Sigmatech Leadership

Jeff Flewelling
President/CEO
Huntsville, Alabama

• Planning out overall strategies and policies for the company
• Creating and implementing organization, vision and direction
• Executive Manager of all SIgmatech Operational Divisions
• Former SVP of Space and Cyber Operations
• Over 25 years of U.S. Air Force experience, Retired USAF Colonel

Gurmej S. Sandhu, Ph.D.
Founder, Chairman & Chief Technical Advisor
Huntsville, Alabama

• 35 years technical & management experience
• Air Force Space Command (AFSPC), U.S. Army Aviation & Missile Command (AMCOM), Space & Missile Defense Command (SMDC), Research, Development & Engineering Center (RDEC) & Program Executive Offices (PEOs), NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC)
• Career spans realms of research, industry & education
• Over 100 technical publications on system science & signal processing
• Inducted to the Distinguished Engineering Academy of the University of Alabama in Huntsville in 2001 and was a recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award, the university’s highest honor, for the year 2004.
• Board of Directors of the University of Alabama at Huntsville Foundation
• Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors
• Diverse background ranging from executive leadership & program management to principal engineer & project lead for companies that include Boeing Aerospace, Teledyne Brown Engineering & General Research Corporation

Corey Averitt
BD Portfolio Lead
Huntsville, Alabama

• 20+ years of leading teams, developing systems, securing infrastructure, managing projects, and winning new business.
• Builds and develops innovative solutions for new opportunities.
• Led capture on large ($100M+) opportunities within the DoD.
• Bachelor of Science in Management Information Systems from Auburn University
• Master of Science in Management Information Systems from The University of Alabama in Huntsville
• Board Member for the UAH Cybersecurity and Information Systems Advisory Council

Frank Brown
Chief Financial Officer
Huntsville, Alabama

• Oversees all of Sigmatech’s finance and accounting functions
• Secretary of Sigmatech’s Board of Directors
• Over 20 years of experience in both public and privately held corporations in all facets of financial management
• Attended Officer Candidate School and served in the infantry
• Graduate of Leadership Huntsville Management Academy
• Certificate in Accounting from the University of Alabama in Huntsville
• Bachelor’s Degree in General Administration from McNeese State University

Clifford ‘Cliff’ Crivello
Sr. Vice President, Army Enterprises
Huntsville, Alabama

• 35 years of Security Cooperation (SC) and Security Assistance(SA) experience:
• 15 years at NATO/SHAPE – area of responsibility was Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, France, Luxemburg, Norway and Great Britain all aspects of international support from LOC access, joint exercises to international agreements and FMS support.
• 20 Years with USASAC experience included:
  • Ombudsman to industry in reference to over 5000 FMS cases valued at that time around ~$140B
  • Assigned to DSCA to develop the SC/SA POM and Budget process, Pre-LOR process, improvements to the Case execution Process
  • Force manager for the AMC FMS community – instituted activity based costing
  • Responsible for operational and financial policy – rewrote treasure accounting process and line of accounting for FMS 8242 funds
  • Worked as the Commanders initiatives officer, the G1 the G8
  • As the G8, was responsible for the fiscal management and execution of over ~200B of 8242 funds for the entire army – was the SME in the Army for this fund.
  • Responsible for remapping all core FMS processes.

David Deist
Sr. Vice President, Space and Air Enterprise Division
Colorado Springs, Colorado

• Oversees Sigmatech’s Space and Air Enterprise Division contracts, task orders and initiatives
• PM NSSI, 11 Years
• Bachelors of Science in Aerospace Engineering USNA
• Master of Science in Astronautical Engineering, Naval Postgraduate School
• Master of Science in Strategic Studies, Army War College

Phil Hays
Chief Technical Officer
Colorado Springs, Colorado

• Provides executive oversight for all Sigmatech Space and Cyber Operations
• Provides expertise to Air Force Space Command, Directorate of Operations (HQ AFSPC A2/3/6) on space launch operations/maintenance, and launch vehicle, satellite, range activities and security concerns of the nation’s space launch capability.
• 30+ years of spacelift experience
• 20+ years as HQ level action officer at AFSPC/DOS
• 20+ years of experience Launch Vehicle PEM
• Operational Test Planning Experience

Patrick Howell, PhD
Director, Business Development
Huntsville, AL

• 30 years of Army service culminating as the Director of the Modern War Institute at West Point
• 7 years leading various functional sections that supported the operations of the parent organization (human resources, vehicle/equipment maintenance & service, construction engineering, facility maintenance, and logistics).
• Over 6 years as a strategic planner conducting strategy formulation & management and leading strategic initiatives on behalf of two operational organizations ranging from 5,000 to 250,000 personnel as well as the US Army.
• 6 years leading four different operational organizations from 30 to 800 personnel comprised of three to seven direct reporting elements. Provided purpose, direction, motivation & vision and developed & implemented plans for organizations to accomplish a variety of US foreign policy goals.
• Over 5 years in various academic leadership positions and governance committees: Center Director, Program Director; Assistant Program Director; Course Director; various Governance Committees.
• PhD in Political Science (Duke University); Master of Military Arts & Sciences (School of Advanced Military Studies), Master of Arts in Law & Diplomacy (The Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy/Tufts University)
• United States Military Academy, 1992- International Relations

John Jones
Sr. Vice President, Corporate Development
Huntsville, Alabama

• Commander of a 1300 person workforce at the U.S. Army Redstone Test Center, conducting developmental testing to include range operations, aviation flight test, missile test, environmental, small arms and tactical missile performance testing, and cyber.
• 7 years of Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) Command at both the O-6/O-5 levels in CONUS and in combat in Afghanistan. Portfolios included over 1200 companies, 100,000 defense contractors, and contracts in excess of $50B
• Commander, DCMA Aircraft Integrated Maintenance Operations, Enterprise and Greenville, oversaw 10 different overhaul, maintenance, repair, and manufacturing facilities (4 years)
• Experimental Test Pilot serving as Chief of Flight Test, Director of Test Management, Branch and Division Chief, overseeing all developmental flight test activities for manned, unmanned, rotary and fixed-wing aircraft (6 years)
• 30 years Army service, Master Army Aviator with ratings in eight rotary and fixed wing aircraft and flight in over 52 different airframes
• Over 19 years of Acquisition experience in Test, Program Management, and Contracting for all Armed Services, multiple Agencies, and Federal Organizations
• Certified Level III Acquisition professional in Program Management and Test and Evaluation; Level II in Contracting and Systems Engineering
• MS Degree, International and Strategic Studies, Air University, Air War College; MA Degree, Procurement and Acquisition Management, Webster University
• United States Military Academy, 1990, BS – Computer Science, Branch Aviation
• Member Society of Experimental Test Pilots (SETP), AAAA (30 year), AUSA

Tim McDonald
Vice President, Aviation Programs
Huntsville, AL

• Project Lead for the Multi-National Special Projects Office (MASPO). 
• Product Manager, Special Operations Aviation Mission Equipment at Fort Eustis, Virginia. 
• Systems Integration Officer, Systems Integration and Management Office with the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment
• Assistant Product Manager in PM Cargo and PM Non-Standard Rotary Wing Aircraft
• Joint Heavy Lift Branch Chief in the Combat Requirements Directorate at Fort Rucker, AL. 
• Director of Operations for GE Healthcare. 
• MS in Acquisition Management from the Florida Institute of Technology
• Commissioned as an Aviation Officer after graduating as a Distinguished Military Graduate from Southern Illinois University in 1990. 

John Neil
Director, Foreign Military Sales
New Cumberland, PA

• 33+ years Government service as a Security Cooperation and Security Assistance specialist
• 20+ years with the U.S. Army Security Assistance Command (USASAC), experience included:
  • Country Program Manager (CPM)
  • EUCOM/AFRICOM Liaison Officer
  • Studies and Analysis Group
  • Lean Six Sigma (LSS) Deployment Director
  • 12+ years, Director, Performance and Process Management Office
• Member Army Acquisition Corp, Program Management, Level II Certified
• B.S. in Public Administration, Shippensburg University
• M.S. in Management, Webster University

Stephenie Palmer
Director, Operations
Huntsville, Alabama

• Over 19 years of Operations and Program Management experience in Army Garrison Support, Army Combatant Command, Army Acquisition and Defense Industrial Base Organizations.
• Provides operational oversight for corporate administrative, security and IT staff at headquarters Huntsville
• Interfaces with and assist executive management from all division offices
• Serves as headquarters Facility Manager and Assistant Facility Security Officer
• DSS Security Fundamental Profession Certification, May 2018; DSS Security Asset Protection Professional Certification, May 2019; International Facilities Management Association (IFMA) Facility Management Profession Certification, May 2018    
• Bachelor’s Degree in Zoology, Marshall University

Ernie Rodriguez
Space and Cyber Systems Business Development
Colorado Springs, Colorado

• 25 years of U.S. Air Force space and nuclear operations experience
• Former Space Group Deputy Commander, leading 500+ technical and operational personnel performing experimentation, operational testing, and space range operations
• Leads Sigmatech business development efforts for USAF Space, Cyber, Nuclear and Homeland Defense programs
• Master’s in Technical Management from West Coast University
• Bachelor’s in International Relations from the United States Air Force Academy

Raj Sandhu
Vice President, Corporate Development
Huntsville, Alabama

• 20 years of experience in business development, corporate strategy, pricing, procurement and contracts
• Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, Minor in Economics from Georgia Institute of Technology
• Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Emory University

Romeil Sandhu, PhD
Chief Data Scientist
Huntsville, Alabama

• 15+ Years in Data Science w/ 50+ publications in areas of autonomy, machine learning, cloud computing, and vision. 
• PhD, MS, and BS in Electrical Engineering, Georgia Tech
• Former Professor, nationwide recognitions include AFOSR YIP, NSF CAREER, and AFRL SFFP
• Technical capability lies on the intersection of controls, differential geometry, topology, and statistics (information geometry).

Lisa Willett
Vice President, Contracting
Huntsville, Alabama

• 27 years of experience in DoD and NASA support in contracts, program control, pricing and program management
• Masters of Business Administration from the University of North Alabama
• Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Athens State University
• Member of the National Contract Management Association (NCMA)