Board of Directors

Russell Ford was appointed Chief Executive Officer in October 2013 and subsequently elected as Chairman of the Board effective April 2019. With over 30 years of experience working in the aerospace industry Mr. Ford previously held various executive roles at Precision Castparts Corporation as the President of Carlton Forge Works and Dickson Test Group, ClearEdge Power Inc. as President and Chief Executive Officer, Prestolite Electric Inc. as President and Chief Executive Officer, Holley Performance Products Inc. as Chief Operations Officer, Lockheed Martin Corporation as Senior Vice President of Operations, Allied Signal Corporation’s General Manager of the Industrial and Marine Engine Division and Bell Helicopter and AT&T in various engineering and management positions. Mr. Ford holds an M.B.A. from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Douglas V. Brandely is a Managing Director of The Carlyle Group, a private equity firm, where he focuses on investments in the aerospace, defense, and government sectors. He is currently a member of the board of directors of Forgital Group and has previously served as a member of the board of directors for Sequa Corporation, Novetta Solutions and PrimeFlight Aviation Services. Prior to joining Carlyle in 2005, Mr. Brandely was an investment banking analyst at Greenhill & Co. He holds a M.B.A. from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Science in commerce from the University of Virginia.

Peter J. Clare served as Chief Investment Officer of Corporate Private Equity, Chairman of the Americas and Chair of the U.S. Buyout and Growth Investment committees of The Carlyle Group, a private equity firm, until his retirement in 2023. He previously served in various senior roles at Carlyle, including as the Co-Head of the U.S. Buyout and Growth team, Deputy Chief Investment Officer of Carlyle's CPE segment, Global Head of the Aerospace, Defense & Government Services team and as a founding member of the Carlyle Asia team. Prior to joining Carlyle in 1992, Mr. Clare began his career with roles at First City Capital Corporation and the Merchant Banking Group of Prudential-Bache. Mr. Clare has previously served as a member of the board of directors of various companies, including The Carlyle Group, Booz Allen Hamilton (where he also served a member of the Compensation Committee and Nominating and Governance Committee), Sedgwick, Nouryon, Pharmaceutical Product Development (PPD), Signode Industrial, Wesco Aircraft and Aviall. Mr. Clare holds an M.B.A. from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Science in business administration from Georgetown University.

Ian Fujiyama is a Managing Director of The Carlyle Group, a private equity firm, as well as head of Carlyle's Global Aerospace, Defense, and Government Services team. Mr. Fujiyama joined Carlyle in 1997, and in 1999 he spent two years in Hong Kong and Seoul working with Carlyle's Asia buyout fund, Carlyle Asia Partners. Mr. Fujiyama previously served as Chairman of Carlyle's Diversity and Inclusion Committee. Prior to joining Carlyle, Mr. Fujiyama was an associate at Donaldson Lufkin and Jenrette Securities Corp., with a focus on high yield and merchant banking transactions. He currently serves as a member of the board of directors of KLDiscovery, Inc., Two Six Technologies, Inc., Man Tech International and Loc Performance. He previously served on the board of directors of ARINC Incorporated, CPI, Dynamic Precision Group, Novetta Solutions LLC and Booz Allen Hamilton. Mr. Fujiyama holds a Bachelor of Science in economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Wendy M. Masiello is an independent consultant and President of Wendy Mas Consulting, LLC. She retired from the United States Air Force as a Lieutenant General in 2017 after over three decades of decorated military service. Prior to her retirement from the United States Air Force, Ms. Masiello served as Director of the Defense Contract Management Agency from 2014 to 2017 and Deputy Assistant Secretary (Contracting),  Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition from 2011 to 2014. Ms. Masiello serves as a member of the board of directors of KBR, Inc., where she is a member of the Cybersecurity, Compensation, and Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Committees. She also serves as a member of the board of directors for EURPAC Services, Inc., Tlingit Haida Tribal Business Corporation, MRI Global and ReBuilding Together and previously served as a member of the board of directors for the National Contract Management Association from 2018 to 2024. Ms. Masiello holds a Master of Science in national resource strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, a Master of Science in logistics management from the Air Force Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Texas Tech University.

Paul McElhinney is Senior Operating Partner of AE Industrial, where he leads the portfolio strategy and optimization group. Prior to joining AE Industrial in 2018, Mr. McElhinney served in various senior roles over a 30-year career with General Electric, including as President and Chief Executive Officer of GE Power Services and GE Aviation Services, as well as General Counsel and various business development roles at GE Aviation and GE Capital Aviation Services. Mr. McElhinney serves as Chair of the board of directors for Moeller Aerospace, AIM MRO and Columbia Helicopters, as well as a member of the board of directors of Kellstrom Aerospace and Belcan. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in legal science from Trinity College.

Andrea Fischer Newman served as Senior Vice President, Government Affairs, for Delta Air Lines until her retirement in 2017. Prior to her time at Delta Air Lines, Ms. Newman served in various senior government affairs roles at Northwest Airlines from 1995 until Delta Air Lines' merger with Northwest in 2008. Across her 25 years in the airline industry, Ms. Newman has helped guide the airline industry's public policy engagement, including the terrorist attacks of September 11, the passage of the FAA Modernization Act of 2012, and helped lead the U.S. industry's efforts to level the playing field with foreign airline competitors through enforcement of Open Skies Agreements. She serves as a member of the board of directors of Sequitur Energy Resources and PrimeFlight Aviation Services and previously served as a member of the board of directors for Borden Dairy. In addition, Ms. Newman was elected to three terms as a Regent of the University of Michigan, serving from 1995 to 2019. She holds a Juris Doctor from The George Washington University and a Bachelor of Arts in history from the University of Michigan.

Stefan Weingartner is an Operating Executive of The Carlyle Group, a private equity firm, where he focuses on the aerospace, defense and government sectors. Prior to joining Carlyle in 2015, Dr. Weingartner was President and Chief Executive Officer of MTU Maintenance and a member of the Executive Board of MTU Aero Engines AG. Prior to that role, Dr. Weingartner held various leadership roles with multiple aerospace companies, including MTU Aero Engines GmbH, EADS Japan Co. Ltd. (now Airbus Group) and Daimler Chrysler Aerospace. He currently serves as a member of the strategic advisory board of Forgital Group and previously served as a member of the board of directors of Sequa Corporation from 2015 to 2022. Dr. Weingartner holds a Ph.D. in engineering from Technical University of Munich, a Master of Science in physics from the Technical University of Munich, an M.B.A. from Edinburgh Business School and a Bachelor of Science in physics from the Technical University of Munich.