MANAGEMENT |
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Michael Moody
CEO, President and Chairman
Michael Moody is a veteran with more than 40 years of senior management experience in operational management, reorganizations, acquisitions and business transformation. Prior to joining Force Protection, he provided business and financial advisory services to privately held businesses, 2005 to 2007.
Prior to his appointment as CEO, President and Chairman, he served as an independent member of the Board of Directors at Force Protection. He continues to serve as a board member.
Michael was the COO at the London American General Agency and Senior Vice President of Corporate Development for Magna Carta Companies from, where he also served on the Board of Directors. He is a CPA with extensive domestic and international investment banking experience, and holds a Bachelor’s of Arts in Economics from Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia.
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Damon Walsh
Executive Vice President, Customer Operations
Before joining Force Protection, Damon Walsh was a career officer in the U.S. Army serving in a wide variety of
staff and command positions including operational assignments as an airborne Infantry officer and Special Forces
officer. Mr. Walsh also served for over a decade in the Army Acquisition Corps. This culminated in his assignment
as the Commanding Officer of the Joint Systems Manufacturing Center at Lima overseeing the manufacture of Abrams
Main Battle Tanks, Stryker vehicles, and Marine Corps Expeditionary Fighting Vehicles. Retiring as a Lieutenant
Colonel, Mr. Walsh is a Level III Certified Acquisition Professional as well as a Certified Professional Contracts
Manager and has over 25 years experience in both the operational Army and the Acquisition community.
Mr. Walsh holds a Master's Degree in Management from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School and is a graduate of the Army
Command & General Staff College. He is also a veteran of Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm, Provide Comfort,
Uphold Democracy, and Iraqi Freedom.
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Richard Hamilton
Vice President, Finance
Richard Hamilton brings a wealth of financial management experience to Force Protection. Before joining the
company, he served as Vice President for Finance at Pacific Scientific Company, a division of the Danaher
Corporation. Prior to that, he worked for Honeywell International, Inc. and Arthur Anderson, among other firms.
Mr. Hamilton has extensive experience in aerospace and defense, six sigma, public accounting, financial system
design and implementation, acquisitions and divestitures, and "lean manufacturing." He holds a Bachelor of
Science degree in business administration accounting from University of Virginia.
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Michael Aldrich
Vice President, Marketing and Government Relations
Before joining Force Protection, Mike Aldrich founded Vertical Markets, where he served as President and successfully
completed marketing assignments for a diverse subset of Fortune 500 corporations as well as agencies of federal
government. Earlier, he served for over a decade as President of Document Systems Inc, a subsidiary of CNA Financial
Services. In total, he has more than 25 years experience in government and corporate sales.
A graduate of West Point, Mr. Aldrich was commissioned in the field artillery and honorably discharged from the
United States Army with the rank of captain. He served at Fort Bragg, NC in XVIII Airborne Corps and was later
aide-de-camp to the Chief of Staff, U.S. Forces Japan. In addition to his undergraduate degree, Mike holds a
masters degree in systems management from the University of Southern California.
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Wayne Phillips
Vice President, Business Development
Wayne Phillips joined Force Protection in March 2006, having most recently served as President of W.
Phillips Consulting, a consulting firm specializing in security, project management, and leadership.
Previously, Wayne completed over thirty years of honorable service to the nation as a Marine warfighter.
He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1969 and retired as a Colonel in 2002. His last
assignment was as the Commanding Officer of the 24th Marine Regiment, where he directed over 3,000
Marines and sailors. During his tenure as a Marine Infantry Officer, he commanded at the platoon,
company, battalion, and regimental levels. In Program Management, he is Level III certified and
completed tours as the Marine Anti-armor Representative to The Army Missile Command, Professor of
Systems Engineering at the Defense Systems Management College, and Director/Program Manager of Marine
Corps Ground Weapons. Additionally, he served as the first Chief of Staff for the Marine Corps Materiel Command.
Wayne grew up in Charleston, South Carolina, receiving his bachelors degree from Columbia College and
later earned a Masters of Science degree from Virginia Tech.
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Robert DeFazio
Vice President, Materials
Robert DeFazio has 25 years of progressive experience in Supply Chain Management, Logistics and Materials Management in the Defense, Aerospace, Electronics and Heavy Truck Industries. Prior to joining Force Protection in November of 2007 he was the Vice President of Supply Chain for American LaFrance. He previously directed Global Supply Chain and Materials Organizations for Solectron, Honeywell and Lockheed Martin where he earned designations including Performance Team of the Year, Employee of the Year, and winner of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.
Mr. DeFazio holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business from The Ohio State University, and a Masters in Business Administration from Nova Southeastern University. He is certified by the American Production and Inventory Control Society, and a trained six-sigma facilitator.
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Craig A. Whitt
Vice President, Manufacturing Engineering
Craig Whitt brings to Force Protection more than 17 years experience with Ford Motor Company,
including management positions in the Quality, Product Development, Design and Manufacturing
Engineering divisions. Mr. Whitt was also instrumental in the launch of the Econoline Van,
Mustang, Escort/Tracer, Focus, Windstar/Freestar Minivan, Ford 500 and Freestyle vehicle series
during his tenure with Ford.
Retired from the U.S. Army Reserves in 1997, Mr. Whitt served in several command and
operational positions with the Army Rangers, Army Special Operations Command and the 7th Special
Forces Group (Airborne). He holds a Bachelors Degree from Eastern Michigan University, Masters
in Business Administration from Campbell University (with distinction), and a Masters of
Science in Engineering - Industrial & Systems Engineering from the University of Michigan
(with distinction). He is a Certified Six Sigma Black Belt and Instructor.
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Daniel Busher
Executive Vice President, Operations
Bringing more than 20 years of international business experience in the automotive industry, Dan
Busher joined Force Protection Industries in October of 2006. Previously, he was an executive of
materials for North American Automotive Operations within Alcoa, maintaining responsibilities in the
United States, Mexico and Honduras. In addition, he held numerous senior location Plant and Operations
Management roles throughout Alcoa. Busher began his career as a member of the GM Saturn Corporation
start-up team that implemented revolutionary new labor agreements and Lean manufacturing methods from
early concept to full production.
Mr. Busher earned his Bachelor's of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of
Wisconsin. He also holds an Executive MBA, Beta Gamma Sigma honors, from the Owen School at
Vanderbilt University.
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Mark Edwards
Executive Vice President, Development
Mark Edwards has more than 18 years experience in both automotive and military transport equipment
industries. Prior to joining Force Protection, Mr. Edwards was Vice President, Operations for
Ducommun Aerostructures, where he was responsible for all aerostructure manufacturing for the Boeing
C-17 and Chinook programs, as well as Sikorsky's BlackHawk/NavalHawk program.
Mr. Edwards earned a bachelor degree in mathematics and chemistry from Wright State University in 1989,
and an MBA from Pepperdine University in 2003.
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Kirk Daniel
Vice President, Quality Processes
Mr. Daniel brings 29 years of manufacturing experience in application engineering, quality engineering,
program management, and senior management positions in three different plants for Copeland Corporation
and DaimlerChrysler. He has worked in the fields of commercial air conditioning and refrigeration
design, injection molding, light stamping, brazing, welding, automated assembly, precision machining,
and power train testing.
Mr. Daniel has an Associates Degree and a BSMET from California Polytechnic State University, as well
as an MBA from Baker College. His service experience includes assignments with the U.S. Army as a lead
Fire Control Mechanic for Hawk Missile Systems while serving at Fort Bliss, Texas and Camp Casey, Korea.
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John Wall
Vice President & Assistant General Counsel
John Wall, III is a seasoned veteran with more than 22 years of legal experience holding various in house counsel positions with increasing levels of responsibility with a privately held construction company and with publicly traded engineering companies serving the defense and commercial industrial markets. Prior to his position with Force Protection, he served as Associate General Counsel for Washington Group International, Inc. in Birmingham, Alabama, with clients within the Federal Government including the Defense Department, State Department, U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Agency for International Development as well as state agencies and private clientele.
Mr. Wall holds a Bachelor's of Science degree from the College of Charleston, a Juris Doctor from the Cumberland School of Law and a Master of Law in Taxation from the University of Alabama School of Law.
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Heero Hacquebord
Chief Quality Officer
Heero Hacquebord has decades of experience in manufacturing, quality management, project engineering and supplier
development. He has held supervisory and executive positions in various public and military manufacturing industries.
For 13 years, Heero was a student and close associate of the late Dr. W. Edwards Deming, who
re-engineered Japan from 1950 through 1978.
Mr. Hacquebord has done national and international consulting work in leadership and quality for a variety of private
and fortune 500 manufacturing organizations. His consulting efforts also include non-manufacturing organizations such
as insurance, health care and government. He holds degrees in mathematics, mathematical statistics, and masters in
Business Leadership with specialization in general management.
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Bill LaFontaine
Vice President, Program Management
Bill LaFontaine brings to Force Protection more than 22 years of experience in defense contracting having worked in the Department of Defense as part of the NAVAIR Systems Command and as a contractor for both Hughes Aircraft Company and Raytheon Company. Throughout his career, Bill has worked in all aspects of product life cycle including design, development, test and validation, production, and life cycle support. He has worked in quality, supplier development, product evaluation and held senior management positions in engineering, business development, and program management.
Mr. LaFontaine holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Rose-Hulman and is a Certified Six Sigma Black Belt.
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Phillip Owens
Vice President, Integrated Logistics Support
Phillip Owens leads the company’s integrated logistics support as a United States Army veteran with more than 28 years of distinguished service. He joined Force Protection in May 2007. He held numerous command positions in the Army. He was an Instructor of Logistics at the Combined General Staff College Fort Leavenworth, KS from 1996 to 1998. Mr. Owens assumed the duties of chief of staff at the United States TACOM Life Cycle Management Command, Warren, Michigan from June 2004 and served in that capacity until his retirement from the Army in 2007. He retired in the rank of Colonel.
A South Carolina native, Mr. Owens holds a bachelor of arts in Political Science from The Citadel Military College of South Carolina, master of arts degree in Computer Resource Management from Webster University and Master of Strategic Studies degree from the United States Army War College.
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Lenna Ruth Macdonald
Chief Strategy Officer, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary
Lenna Ruth Macdonald joined Force Protection, Inc. in November 2007 with over 19 years legal experience as in-house counsel and in private practice. She was promoted to her current position from Co-General Counsel and Corporate Secretary in March 2008. Ms. Macdonald has specialized experience in corporate governance, compliance, securities and transactional matters. Prior to joining the Company, she served as Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary of Commonwealth Industries, Inc. (a NASDAQ listed leading aluminum sheet manufacturer), as in-house counsel for Banc One Corporation and as Assistant General Counsel and Group Leader at BONHAM, a Banc One subsidiary. Ms. Macdonald was also an associate with the international law-firm McDermott, Will & Emery based in its Boston, Massachusetts office.
Ms. Macdonald received her J.D. from Emory University School of Law, attended the M.Sc. Program at the London School of Economics and Political Science in London, England and received her A.B. from Brown University.
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Message From CEO, President and Chairman Michael Moody
At the core of this company is innovation. Force Protection was the first American company to introduce the concept of the V-shaped monocoque hull. Our Buffalo and Cougar vehicles were first fielded with the military in 2003. Their design characteristics have formed the basis for the U.S. Department of Defense Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle program, the most ambitious military vehicle production initiative since World War II.
It is an honor for me to be a part of Force Protection. I first joined the Company in September 2006 as an independent member of the Board of Directors. I was struck by the tremendous work being done by this organization, and how the equipment it supplies had been and continues to make a huge impact for American and Allied armed forces.
Today, as the CEO, President and Chairman, I assume the responsibility to ensure that this company endures and carries on its mission to supply its life saving blast- and ballistic-protected vehicles to protect the many thousands of Soldiers, Marines, and our allied personnel, many of whom owe their lives to these products. This core value drives our culture, our engineering effort and motivates our employees. We save lives and enable our finest men and women to protect and serve. This will never change. Unfortunately, the world is and looks to remain a dangerous place. We are committed to developing and providing the solutions that protect troops and security personnel now, and in the months and years ahead.
We take great pride that our vehicles are some of the finest fielded by any company or any military. At the same time, we know there is hard and important work to do to ensure that our company achieves that same standard in everything it does. We have begun a process of bringing new leadership, new discipline, and new drive to our business. As we look at the competitive landscape, we have no illusions about the challenges we face. That having been said, out of challenge comes opportunity. We intend to seize that opportunity. As we move forward, we are tasking every facet of our organization, from engineering and production to financial management and the executive department to rise to a new level of capability and excellence.
We have grown quickly to respond to an urgent need and have done so with success. Further success will come from a great attention to detail, to excellence, and from assuming the mantle of responsibility that circumstances have granted to our company. Central to this effort is the responsibility we have to our public shareholders. We take this responsibility very seriously and, I assure you, we are keeping your interests, along with those of our customers and of the men and women in uniform that we serve, at the forefront of our minds and of our developing strategy.
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