NDIA Board Chair Welcomes New National Security Leaders to NDIA Board and Executive Committee

9/30/2022

For Immediate Release 

NDIA Board Chair Welcomes Addition of New of National Security Leaders to NDIA Board and Executive Committee

ARLINGTON, VA –NDIA Board Chair Maj Gen Arnold L. Punaro, USMC (Ret.) announcednewly-elected executive committee members Paula Edwards, founder, president & CEO of Lexair Corporation, and ML Mackey, CEO and co-founder of Beacon Interactive Systems.

Punaro praised the new members for their experience and expertise. “Both Paula and ML bring first-hand, small business expertise and proven track records to NDIA and its members,” said Punaro.“We're very excited about this year’s additions to our executive committee as well as the addition of our newest board members listed below. These leaders bring exceptional business acumen and demonstrated leadership to NDIA, enriching our ability to build a vigorous, responsive, and collaborative community in support of our military, industry and national security,” said Punaro.

Paula Edwards is the founder, President & CEO of Lexair Corporation. By focusing on multi-year, tier-one national and global contracts, Edwards has grown her business from an in-home start-up to a global corporation headquartered in Greensboro, NC.  It is noteworthy to mention that more than 80% of the employees at Lexair are women, from the warehouse to the executive level.

ML Mackey is the CEO and co-founder of Beacon Interactive Systems, a digital innovator headquartered in Waltham, MA. Over the past 25 years, Beacon has grown from a bootstrapped technology startup delivering enterprise software systems in the private sector to a leading provider of mission critical systems to the Department of Defense.

Newly Elected Members of NDIA Board of Directors Effective October 1, 2022

Mr. Rodney D. Bullard
CEO
Carter Days, LLC

Lt Gen John B. Cooper, USAF (Ret)
Senior Vice President, Global Government & Defense
AAR Corporation

Mr. Michael P. Dietz
Immediate Past President
NDIA Lonestar Chapter

Mr. Bruce Gjovig
Strategic Advisor
Grand Sky, Inc / USAF Civic Leader Program

Hon. Stephen C. Hedger
Senior Vice President, Head of US Business and CEO
American Rheinmetall Defense

LTG Thomas A. Horlander, USA (Ret)
Director, Strategic Business Development, Defense/National Security Division
Intel Corporation

Mr. Logan Jones
President & General Manager
SparkCognition Government Systems

 

For media queries, contact media@NDIA.org.

 

Mr. Matthew J. Kuta
President, COO and Co-Founder
Voyager Space Holdings

Maj Gen Lee K. Levy II, USAF (Ret)
President and CEO
The Levy Group, LLC

Mr. Fola Ojumu
Partner
Kearney & Company

Mr. Kraig M. Siracuse
Senior Vice President, Washington Operations
Textron, Inc.

Dr. J. Mitch Stevison
Executive Vice President and Chief Growth Officer
Mercury Systems, Inc.

Col Pete Trainer, USAF (Ret)
Vice President and General Manager, Air & Space Force Solutions, Intelligence & Security Sector
BAE Systems, Inc.