CAES makes two C-level appointments
Cobham Advanced Electronic Solutions (CAES) has appointed Mark Santamaria as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Shawn Black will join as CAES' first Chief Operating Officer (COO).
Mark (above) was previously the CFO at Mission Essential, a US defence contractor primarily serving intelligence and military clients. He also assumed the role of CFO at AM General LLC, and The SI Organization. Additionally, Mark enjoyed a 24 year career at Lockheed Martin in various positions with increasing responsibilities.
Jill Kale, President of Cobham Advanced Electronic Solutions, said: “Mark’s extensive financial experience, spanning over 30 years within the defense industry, and strong leadership will play a critical role to the CAES organisation. He is the ideal choice in driving CAES’ future growth and fulfilling our commitments to our customers and shareholders.”
As CAES CFO, Mark will be responsible for all financial aspects of the company, including the contracts, compliance, and legal organisation. He will be a Cobham AES Holdings Inc. board member, and will play an integral role in ensuring continued compliance with the special security agreement (SSA) in place with the U.S. Federal Government.
“Mark’s extensive financial experience, spanning over 30 years within the defence industry and strong leadership will play a critical role to the CAES organisation. He is the ideal choice in driving CAES’ future growth and fulfilling our commitments to our customers and shareholders.”
Referring to Shawn Black's appointment, Jill said: “I am pleased to have Shawn join our Executive Leadership Team. In this new role Shawn will be instrumental to CAES’ future success as he will provide critical leadership and vision that will drive into operational strategies to achieve the organisation’s overall business goals. He will also assume all profit and loss responsibility, as well as driving operational excellence at all 16 CAES facilities.”
Shawn (right) brings a wealth of knowledge and deep expertise in the defence industry. He has spent 15 years at Leonardo DRS, a US based defence contractor, where he held numerous leadership positions, including his most recent role as the Vice President and General Manager of the Electro-Optical & Infrared Systems business. Shawn also served in the United States Marine Corps.