Speakers

INDUSTRY SPEAKERS

INNOVATION STAGE SPEAKERS

Lieutenant General Rafael Comas Abad
Commander
NATO Deployable Forces (Spain)

Lieutenant General Comas Abad was born in FIGUERAS on the 31th of May 1953 and he entered the Spanish Military Academy in 1971. In 1975 he finished his studies at the Engineers Academy in BURGOS and was promoted to Lieutenant in 1975. He has since enjoyed an enormously varied and rewarding series of appointments leading up to his current position as Commander of HQ NRDC-SPAIN. Being a signal officer of the Spanish Army he was commander of a Signal Regiment as well of a Signal Brigade. Furthermore he gained experiences as staff officer in various appointments; here his last appointment was as Head of the Doctrine, Organization and Materiel Directorate within the Spanish Army Training and Doctrine Command

During his career he took part in the UNPROFOR mission as well as in NATO operations on the BALKANS whilst serving with SFOR and KFOR. Since the 4th of July 2011 he has served as the Commander of HQ NATO Rapid Deployable Corps SPAIN, which is preparing itself for the ISAF mission in 2012.

Beside the Spanish Army General Staff Course and other military professional degrees he holds a Master degree in Operational Research and Systems by Valencia University. Lieutenant General Comas Abad speaks English, Italian and French. He is married to Juana, has three children, two girls and one boy and lives in VALENCIA.

Lieutenant General Michael Barbero
Director
Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO)

Lieutenant General Michael D. Barbero was commissioned in the Infantry upon graduation from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1976. As an infantry officer, he served in a variety of tactical assignments in mechanized, light and air assault infantry units. In addition to Infantry assignments at the tactical level, he has commanded at every grade, from Lieutenant Colonel to Lieutenant General. He commanded the 3d Battalion, 187th Infantry Battalion in the 101st Airborne Division and the 2d Brigade, 10th Mountain Division. As a General Officer, he commanded one of the Army's Combat Training Centers, the United States Army Infantry Center, and the Multi-National Security Transition Command - Iraq and NATO Training Mission-Iraq.

LTG Barbero has served almost 46 months in Iraq over three separate tours. During the first year of Operation Iraqi Freedom, from 2003 to 2004, he served as the Assistant Division Commander of the 4th Infantry Division. He next served in Iraq as the Deputy Chief of Staff, Strategic Operations at Multi-National Force-Iraq during 'the surge' in 2007 and 2008. Finally, during his most recent deployment, from 2009 to January 2011, he was responsible for the training, equipping and development of all Iraqi Security Forces and building the ministerial capabilities of both the Ministries of Interior and Defense, while serving simultaneously as the Commander of Multi-National Security and Transition Command - Iraq and the Commander of the NATO Training Mission - Iraq.

Dr. James T Blake
Program Executive Officer, Simulation, Training & Instrumentation Program Executive Officer (PEO STRI)
US DoD

Dr. James T. Blake is responsible for simulation, training and test/instrumentation to support the U.S. Army. PEO STRI manages $3 billion in programs with a workforce of 1,200 employees. In addition to his responsibilities as the PEO, Dr. Blake serves as the Head of Contracting Activity authority. He oversees PEO STRI’s Acquisition Center that manages approximately 950 contracts valued at $10 billion. During his military career, Dr. Blake conducted aviation operations in Vietnam, and qualified as a dual-rated Master Army Aviator.

Dr. Blake retired as an Army Colonel serving as the Senior Uniformed Army Scientist. Following his military career, Dr. Blake joined the Simulation, Training and Instrumentation Command as the Program Manager for the Institute for Creative Technologies, and in March 2003, he became a member of the Senior Executive Service. Dr. Blake holds level-three certifications in six acquisition career fields and is a graduate of the U.S. Army War College and holds a PhD in Computer Science from Duke University. In 2008, he received the Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious Service.

Colonel Brian K. Buckles   
Programme Manager, Light Armoured Vehicles, TACOM
US Army

Colonel Buckles is the Program Manager for the Marine Corps Light Armored Vehicles (PM LAV), Marine Corps Systems Command in Warren, Michigan. He is responsible for the upgrade, sustainment, and lifecycle management of the fleet of approximately 900 LAVs. He is also responsible for the procurement of LAVs for Foreign Military Sales (FMS). Previous acquisition assignments include Director, Amphibious Vehicle Test Branch and Deputy Director, Test and Evaluation, Program Management Office for Advanced Amphibious Assault. He also has extensive operational experience to include serving as Commanding Officer, 3d Assault Amphibian Battalion, 1st Marine Division from 2003-2005. Colonel Buckles is a Distinguished Graduate of Naval Postgraduate School, and holds professional certifications in Test and Evaluation from Georgia Institute of Technology and in Advanced Project Management from Stanford University.

Major General Christopher Michael Deverell
Director Material Strategy, DE&S
UK MoD

Major General Deverell was commissioned into the Second Royal Tank Regiment in 1979, undertaking a University Cadetship at Mansfield College, Oxford, from which he graduated in 1982. He saw regimental service in Germany, Cyprus and Northern Ireland with the Second Royal Tank Regiment, and served two tours in the 1980s with infantry battalions in Northern Ireland and Belize. He commanded the Joint Nuclear Biological and Chemical Regiment (First Royal Tank Regiment) at RAF Honington in Suffolk.

Major General Deverell has worked in the Ministry of Defence at every rank from Captain to Brigadier, except Full Colonel: initially in Land Systems Operational Requirements on the Chieftain Replacement project, then as one of the two desk officers in the Directorate of Army Plans responsible for the Army Equipment Programme, and later as Assistant Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Defence. His most recent Main Building appointment was as the Director of Equipment Capability (Ground Manoeuvre).

As a Full Colonel, he served in the Permanent Joint Headquarters and US Central Command during the build-up to and invasion of Iraq, and then as the Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff (Operations/Commitments) in Headquarters Land Command. On promotion to Brigadier he commanded 4th Armoured Brigade, in Iraq and Germany, from January 2005 to April 2007.

Major General Deverell took up the appointment of Director General Logistics, Support and Equipment at Headquarters Land Forces in December 2008.

Major General Deverell is a Deputy Colonel Commandant of the Royal Tank Regiment. He has an MA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from Oxford, became a Member of the City and Guilds Institute during the technology element of the Army Command and Staff Course, and attended the Higher Command and Staff Course in 2004. He is married to Alex and has two young sons.

Major Brian Corbett, LdSH(RC)
SO2 Coord
Armoured Trials & Development Unit (ATDU)

Maj Corbett is a Canadian Exchange Officer who is currently serving as the 2IC for the Armour Trials and Development Unit (ATDU) in Bovington, UK. His responsibilities include the coordination and conduct of AFV and equipment trials in support of UOR and the Equipment Program (EP). Maj Corbett joined the Army in 1989 as a member of the Lord Strathcona’s Horse (Royal Canadians) and has served in numerous line and staff positions at the Regt as well as the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps School and 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group HQ. He has an extensive technical background including an MSc in Gun System Design from the Defence Academy in Shrivenham. He has worked on several equipment procurement projects including the Canadian LAV III APC and most recently the Leopard 2A6M where he was responsible for the development of technical and capability requirements.

RENAULT TRUCKS DEFENSE: Nicolas de La Rüe du Can
Director of Contracts for Development and Communication
Renault Trucks Defense

Director of Contacts, Business Development and Communication of Renault Trucks Defense SAS.

Former active duty officer of the French Army during 33 years, Nicolas de La Rüe du Can is a graduate from the Saint Cyr Academy and the Staff College.

He was belonging to Amor and Cavalry and has been committed in many missions having a very international career at the crossings of operational missions, armament and exportation responsibilities. He is since a few years belonging to the staff of the Renault Trucks Defence’s President.

Key positions :

2008-2010 : Director of Strategy, Products and Communications within RTD.

2005-2008 : International exportation Army Adviser in the foreign department of “Délégation Générale pour l’Armement also in charge of Oman, Lebanon, Jordania, Iraq, UNO.

2002-2005 : Liaison Officer Armor Center, Fort Knox, Kentucky, USA, in charge through a Nato assignment of following the Future Combat System program and R&D for the future of Amor, the evolution of Armor in Irak, the US Command Recruitment.

1998-2002: Commanding officer of the 12th Régiment de Cuirassiers & Commanding officer of the French Amored Battalion in Kosovo.

1993-1998: MBT Leclerc training leader within the Armor of the United Arab Emirates Army.

1991-1993: Commanding the Armor NCOs department Saumur, Cavalry instructor for the Captains’ course.

1986-1991: Squadron Commander within the 1er Régiment de Spahis, in France and Center Africa. Desert Storm: operation officer.

Tank platoon leader, mechanised platoon leader.

International trainings in UK, USA, Italy, Germany, Senegal, Ukrainia.

Armement missions in Jordania, Lebanon, UAE, Poland, Libya, Marocco…

Brigadier Alistair Deas MBE
Director, Defence College Of Logistics and Personnel Administration
UK MoD

Brigadier Alistair Deas was born and brought up in Scotland. He was educated at the Royal High School and is a graduated of the University of Edinburgh. He attended Sandhurst in 1985 and was commissioned into the Royal Corps of Transport. His early career saw service in Germany, Denmark, Canada and Italy including an attachment as a platoon commander with 3rd Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment. He deployed to Cyprus with the United Nations and as Adjutant with 1 Armed Division Transport Regiment in Saudi Arabia and Iraq in 1992 (Operation GRANBY). After attendance at the Army Command and Staff College he joined the staff of 3 (UK) Division as the SO2 G1/G4 Operations and Plans serving in the UK and United States and on operations in Bosnia (Op PALATINE) and in Macedonia and subsequently Kosovo (Op AGRICOLA 1). He then commanded 23 Brigade Support Squadron RLC on operations (Op AGRICOLA) and on exercises in Germany and Poland. For his work in the Balkans he was appointed as a Member of the Order of the British Empire.

On selection for promotion to Lieutenant Colonel he was posted to the US Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth as the British Exchange Instructor. In August 2002 he was awarded the US Meritorious Service Medal for creating and teaching courses on terrorism in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. He assumed command of 2 Close Support Regiment RLC in 2002 just prior to deploying the regiment to Kuwait (Op TELIC) and assuming command of the 7th Armoured Brigade Support Group. He was awarded the QCVS for operations in Iraq. He was selected for promotion to Colonel in 2004 and appointed as Commander Logistic Support 1(UK) Armoured Division, which included a spell as the DCOS in Herford and in HQ MND(SE) in Basra (Op TELIC.10). He assumed the appointment of AD Logistic Policy and Plans (Army) in October 2006 in MOD Main Building Whitehall. Brigadier Deas was selected for promotion on the Green List in 2008 and assumed the appointment of Commandant of the Defence College of Logistics and Personnel Administration and Commander Deepcut Garrison in January 2009. He is a member of the National Advisory Council of Skills for Logistics, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, and a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute.

Andy Fawkes
Head of Simulation, Joint Training Evaluation and Simulation Capability
UK MoD

Andy Fawkes is a Mechanical Engineer by profession. The first 10 years of his career was spent in a variety of submarine-related posts, including construction, nuclear submarine disposal concept work, refit management, reactor systems education, operational analysis and research direction. In 1995 he joined a study team in the MoD Central Civilian Policy area and in 1996 he took a sponsored Public Sector MBA at Imperial College.

From 1997, he joined the UK MoD Central Scientific Staff area and from 2000 he became the Head of the UK Synthetic Environment Coordination Office. In 2003 he became the Deputy Director for Analysis, Experimentation and Simulation within the Equipment Capability Customer area of the MoD. From 2007, he has chaired MoD’s Joint Training & Common Simulation Infrastructure Capability Planning Group and as of April 2009 he is the Deputy Head of Capability for Joint Training Evaluation and Simulation. Formerly the Chair, he is the UK lead for the NATO Modelling and Simulation Group (NMSG).

BETH EL INDUSTRIES: Jehudah Fehlauer
Head of Sales and Marketing
Beth El Industries

Jehudah Fehlauer is Head of Sales & Marketing and Business Development for Beth-El Zikhron Yaaqov Industries Ltd., a position he has held since June 2006. In this role he is responsible for the worldwide sales & marketing and business development of the military product lines of the company, delviering products to more than 60 armies worldwide and developing and maintaining parntnerships is partner to nearly all major defense contractors.

Jehudah grew up in Germany and moved to Israel in 1994, when he started to work in the field of NBC-protection. As part of his remit he served as an advisor and consultant to many militaries on the field of CBRN-protection, developing a depth of subject knowledge within the field as well as a breadth of experience dealing with a varied range of armies and military and government authorities. Within this time he managed specific turn-key projects as well as key multi-national programmes. Within Beth El Jehudah has also served in the role of Area Export Manager within the European Division from 200-2006, taking on responsibility for the sales and marketing and business development of the company's product range within Europe and India.

Major General Berndt Grundevik
Chief of Staff
Swedish Army

Major General Berndt Grundevik was appointed as the Chief of Staff for the Swedish Army in 2007. During his service within the Swedish Armed Forces he has served in a variety of roles including Platoon Commander in the Royal Svea Life Guards Regiment, the Company Commander of the Lappland Ranger Regiment, Deputy Brigade Commander for the 1st Infantry Brigade (Mech), Commanding Officer for the Life Regiment Hussars (ranger regiment) and Chief of Planning, Plans and Policy at Swedish Army HQ Stockholm.

Major General Grundevik has served in a range of UN assignments, including as a Squad Leader in Sinai in 1977, a Platoon Commander in Cyprus in 1985 and the Task Force Commander, Kosovo (COM MNTF (C)/NATO) in 2007. He is a Member of The Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences and graduate of the Swedish War College. As well as having completed the Senior Officers’ International Defence Management Course at Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) in Monterey and the Combined Joint Staff Exercise at the Swedish National Defence College, Major General Grundevik has been an instructor in the Infantry Combat School and Course Director for the Swedish National Defence College.

Dr. John Gutteridge
Strategy & Business Development Director
BAE Systems Global Combat Systems

Dr. John Gutteridge read English at Wadham College Oxford and completed a D.Phil on Coleridge. He joined the Ministry of Defence in 1975, and became Assistant Private Secretary to two Secretaries of State. He then moved to the Procurement Executive where he worked on the Challenger tank and naval weapons programmes and qualified as a Management Accountant. He spent three years as a diplomat in the British Embassy in Washington as a member of the Defence Sales team.

In 1990 he resigned from MOD and held positions with Lucas Aerospace, Westinghouse and General Dynamics UK before joining BAE SYSTEMS in 1999 where he has held a number of appointments in General Management and Business Development. He is now Strategy & Business Development Director of Global Combat Systems, a £1Bn business based in the UK and Sweden, offering Combat Vehicles, Artillery and Munitions to the global market. John lives in Bath with his American wife Penny and their three daughters.

Jurjen Hoeskstra
Programme Manager, Boxer
OCCAR-EA

Mr Hoekstra joined the Royal Netherlands Army (RNLA) in 1979 and after 3 years training at the Officers School in the Signals/Telecommunication branch, took up his first post as platoonleader with a Signals company. After 2 years mr Hoekstra joined a test/trial organisation for a new Automated Telecommunication System for the RNLA. Five years of testing various upgrades of hardware and numerous versions of software led to a sufficient stable system. Mr Hoekstra continued afterwards for 3 years with training the users and army units and bringing the equipment into service. Stationed in the Sinai in Egypt for half a year he was company commander, commander of the communication centers and deputy signals officer. Back in the Netherlands he made a major switch to the Public Information branch and served in 3 consequetive posts of 3 years as head of the Public Information Office at the Royal Military Academy, a Regional Command (territorial) and the G3-missions areas section at the Army Command. In the 1994-95 period mr Hoekstra was stationed as PIO with the Netherlands UNPROFOR troops in Bosnia-Hercegovina. In 2001 after the PIO period, mr Hoekstra switched back to the technical area by accepting a post as exchange officer at the Program Executive Office Control, Command & Computers Tactical (PEOC3T) at Fort Monmouth in New Jersey, USA. For 3 years he participated in the development of the US Army’s Manoevre Control System (MCS) as test leader and was also one of the US representatives in the Multilateral Interoperability Program (MIP), an initiative to seamlessly exchange Command & Control (C2) information between 12 military C2 systems of NATO countries.

Returning to the Netherlands in 2004 mr Hoekstra continued working in the C2 branch at the C2 Support Centre, a development centre for C2 hardware, software and systems for Ground Based C2. As test leader he was involved with the development of a new Blue Force Tracking system, acquisition of a new battefield radio and the development of tactical networks in the prototype Boxer vehicle, an 8-wheeled multirole armoured vehicle under development. Mr Hoekstra joined the German-Netherlands Boxer Programme at the OCCAR organisation in Bonn, Germany in 2007. OCCAR is an international organisation for the management of collaborative defence equipment programmes. As Vehicles and Trials officer he was responsible for testing the prototype Boxer vehicles in the area of Armaments, Observation and Laser, Communication/C2 and in the Conceptual & General area. Two years later mr Hoekstra became the Programme Management Support Officer of the Boxer Programme and will continue his post till 2012 when he will return to the RNLA.

Brigadier General Norbert Huber
Head of Force Development Division
Austrian MoD

Brigadier General Norbert Huber was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant into the Mechanized Infantry Brigade 9 in 1984. In 1985 he was transferred to the infantry branch of the Armoured School and from 1989 returned to serve as a Company Commander within the Mechanized Infantry Brigade 9. After graduating from the Austrian General Staff Course in Vienna in 1994, he became a staff officer in the Ministry of Defence. In the same timeframe he was also Chief of Staff in the 9th infantry Brigade.

In 1999 Brigadier General Huber was appointed Commanding Officer of Jägerbataillon 17. During this time he was also responsible to train the first Austrian KFOR contingent. From 2000 bis 2001 he attended the Command and General Staff College/US Army in Ft LEAVENWORTH, USA. After his return and other staff positions in the MOD he was promoted to Director of Force Development in 2003. From July 2009 until January 2010 he served as Deputy Chief of Staff (DCOS SPT) KFOR and as the National Contingent Commander in Pristina.

Brigadier General Huber is married and has 3 children.

Brigadier General (S) Thomas James
Commandant
United States Army Armor School

Colonel James was commissioned in May 1985 from The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina. After attendance at the Armor Officer Basic Course, he was assigned to 3-37 Armor at Fort Riley, Kansas where he served as a tank platoon leader and company executive officer. Colonel James attended the Infantry Officer Advanced Course at Fort Benning, Georgia in 1989. Following the Advanced Course, he was assigned to 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division in Aschaffenburg, Germany where he served as an Assistant Brigade S-3 (Plans Officer). After participation in Desert Shield and Storm, Colonel James was assigned as Commander, Alpha Company, 4-66 Armor. He then moved to Baumholder, Germany and took command of Charlie Company, 2-68 Armor.

After Command, Colonel James served as the Aide-de-Camp to the 1st Armor Division Commander in Bad Kreuznach, Germany. Colonel James attended Command and General Staff College and Advanced Military Studies Program from 1996 to 1998 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Following school at Fort Leavenworth, he was assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Stewart, Georgia, where he served as a Division G-3 Plans Officer, Battalion Operations Officer in 1-64 Armor, and Brigade Operations Officer in 2nd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division. Colonel James then moved to Heidelberg, Germany where he was assigned as the V Corps G-3 Plans Chief. He commanded 1-37 Armor Battalion, in Friedberg, Germany to include deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. After command, he served as the 1st Armored Division G3 in Baghdad, Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Colonel James graduated from the National War College, Fort McNair, Washington, DC in 2005. He then served as the Chief, Command Planning Group at Headquarters TRADOC at Fort Monroe, Virginia. After TRADOC, COL James took command of the 4th Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Stewart where he served for just under three years and included an OIF rotation. He then moved to the 3rd Infantry Division Chief of Staff position serving a tour in OIF/OND in USD-N from OCT 2009 to NOV 2010. His civilian education includes a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from the Citadel, a Master's Degree in Military Art and Science from the US Army Command and General Staff College and a Master's of Science in National Security Strategy from the National Defense University.

Lieutenant General Sir John Kiszely
Former Director of the UK Defence Academy, and National President of the
Royal British Legion

Lieutenant General Sir John Kiszely recently retired from the Army having commanded on operations at every level from platoon to division, including tours of duty in Northern Ireland, the Falkland Islands (1982), Bosnia, and Iraq where he was Deputy Commander of Multinational Forces. His staff appointments included three tours of duty in the Ministry of Defence, latterly as Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff. His final appointment in the Army was as Director of the UK Defence Academy.

He is now a defence and security consultant, a Visiting Professor of War Studies at Kings College London, and President of the British Legion. During his service he contributed chapters to six books on military subjects, primarily historical, and he continues to commentate in the print media and on television, most recently in the series `Generals at War`.

Lieutenant General Robert Lennox
Deputy Chief of Staff, G-8 (Programs)
Department of the Army, US DoD

Lieutenant General Robert P. Lennox was appointed the United States Army’s fourth Deputy Chief of Staff, G-8, on November 2, 2009. He is responsible for integration and programming across the Army to meet the current and future force requirements.

Lieutenant General Lennox graduated in 1977 from the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Engineering. He also holds a Masters Degree in Business Administration from Stanford University, and a Masters Degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the National Defense University. Lieutenant General Lennox’s military education includes the Air Defense Artillery Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, the Combined Arms Services Staff School, the Army Command and General Staff College, and the National War College.

Lieutenant General Lennox’s last assignment was as the Director, Army Quadrennial Defense Review. His previous assignments include: Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff, G-3/5/7; Commanding General, United States Army Air Defense Artillery Center and Fort Bliss, Texas; Deputy Commanding General/Chief of Staff United States Army Accessions Command; Deputy Commanding General/Deputy for Operations, United States Army Space and Missile Defense Command; Deputy Commanding General, United States Army Air Defense Artillery Center and Fort Bliss; Director, Army Staff Transition Coordination Team, Office of the Chief of Staff, Army; Commander, 108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade; Missile Defense Planner, Sea, Air and Space Superiority Assessment Division, J-8 the Joint Staff; Commander, 1st Battalion (Avenger) 2nd Air Defense Artillery; Chief, G-3 (Plans and Exercises), 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command, United States Army Europe and Seventh Army; Executive Officer, 4th Battalion (PATRIOT), 43rd Air Defense Artillery, 32nd Army Air Defense Command, United States Army Europe and Seventh Army, Germany and OPERATION DETERMINED RESOLVE, Saudi Arabia; Instructor/Course Director, later Assistant Professor, later Associate Professor, Department of Social Sciences, United States Military Academy, West Point; Operations Officer, 1st Battalion 67th Air Defense Artillery, 9th Infantry Division; Assistant Division Air Defense Officer, 9th Infantry Division; Commander, C Battery, 1st Battalion 67th Air Defense Artillery, 9th Infantry Division; Platoon Leader B Battery, later Battery Executive Officer, C Battery, and later Battalion Adjutant of the 1st Battalion, 62 Air Defense Artillery, 25th Infantry Division.

Lieutenant General Lennox’s awards and decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal (with oak leaf cluster), the Legion of Merit (with four oak leaf clusters), the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal (with five oak leaf clusters), the Joint Service Commendation Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal (with oak leaf cluster), the Southwest Asia Service Medal, the Parachutist Badge, the Air Force Basic Space Badge, the Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge, and the Army Staff Identification Badge.

Rickard Lindstrom
Armoured Vehicles Specialist
FMV

Rickard O. Lindström, is the Chief Engineer and Strategic Specialist on Combat Vehicles at the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV), where he has worked within the field of Armoured Vehicles since 1986. In his time within the FMV he has served as Programme Manager for the SEP (Multi-Role Armoured Vehicle Platform), as well as being a reserve officer in the Armoured Corps of the Swedish Army. Mr. Lindström is a member of the Royal Academy of War Sciences and holds a Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Luleå Technical University.

Minister Peter Luff, MP
Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology
UK Ministry of Defence

Born and brought up in the garrison town of Windsor and in the shadow of its famous castle, Peter Luff developed his respect for the armed forces from his earliest days, watching the Changing of the Guard and other military ceremonies and displays. Although it was the army that first nurtured his loyalty to the services, marrying into a naval family cemented it. Even before his appointment as a Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology he had completed two separate 'tours of duty' with the Royal Navy under the auspices of the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme.

During his Parliamentary career, and prior to his appointment as a minister, he had concentrated on the scrutiny role, as Chairman of the Commons Agriculture Committee and, subsequently the Trade and Industry Committee. He also served for five years in the Opposition Whips' Office, including two years as Assistant Chief Whip. From 2005 to 2010, as Chairman of the Trade and Industry Committee (latterly known as the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee), he conducted a wide range of inquiries into issues now highly relevant to his defence portfolio, including, for example, a major inquiry into the Aerospace and Motorsport sectors.

As Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology he holds responsibility for some 40% of Britain's defence budget, including all equipment acquisition and support (through the DE&S organisation) and for MOD's science programme, including Dstl. He is also responsible for international collaboration on equipment and is the department's champion for small business.

Ted Maciuba, P.E
Director of Mounted Requirements
Maneuver Center of Excellence

Ted Maciuba, P.E., is the Director of Mounted Requirements for the Maneuver Center of Excellence, which is located at both Fort Knox, Kentucky, and Fort Benning, Georgia.

Mounted Requirements is responsible for materiel requirements for Combat Vehicles within the Heavy, Stryker, and Infantry Combat Teams; the Battlefield Surveillance Brigade; and the Armored Cavalry Regiment. His portfolio includes Abrams, Bradley, Stryker, Armored Multipurpose Vehicle (M113 replacement), the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle, as well as the new Ground Combat Vehicle. He is also responsible for materiel integrated into Combat Vehicles including medium and large caliber cannons and ammunition; remote weapons stations; sensors; and the Mounted Soldier System.

A graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, he earned a Master of Science in Engineering degree, with a major in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering, from the University of Texas at Austin, and is a Professional Engineer, licensed in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

Brigadier General (Promotable) N Lee S Price
Command, Control & Communications Tactical Program
US DoD

As the Program Executive Officer for Command, Control, Communications (Tactical), Brigadier General N. Lee S. Price provides the overall direction and guidance for the Army’s tactical communication infrastructure and Battle Command applications. Her workforce of 2000+ personnel executes an annual budget of over $4 billion to provide these capabilities to the warfighter. Prior to her current position, she served a three-year tenure as the Deputy Acquisition Executive for the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) where she was responsible for providing the specialized equipment and products for the Department of Defense Special Operators comprised of: Army Special Operations Forces and Rangers, Navy SEALS, Air Force Special Operations Command, Marine Special Operations Command, the Joint Special Operations Command, and Special Mission Units.

From July 2002 to July 2005 she was the Project Manager, Defense Communications and Army Transmission Systems (PM DCATS). As PM DCATS, she was honored as the Army’s Project Manager of the Year in October, 2004. In that position, she was responsible for managing programs valued at over $2 billion that support the National Command Authorities, Combatant Commanders, Joint Services and the Army. Highlights of those three years include: a $300 million project to build a commercial communications network in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Kuwait; delivering the first-ever dedicated communications for combat service support troops; increasing the production by over 1,000 percent on its award-winning Vehicle Intercom Systems; and more than quadrupling the deliveries of Land Mobile Radio systems for a variety of DoD forces and other Government agencies.

Prior to becoming PM DCATS, Brigadier General Price served in a variety of roles, from the commencement of her military career in 1975 as a Private First Class in the National Guard, to her roles as Project Manager for the Defense Information System Network- Pacific (a $2.5 billion Joint Services Program), Product Manager for the Theater Automated Command and Control Information Management System (TACCIMS), in Seoul, Korea, and Chief of the Director’s Group working for the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA). With over 20 years of acquisition experience, Brigadier General Price is a certified member of the Army Acquisition Corps. She also holds a Bachelor of Science degree and two Master’s degrees. Her awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Meritorious Service Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Combat Action Badge.

Christopher Elliott CB MBE
Director, Doctrine and Strategic Analysis
General Dynamics

After commissioning into the Royal Engineers, an early career led to command of 21 Engineer Regiment. Following that, he was Colonel GS in 1 (BR) Corps during the Gulf War, Commander of 6th Armoured Brigade in Soest Germany, Director of the Higher Command and Staff Course, Director of Military Operations at the Ministry of Defence, Military Advisor to Mr Carl Bilt, (first as EU Negotiator for Former Yugoslavia & the Dayton Peace Talks and then as High Representative in Bosnia), the founding Chief Executive of the British Army Training and Recruiting Agency, Chief of Staff to the Quartermaster General and latterly Director General of Doctrine and Development.

Since leaving the British Army in 2002 he has been employed as Director, Doctrine and Strategic Analysis for General Dynamics UK Ltd, as Strategist for Ove Arup and Partners, as Senior Concept Developer for the UK MOD & the US Department of Defense. He was Chairman of Purple Secure Systems Ltd, an SME at Bath University Technology Incubation Centre. He was President of the Institution of Royal Engineers, Colonel Commandant Royal Engineers and President of Victim Support, Wiltshire. He is a member of Easton Royal Parish Council. He is a Visiting Professor at Cranfield University.

He gained degrees as BSc and MPhil and studied as a Defence Fellow at Southampton University. He was created CB in 1999 and awarded the MBE for Gallantry in 1970. He is a DTI Yachtmaster, paraglider pilot and enjoys reading biography and natural history. He is a member of the RUSI, the Institution of Civil Engineers, Royal Cruising Club, Royal Engineers YC (past Commodore), Army Sailing Association (past Commodore), Royal Ocean Racing Club and Royal Lymington YC.

Andrew Simpson
UK Defence Advisor
Iveco Defence Vehicles Division

Andrew Simpson served in the Royal Tank Regiment culminating in a tour in the equipment directorate of the central staff, where he was instrumental in developing a strategy for the UK’s Light and Medium AFV fleet. He subsequently left to work in industry as a consultant, specialising in the procurement of armoured and logistic vehicles, and has been closely associated with Iveco Defence Vehicles for the past 17 years. He has worked on a wide range of programmes including both logistic and armoured vehicles, and played a key role in the team which successfully bid LMV into the Panther programme.

Lieutenant Colonel Andy Stevens
SO 1 Explosive Ordnance Engineering (EOE)/DS Ammo
UK Defence Academy

Lieutenant Colonel Andy Stevens was educated at Welbeck College (1979-1980) and Sandhurst gaining a Regular Commission in the RAOC in 1981. He deployed to the Falklands in 1982 with his first unit as part of 5 Brigade. There followed postings in Devizes, Corsham and Germany with 2nd and 3rd line Logistic units. He completed his Ammunition Technical Officer (ATO) Course in 1987, and was posted to 11 EOD Regiment where he demonstrated a flare for Improvised Explosive Device Disposal (IEDD) and qualified as a High Threat operator in 1989 and deployed to Belfast with 321 EOD Coy where he dealt with range of live IEDs and improvised weapons, and was awarded MID for gallantry. He taught IEDD at Army School of Ammunition (Kineton) 1990-91, then in Hong Kong he was the Depot Planning Officer.

In 1994 he was promoted to Major and after a 7 month tour in the Falklands took up command of 521 EOD Squadron RLC its role included Homeland Security for Northern Britain. From 1996-until 2001 he undertook staff appointments including being an Integrated Logistic Support manager for future ammunition systems. In 2001 he became the Second-in-Command of 8 Transport Regiment RLC; the unit was involved in: combating Foot & Mouth, Fire Fighting, Ex SAIF SAREEA in Oman, Kosovo and deployment on Op TELIC 1. In 2005 he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and became the Chief of Staff of the Defence EOD, Munitions and Search School (DEMSS), he completed an op tour as the MNC-I SO1 C-IED in Baghdad and was awarded the US Meritorious Service Medal. 2006-7 project management for move of DEMSS South from Chatham to Bicester. He attended the Advanced Command and Staff Course at the UK Defence Academy (2007-08) completed MA in Defence Studies. There followed an 8 month op tour as Deputy Commander of US C-IED Brigade in Iraq (Baghdad) Task Force TROY, and he was awarded the US Bronze Star. Since August 2009 he has been based at the UK’s Defence Academy where he heads up the Ammunition, Explosive Ordnance Engineering and C-IED department within the Technology Division of the College of Management and Technology.

He has just finished his second MA, in Modern History (WIMW with KCL) his dissertation covered the use of IEDs in modern conflicts. He has a real passion for the Ammunition Trade of the RLC and also for teaching and technical research.

William Suttie
Land Equipment Science Gateway, DE&S
UK MoD

William Suttie is a scientist working for the UK MOD Defence Science and Technology Laboratory. He has worked for the UK MOD for over 25 years in the field of military vehicle and equipment research and development. During this period areas of work have included NBC detection and protection, signature reduction, engineer vehicle concepts, minefield detection, collective training solutions, Combat Identification, integrated survivability and vehicle subsystem technology. Posts have included Technical Lead for Integrated Survivability research, UK Technical Lead for Ground Combat Identification and Capability Advisor for Mounted Close Combat.

He is currently seconded as the scientific advisor to Director Land Equipment in the Defence Equipment and Support Agency. He has an Honours degree in Automotive Engineering and a Masters Degree in Military Vehicle Technology.

Lieutenant General Jean-Tristan VERNA   
Commandeur
Légion d’Honneur

LtGeneral VERNA was born on the 19th of December 1952, in Marseilles. After a course in the Institute for Political Studies in Aix-en-Provence, he was graduated from the Ecole Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr (Class 1973-75), then from the Infantry School. He attended courses at the Ecole Supérieure de Guerre / Cours Supérieur Interarmées (1988-1990), and also at the Centre de Management de Défense (Paris).

Since August 2007, he is chief of the Land Equipment maintenance Joint Organisation (SIMMT)

As an infantry troop officer, he was appointed lieutenant to the Foreign Legion in 1976 and assigned to the 2nd Parachute Regiment (foreign). Mortars platoon leader, he was twice in action : airborne operation in Kolwezi, Zaïre, 1978, and Chad, 1979.

Captain, 2nd Infantry Regiment (Foreign), he commanded a rifle company (1983-85), and spent several tours in Africa. He took part in the multinational operation in Beirut, Lebanon, 1983.

After the Staff College course, he was S3 of the training regiment of the Foreign Legion (1990-92).

From 1996 to 1998, colonel, he was appointed commanding officer 2nd Infantry Regiment (Foreign), 6th Armoured Division (Light), in Nîmes. He took part in the operation ALMANDIN, Central Africa, 1996, then was CO French Bat/French-German Brigade in Rajlovac, Bosnia, 1996-1997 (implementation of the Dayton process, in Sarajevo, south-eastern Bosnia and Gorazde corridor).

At last in the Foreign Legion, he was chief of staff of the commanding General Foreign Legion, with the main task of building up the new 2nd Engineers Regiment.

As a staff officer, he has been for twelve years, in two tours, in the general Army staff, successively :

• Finances branch, staff officer in charge of personnel and running costs budget, and multinational budgets for French-German brigade, EuroCorps and EuroFor (1992-95).
• Finances branch, staff officer in charge of long term budgeting of the new all-volunteers army (1995-96).
• Finances branch, responsible of the procurement budget (1999-2001),
• Chief of the finances branch (2001-2003).
• Assistant of the Deputy chief of staff “organization – personnel” (2003-2004), in charge of the implementation of the new French budgeting act.
• From September 2004 to July 2007, Deputy chief of staff “plans, policy and finances”, including force development and procurement management. He was responsible for the design of the SCORPION procurement project, and the design and implementation of the new policy of “whole fleet management” in the Army. Alongside his DGA counterpart, he was french co-chairman of the french-german standing group on armement cooperation.

He was also twice an instructor in the Academy of Saint-Cyr.

General Sir Peter Wall, KCB, CBE, ADC Gen.
Chief of the General Staff
British Army

General Sir Peter Wall is Chief of the General Staff, United Kingdom. He started his military career in 1974 when he was commissioned into the Royal Engineers (RE) and then read Engineering at Cambridge. Among his early career were assignments in Belize and Rhodesia, in ‘Cold War’ Germany, in Hong Kong and in Sandhurst as a Platoon Instructor. During his career he has commanded at various levels and in varied conflicts including in 9 Parachute Squadron RE, 32 Engineer Regiment in Hohne (where he served in Bosnia), 16 Air Assault Brigade in the UK, the Joint Force Headquarters, and the 1st (UK) Armoured Division in Iraq and Germany.

His staff posts have included Chief of Staff of 5 Airborne Brigade, a Military Adviser post in MOD, Project Manager in Abbey Wood, Chief of Staff of the UK National Contingent HQ for Op TELIC 1, and Deputy Chief of Joint Operations (Ops) in the Permanent Joint Headquarters. In July 2009 he moved from Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Operations) in MoD to become Commander-in-Chief Land Forces, and in September 2010, he was appointed Chief of the General Staff. General Sir Peter Wall also serves as the Chief Royal Engineer and President of Army rugby, Association Football, modern pentathlon and sport parachuting.

Major General (Ret) Chris Wilson
Strategy Director
Thales Land Defence (UK)

Chris Wilson is the Strategy and Business Development Director of the Land Defence Division of Thales UK. A former Army officer, he was commissioned into the Royal Artillery in 1973. Much of his early service was spent in field artillery regiments in Germany, including several operational tours in Northern Ireland, and in weapons staff appointments in the Ministry of Defence. His regimental level career culminated with command of 47 Regt RA, an air defence regiment based on Thorney Island, from 1993-95.

On promotion to Colonel in 1995, he spent 2 years as Director of Staff Operations at HQ AFNORTHWEST, a NATO HQ based outside High Wycombe, which was followed by attendance on the 1998 course at RCDS. Promoted to Brigadier towards the end of the course, he moved to Wilton as Commander Royal Artillery at HQ LAND and Commander 1st Artillery Brigade. In December 2000, he became Director Capability Integration (Army), a new appointment established to advise CGS on matters to do with equipment and sustainability. After 3 years in that appointment, he took up the post of Director Royal Artillery for a year. Promoted to Major General in January 2005, he returned to RCDS on the Senior Directing Staff for a year before deploying for 9 months as Deputy Commanding General Combined Forces Command, the US led coalition in Afghanistan. He took up his final appointment as Director (Battlespace Manoeuvre) and Master General of the Ordnance, which brought with it membership of the Army Board, in November 2006. He retired from the Army in 2010 after a military career spanning 37 years and joined Thales in January 2011.

He is married and lives in Farnham with his wife and two daughters. He enjoys sailing and listening to music although much of his time is necessarily spent tending an unruly garden. He is a Colonel Commandant of the Royal Artillery and a Trustee of the Services Sound and Vision Corporation. He was made a Commander of the British Empire in 2004 and a Companion of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath in 2009.

Nagarajan Sridharan
CEO & Director-Marketing
Fedders Lloyd

Nagarajan Sridharan has gained vast experience of over 30 years in the Indian Appliances and Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Industry holding several portfolios and over 6 years international exposure in Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia in HVAC&R portfolios and Building Products.

He holds a first class Mechanical Engineering Graduation (Honours Course) from College of Engineering, GUINDY, Anna University and Post Graduate Management Diploma from University of Mumbai, India .

In his current capacity as CEO & Director Marketing for Fedders Lloyd Corporation Limited, he has accumulated over 7 years of experience on Defence, Railways ,and Telecom segments. His work has led to direct and successful implementation of environmental control and auxiliary power support capabilities in large numbers across Indian Army vehicle fleets.

In his presentation, Mr. Sridharan is sharing his experience as a part of Fedders Lloyd Corporation Ltd, INDIA , in respect of innovative work carried out to provide Environmental control and Auxillary power support for the BMP 2/2k variants , Infantry Combat Vehicles , Ambulance, AERV, Missile Launching Vehicles , Tracked and Wheeled , Mobile Radar vehicles, MBT versions, and MPVs.

Cobus van der Merwe
Executive Manager, Land Systems
Saab Group

Cobus van der Merwe has extensive experience of Armour User systems and related technologies stemming from 26 years military service that included acquisition and technology program management. Some of his appointments were Armour R&D Wing commander, PM for the ROOIKAT Wheeled Combat Vehicle program, PM for SA Army Vehicle Simulators and Senior Staff Officer Armour R&D for the South African Army. During the last 5 years of his military career, he managed SA Army vehicle technology programs including active protection, electric drive vehicles and signature management.

He is currently employed at Saab where he has a broad background on Research and Development, product management, marketing and business development. His current position includes international business development for Active protection solutions. He is regarded as an expert in the field of vehicle protection and is a frequent speaker at international events on survivability related subjects. In 2010 he won the Saab Corporate Innovator of the Year Award.

Jeff Malacarne
Technical Director
Barco Defense & Aerospace

As Technical Director, Jeff Malacarne focuses on defining the visual computing product strategy for the Barco Defense organization. Since joining Barco in 1992, Jeff has led the development of graphics and video processing products for air traffic control, naval, airborne, and ground vehicle systems. During this time, his team developed intelligent display equipment with advanced visualization processing capabilities for the FCS NLOS-C program.

Prior to joining Barco, Jeff worked at Hughes Aircraft Co. developing computer graphics technology for mission critical systems and holds 8 related patents. He received a BSEE from SUNY at Buffalo and an MS in Computer Engineering from the University of Southern California.

Mr. Johan Runesson
Managing Director
Strömsholmen AB

Johan Runesson is Managing Director for Strömsholmen AB which is a part of Barnes Group Inc. Strömsholmen develops, sells and produces gas-hydraulic suspension for heavy duty off-highway vehicles. The products are sold under the brand name KALLER. In addition to the internally developed suspension products Strömsholmen recently bought the gas-hydraulic suspension product line from Curtis Wright. The “hydrops” developed by Curtis Wright is now an integral part of Strömsholmen product offering.

Mr. Runesson holds a M. Sc in Mechanical engineering from the University of Linköping, Sweden. Began working at Strömsholmen in 1991 and was head of the R&D department from 1994 until 2006 when he took up the role of Managing Director for the company.

Marc Chassillan
Director of Communications
Panhard

Marc Chassillan, 50, is an international expert in AFV design and technologies. He is graduated from the High School of Armament Engineers (HSAE). In 1986 he started his career at the AMX-APX arsenal, working on Leclerc MBT and various AFV projects like the Vextra 8x8 high mobility demonstrator and the VBCI. After various appointments and 25 years in Giat industries and Nexter (Program manager, VP marketing and sales for Middle East and Africa, VP Technologies & BD, VP Communications), he created the SPAD company in 2011, consultancy in AFV (market analysis, design, engineering and industrial strategy).

Marc Chassillan is author of hundreds of articles and many books on AFV history and technologies. He is speaker in international conferences and symposiums. He is professor (architecture of land weapon systems) at the French Military Academy and at the HSAE.

Since August 2011 he is VP marketing of Panhard General Defence.

Marc Chassillan is knight of the Ordre National du Mérite.

Major Steen Holm Iversen
Lessons Learned, Development Division, Army Combat Centre
Danish Army

Major Steen Holm Iversen has served in the Danish Army since 1985 and has a broad military background. Major Iversen has served as Platoon and Company Commander from 1993 - 2003 in both Mechanized Infantry units and armoured units and undertaken several deployments in that period of time. Since 2003, Major Iversen has been serving at the Danish Army Combat Centre (DACC) in DK-6840 Oksboel. DACC is responsible of the research and development of the infantry, armoured and the reconnaissance units and the battlegroup level of the Danish Army.

From 2005-2006 as Chief of the Medium Battle Tank Branch Major Iversen was responsible for the studies and conceptual work which led to a possible redefining of the use of the Medium Battle Tank in today’s Counter Insurgency. This work undertaken by Major Iversen and his team later contributed and made the deployment of the LEO 2 MBT to ISAF in 2007 possible.

In 2008 Major Iversen was assigned as Chief of the Research and Development Branch in the Armoured Division of the DACC. In this position, Major Iversen was actively involved in defining the requirements for new procurements and for the ongoing development of the wheeled and tracked platforms of the Danish Army. The responsibility of Major Iversen and his team included mobility, agility, protection, sensor suites, armament and ammunition. During this period Major Iversen also was assigned as one of the authors on the most extensive survey on protection technologies, the operational usage in relation to both the present and future fleets of vehicles ever produced in within the Danish defence. This later became the a part of the present concept of the Danish army.

In Major Iversen was assigned to the Development Division of the DACC as chief Lessons Learned Branch. In this position Major Iversen is responsible for the developing the Lessons Learned of the Danish Army Combat Centre.

Since 2008 Major Iversen has been a part of the Danish Army Special investigation group. The group is responsible of investigating larger or special incidents involving Danish units in Afghanistan. The group is formed under Danish Army Operational Command.