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Corporate | Management Team

Executive Staff

Board of Directors

  • Paul G. Casner Jr., Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Atair Aerospace, Inc.
  • Tuvia Barak, CEO, Crossways Consulting Group, Inc.
  • Rick Zaccari, Chief Operating Officer, Atair Aeropace, Inc.

Paul G. Casner Jr., Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Paul G. Casner, Jr., Retired as Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer of DRS Technologies on April 30, 2005. He joined DRS in 1993 as President of DRS Electronic Systems, Inc., a subsidiary of the company, and in 1994, was appointed to the additional position of President of the company's Electronic Systems Group. Under his leadership, this Group posted record revenues and operating income each year. In 1998, he was named Executive Vice President, Operations for the corporation, and in 2000, became Chief Operating Officer. In this position, he provided oversight of all of the Company's domestic and international operations.

Mr. Casner has more than 35 years of defense industry experience, which includes several senior Positions in business management, technical management, strategic planning and business development. Prior to joining DRS, he was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Technology Applications and Service Company, a successor business unit of Norden Systems, Inc., a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation. Earlier at Norden Systems, he was employed in various senior positions, including Vice President and General Manager of the Marine Systems Division, Senior Vice President of Engineering, and Vice President and General Manager of its Maryland Operations, and President and Chief Executive Officer of its Norden Service Company, Inc. unit. Prior to that, he co-founded American Computer and Electronic Corporation and served as Executive Vice President of its Federal Systems Division. Earlier, he served in system engineering and management positions at the Applied Physics Laboratory of John Hopkins University.

Mr. Casner earned a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Drexel University and a Master of Science degree in management science from John Hopkins University. He is a member of the Naval Reserve Association and is a Commodore of the Navy League of the United States, in addition to other professional affiliations.

Paul Bartlett , VP, Engineering

Paul Bartlett joined Atair Aerospace in 2009 as VP of Engineering. Mr. Bartlett has worked in ground, air and space robotics for over 10 years. He applies this experience and his generalist technical background overseeing Atair's engineering team and providing systems engineering and design input.

Mr. Bartlett earned a BS in Mechanical Engineering with a concentration in Fluid Mechanics & Aerospace at Cornell University. He then worked at Honeybee Robotics for seven years on design and development for NASA, DOD and other customers. Projects there included providing hardware for the Mars Exploration Rovers and the Phoenix Mars Lander. For the Mars Exploration Rover mission, he was part of the mission operations team at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory for the rovers' first year on Mars. Later, Mr. Bartlett performed research and design work on robotic ground vehicles for two years at Carnegie Mellon University's Field Robotics Center, earning an MS in Robotics and writing a thesis on vehicle suspension design.

Prior to joining Atair he served as an independent consultant for NASA and multiple product design firms. At points along his career, he performed weightless testing on the KC-135 "Vomit Comet," discovered a radio pulsar and co-designed a robotic art installation for the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Stacy Cohen, Acting Sr. VP, Operations

Stacy Cohen joined Atair Aerospace in 2001 and has since served in various positions including Director of Operations. With over ten years of corporate administration experience, Ms. Cohen oversees financial planning and reporting, Government contract accounting, Government contract compliance, and personnel management. Prior to joining Atair, Ms. Cohen worked in health administration as a project assistant, successfully overseeing all aspects of training and collection of data, on a three year funded grant from the Hartford Foundation for the Geriatric Interdisciplinary Team Training Program (GITT). Ms. Cohen is a graduate of Boston University's School of Music.

Ganter Ludwig, VP, Project Management

Mr. Ludwig joined Atair in 2002 and is currently Atair's Vice President of Project Management. He is a major contributor of the company's general business and manages the day-to-day operational aspects of numerous projects and team members. Mr. Ludwig works closely with key technical resources in software and hardware development, product testing, documentation, and others. Since 2007, Mr. Ludwig has been the Project Manager of Atair's family of Onyx precision airdrop systems. Mr. Ludwig attended Brown University.

Dennis Walsh, VP, Production

Dennis Walsh joined Atair Aerospace to manage all parachute and parachute system rigging functions, and Atair's soft goods manufacturing facility.  Mr. Walsh is a retired United States Marine Corps First Sergeant with over 21 years of experience as a military parachute rigger.  Highlights of Mr. Walsh's military career include Military Freefall Jumpmaster qualification, Vector Military Tandem Master qualification for personnel and equipment, service as a member of First Force Reconnaissance Company during the Persian Gulf War, participation in the initial night landing during Operation Restore Hope in Somalia, and participation in the initial assault and first six months of Operation Iraqi Freedom combat operations in Iraq.  Following the 1999 crash of a CH-46E Sea Knight Helicopter in the Pacific Ocean which killed five Force Recon Marines, Mr. Walsh developed the initial design for the USMC Full Spectrum Battle Equipment-Amphibious Assault Vest-Quick Release (FSBE-AAV-QR) jettison system used for emergency egress of personnel in water.  The FSBE-AAV-QR system was fielded by the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Systems Center.  Mr. Walsh earned a FAA Senior Rigger certificate in 1998, and completed FAA Master Rigger certification in 2006.  Mr. Walsh graduated summa cum laude, with a BS in Criminal Justice Administration from Park University.

Rick Zaccari, Chief Operating Officer and VP, Business Development

Rick Zaccari is Chief Operating Officer and Vice President of Business Development of Atair Aerospace. He first joined in 2005 to lead the development and management of the Business Development and Marketing Department. In 2009, Mr. Zaccari was elected to the Atair Board of Directors and appointed Chief Operating Officer. In his new role, Mr. Zaccari provides leadership and direction in the areas of management, operations, international and government relations, and maintains his business development responsibilities. Mr. Zaccari is an established business development and management professional with 15 years of experience in the defense, financial services and health care industries. A veteran of the United States Navy, Mr. Zaccari served aboard the fleet ballistic missile submarine USS Lewis & Clark (SSBN-644), and the destroyer USS Moosbrugger (DD-980). He holds a MBA from Louisiana State University and a BA in Marketing from Southeastern Louisiana University.