and Product Line General Manager, High Altitude Platform Systems (HAPS) Business Unit since 2019, and is responsible for providing industry-leading HAPS products and capabilities for both our commercial and military customers.

Prior to joining AeroVironment, Mike was General Manager of Astro Aerospace, a Northrop Grumman Corporation strategic business unit. In this role, Mike had leadership responsibility for operations, including a wide range of innovative space deployable hardware and unfurlable RF antennas for various military and commercial customers.  Prior to Astro Aerospace, Mike was Sr. Director of Northrop Grumman’s Navigator business where he led a significant portfolio of military and commercial navigator product lines including the modernization of military Navigators using M-Code GPS.  While at Northrop Grumman he held various positions within engineering including functional Director and Product Line Director.

Mike started his career at McDonnell Douglas/Boeing and held various engineering and program management positions in both the commercial and military programs.
Mike earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from Wichita State University and a Master Degree in Systems Engineering and Architecting from University of Southern California.  He is a graduate of Boeing’s Executive Business Management University and Northrop Grumman’s Executive Leadership Program.

Gorik Hossepian has served as our Vice President and Product Line General Manager, MUAS since 2021 and is responsible for developing and executing product and technology roadmaps, and managing the life cycle of AeroVironment’s MUAS portfolio.

Gorik has over 38 years of experience in military and commercial aerospace as a business unit leader, program manager and engineer. Prior to joining AeroVironment in 2018, Gorik spent 3 years at Cobham Advanced Electronics Systems as the Vice President of Electronic Warfare Product Line, where he was responsible for ensuring programmatic performance and delivering on customer commitments. Prior to Cobham, Gorik was with Northrop Grumman Electronics for 9 years, at the Navigation and Positioning Systems Business Unit in Woodland Hills, California focused on leading and transforming a multi-national avionics business unit serving both military and commercial markets. 

Gorik has also held Program Management and Engineering positions at major aerospace and defense organizations including, Boeing Satellite Systems, and Honeywell International (formerly AlliedSignal). He directed the development of commercial communications satellites at Boeing, serving both domestic and international markets while focusing on environmental control and life support equipment at Honeywell, aimed at commercial, military and manned space applications.

He says AeroVironment is a great place to work because:
"AeroVironment is a compassionate and caring organization; focused on a clearly articulated future vision that excites and motivates everyone."

Gorik earned Bachelors and Masters of Science degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Southern California.

Brett has been with AeroVironment since 2010. Brett founded Tactical Missile Systems (TMS) as a business unit and was largely responsible for the building of the business from its early stages to today’s multi-service, multi-missile adoption. Prior to joining AeroVironment, Brett was a Vice President at Teledyne Technologies. With a combined 35 years in the defense industry, Brett has also held various leadership roles at GE Aircraft Controls, Martin Marietta, Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems.

He says AeroVironment is a great place to work because:
"We foster an exciting work environment with rapid innovation and tight team collaboration. We are leveraging the latest technology paired with sound engineering principles in order to deliver to our customers a decisive battlefield advantage”

Brett holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Clarkson University and a Masters of Science in Electrical Engineering from Syracuse University and is a graduate of General Electric’s Advanced Course in Engineering Program and GE’s Edison Engineering Development Program.

Regine Lawton joined AeroVironment in May 2020 as Vice President and Chief Information Officer. She is responsible for leading the Information Systems teams, securing and scaling the company, and overseeing the path to digital transformation. Prior to joining AeroVironment, Regine held multiple C-Level executive roles at various small and midsize companies. She also worked at larger companies including Spirent Communications, Electronics for Imaging, United Online, Apple Computer, and Technicolor where she held engineering and digital transformation/IT roles, launched multiple ventures as well as new hardware, software and mobile products. She is a global and results-oriented senior executive with a proven track record of rolling out business and technology solutions focused on improving performance, transformation and value creation.

She says AeroVironment is a great place to work because:
"AeroVironment is a very special place because of its people, its culture, which truly empowers its people, to make a difference in our world and our lives, through hard work, dedication, and family values. Being part of an innovative team, fun atmosphere and surrounded by welcoming people make it exciting to come to work and develop solutions to make our customers successful.”

Regine has 25 years of experience in the computer and software industry. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science, Masters in Computer Engineering and an Executive MBA degree from Pepperdine University.

Scott Newbern has served as the Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of AeroVironment since December of 2018. This includes the leadership of our Pathfinder Program, a technical leadership program which comprises our technical fellows and select exceptional engineering talent. Scott previously founded the MacCready Works Laboratory ­– a focal point for AeroVironment’s continuous innovation, focusing on relentless problem solving and doing what has never been done before. Scott served as the Vice President of small Unmanned Aircraft Systems beginning in 2012. He guided the strategic and tactical activities for the SUAS business area. Scott has served in various UAS leadership positions at AeroVironment since joining the company in 1997. Scott led advanced UAS development activities including establishing high volume SUAS manufacturing capability at AeroVironment. Scott is a member of the board of directors for the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), a member of Business Executives for National Security (BENS) and a member of the advisory board for the Aviation Unmanned Vehicle Museum (AUVM).

He says AeroVironment is a great place to work because:

"AeroVironment is a great place to work for me because of the people. Teamwork is tremendous and our people are driven by passion to achieve awe-inspiring results."

Scott earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from North Carolina State University and a Master of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from North Carolina State University with specialty in UAS aerodynamic modeling, control system design and flight research. Scott also completed Stanford Executive Institute program for high technology executives and Gap International’s Executive Mastery.

Jeff Rodrian has served as the Vice President of AV Ventures since 2021 with a focus on creating a center for market driven innovations by embracing a start-up best practices approach, along with engaging with the vibrant external start-up community to further AeroVironment’s strategic pursuits. Joining AeroVironment in 2010 as a Product Manager, Jeff was responsible for the development and market entry of our Wasp AE UAS. He also led the development of a wide range of novel large hybrid electric UAS for commercial and defense applications. As the General Manager of AeroVironment’s Commercial Information Solutions (CIS) business, he led the creation of a purely commercial focused business with a drone and big data process ecosystem product offering.

He says AeroVironment is a great place to work because:

“AeroVironment combines the innovation, creativity, and empowerment of start-ups with the stability and resources of a well-established company. This is powered with outstanding team members who push each other to create solutions for the most challenging missions”

Prior to joining AeroVironment, Jeff spent several years at start-ups focused on aerospace innovation for unmanned systems and commercial aircraft. Jeff earned an MBA from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business and a Bachelor and Master of Science in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Purdue University.

Cris Sapera has been in the Aerospace and Defense industry for over 23 years.  Prior to joining AeroVironment in 2022, Cris was at Raytheon Intelligence and Space, where he held roles of increasing responsibilities, which included Program Management and Engineering Director, where he integrated and led large multi-disciplined and geographically-disbursed teams.  Prior to Raytheon, Cris was at Boeing Satellite Systems, where he held roles in Systems Engineering and Technical Leadership.

Cris holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from California State, Northridge, a Masters in Astronautical Engineering from University of Southern California and an MBA from Pepperdine University.

Trace Stevenson has served as the Vice President and Product Line General Manager, SUAS since 2021. Prior to that he served as Deputy General Manager UAS and was responsible for the leadership of our Emerging Business overseeing our HAPS business and still serves as a Board Member of HAPSMobile, our Joint Venture with Soft Bank. He also was responsible for the integration efforts of any Merger or Acquisition and for the strategic and tactical execution of the UAS P&L. Trace has held various leadership roles within AeroVironment, including leading our International Business Unit where he was responsible for the support of over 40 International customers. He also led and was responsible for the execution of our top strategic initiatives such as the establishment of a Joint Venture in a foreign country.

He says AeroVironment is a great place to work because:
"Knowing that when you come to work every day you are doing something that makes a difference in the world by protecting our warfighters and allies who are preserving our freedom.”

Trace has 20 years of experience in the defense industry and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business and Economics from the University of Kansas.

Brian has served as the Vice President of Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) at AeroVironment since March 2021. Brian is accountable for the strategic direction, financial performance, and operations of AeroVironment’s UGV business.

Prior to his current role, Brian held positions of increasing responsibility since joining the company in 2012, including management of the Tactical Unmanned Aircraft Systems (TUAS) business from 2019 to 2020. Brian joined AeroVironment as a Senior Program Manager supporting the small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) business segment and through 2015 managed the Puma product line, expanding its capabilities while driving significant domestic and international growth. Starting in 2015, as the first small UAS Product Line Director, Brian managed product strategy and the investment portfolio for AeroVironment’s family of small UAS, including Puma, Raven, Wasp, and other unmanned aircraft.

He says AeroVironment is a great place to work because:
“AeroVironment is a great place to work because we are built upon the idea that truly innovative solutions are hard to discover and even harder to deliver, but nothing will stop us from trying, learning, and improving until we succeed.”

Prior to joining AeroVironment, Brian spent 9 years at Lockheed Martin managing SUAS and Sea-based Missile Defense programs while participating in the company’s Engineering Leadership Development Program. Brian earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Iowa State University and a Master of Science degree in Telecommunications and Network Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania.