Wahid Nawabi

President and Chief Executive Officer

Wahid Nawabi has served as our Chief Executive Officer and a member of our board of directors since 2016. Wahid joined AeroVironment in 2011 as senior vice president and general manager of the EES business segment. Prior to joining AeroVironment, Wahid had a 20-year successful career as an executive in technology, and industrial/electrical equipment manufacturing industries. During his 16 years at American Power Conversion Corporation (APC was acquired by Schneider Electric), the company's revenue increased from $50 million to more than $2.4 billion and it became the world leader in power protection. Wahid started and led the Enterprise/Data Center business at APC, growing revenue to $600 million between 2000 and 2008. Wahid also led C&D Technologies' Americas business (acquired by KPS Capital Partners).

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 undergraduate degree from The University of Maryland at College Park in Electrical Engineering.

Teresa Covington

Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Teresa Covington has served as our Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer since 2017. Since joining AeroVironment in 2011, Teresa has provided financial leadership to AeroVironment and has served as a senior member of the company's finance team. Teresa served as the company's interim chief financial officer from February 5, 2015 to July 7, 2015. Teresa's responsibilities included financial analysis, planning, accounting, credit and collections as well as launching and leading a new product line management organization. Prior to joining AeroVironment, Teresa served as senior vice president and chief financial officer at Line 6, a global designer and manufacturer of musical instruments now part of Yamaha.

Teresa earned her master's in business administration from Stanford University Graduate School of Business, a master's in electrical engineering from the University of Southern California and a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Kirk Flittie

Vice President and General Manager, Unmanned Aircraft Systems

Kirk Flittie served in various UAS leadership positions at AeroVironment since joining the company in 1996. Kirk led the company’s High Altitude Long Endurance UAS efforts, including the development, test and demonstration of the Helios solar-powered unmanned aircraft and the $130 million customer-funded development, test and demonstration of the Global Observer hydrogen-powered unmanned aircraft. Kirk served as vice president of AeroVironment’s Large UAS business beginning in 2008. Prior to joining AeroVironment, Kirk managed aerospace programs for Northrop Grumman and American Rocket Company.

He says AeroVironment is a great place to work because:
“AeroVironment is a great place to work for me because of the opportunity to work alongside smart, talented, and hardworking people while working on innovative and transformative products that help our customers solve some of their toughest problems.”

Kirk earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Notre Dame, a Master of Science degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and completed the AeA/Stanford Executive Institute’s program for high technology executives.

Melissa Brown

Vice President & General Counsel

Melissa Brown joined AeroVironment in 2015 as the company’s Corporate Counsel. In 2017 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.

Sanjeev Choudhary

Vice President, Strategic Development

Sanjeev Choudhary joined AeroVironment in 2017 as Vice President, Strategic Development. In this role he leads our strategic deal activities including M&A, minority investments, joint ventures, strategic licenses and divestitures. Prior to AeroVironment, Sanjeev held executive positions in general management, corporate development and strategic marketing at several venture-backed startups in renewable energy including A123 Systems which completed the largest venture-backed IPO of 2009, and at industry-leading public companies SunEdison, American Power Conversion and GE.

He says AeroVironment is a great place to work because:
“I think AeroVironment is a great place to work because our purpose of “securing lives and advancing sustainability through transformative innovation” resonates with me. I am also personally energized and excited by the possibilities that stem from our positioning at the nexus of several future-defining technologies."

Sanjeev earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Master of Business Administration degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Steven Gitlin

Vice President Corporate Strategy, Investor Relations and Communication

Steve Gitlin joined AeroVironment in 2002 to define the market entry strategy for one of the company’s first commercial product lines and then successfully secured multi-million dollar orders from key national accounts for that business. He helped lead AeroVironment’s Initial Public Offering (IPO) in 2007 and then established and leads the company’s investor relations program. Steve subsequently led the development and introduction of AeroVironment’s first corporate identity strategy, then designed and executed the introduction of the company’s Values, Purpose and Promise system. Steve redesigned and leads the company’s strategic planning process and works with Wall Street analysts and institutional investors to ensure an accurate understanding of AeroVironment growth strategy and business. Prior to joining AeroVironment Steve served as a management consultant with Deloitte Consulting, focusing on Strategy and Operations for global enterprises in Aerospace, Telecommunications and Technology industries. He has served clients across the Americas and is an enthusiastic and ever-improving weekend soccer player and passionate fan.

He says AeroVironment is a great place to work because:
“Smart, creative people. Great ideas. Collaborative culture. Future-defining technologies. Making a tangible difference in the world. Doing things that have never been done before. These are some of the reasons why I joined AeroVironment in 2002 and am still here, fully engaged and excited to be a part of this journey. This place is not for everyone, but for those who seek to create a better, safer and more prosperous future through the introduction of disruptive technology solutions, this is a place you should consider.”

Steve earned a Master in Business Administration degree from the Wharton School and a Master in International Management with an emphasis on Latin America from the Joseph H. Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from UCLA.

Ken Karklin

Vice President

Ken Karklin served in a range of functional and customer facing roles since joining AeroVironment in 2007. For the past year Ken has served as the company’s director of corporate quality systems. Ken previously held leadership roles at the company in Engineering, Operations, Program management and in the EES services group. Prior to joining AeroVironment, Ken held engineering and engineering management roles at a venture-funded start-up and at established technology leaders Intel Corporation, Hewlett Packard Company and Agilent Technologies.

He says AeroVironment is a great place to work because:
“At AeroVironment intelligent risk taking is rewarded and we thrive together as a team… and our history exemplifies this in so many ways! We celebrate innovation but also have an expectation for accountability and taking ownership!”

Ken holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Alison Roelke

Vice President, People & Culture

Alison Roelke joined AeroVironment in 2017 to lead the People & Culture function with a focus on creating a “Great Place to Work.”

Prior to AeroVironment, Alison was Vice President, Human Resources for Custom Sensors & Technologies, a division of Schneider Electric, which was sold to private equity in 2014 and then to Sensata Technologies in 2015. Alison stayed on with Sensata Technologies leading the Global HR Mergers & Acquisitions function. Prior to that, Alison held talent and HR operations management positions in both manufacturing and financial services organizations including YTCA a subsidiary of Yazaki Corporation, Mitsubishi / Caterpillar, and Digital Insight.

She says AeroVironment is a great place to work because:
“At AeroVironment you are surrounded by interesting and intelligent people who show great passion for what they do. We have exciting technology, jobs that will challenge you, a supportive and welcoming work environment, and the opportunity to work on many diverse projects."

Alison holds a Bachelor degree in Business Management from California Coast University. She received her Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) designation in 2002 from the HR Certification Institute.

Pamela Schroeder

Vice President Finance, UAS Segment

Since joining AeroVironment in 1995, Pamela Schroeder has provided financial leadership to AeroVironment Corporate and UAS business segment. Pamela started in Monrovia serving as the company’s pricing, program controls and planning and AR and collections.In 2003 Pamela was asked to help set up the SUAS Production capability and has stayed to provide financial leadership to the UAS General Manager and team in all financial analysis and planning duties.Prior to joining AeroVironment, Pamela served as Sr. Financial Manager of Kodak’s Federal Systems division, designer and manufacturer of Recorders/Reproducers for DOD and Space Programs.

Schroeder holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and Business from University of LaVerne.

Colin Walker

Sr. Director of Operational Services

Colin Walker joined AeroVironment in 2015 as the company’s director of corporate quality systems and since then has transitioned to the role of Sr. Director of Operational Services. Colin has over 35 years of experience in a wide range of industries that include enterprise analytics software, nuclear electronics, medical, aerospace and automotive manufacturing. Prior to AeroVironment, Colin has worked with both new business startups and fortune 500 companies where he has effectively served in senior leadership positions starting in Engineering then moving into Operations, Quality and Supply-chain management. Certified in both Six Sigma and Lean Manufacturing, Colin has been published in various articles and presented as a noted speaker on best-in-class Lean Six Sigma Sourcing performance.

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. Where creativity is applauded, results are rewarded, and we are making a positive difference in the lives we touch.”

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.