Wahid Nawabi to Become Chief Executive Officer, Effective May 2, 2016
Tim Conver Announces Retirement as CEO, Effective May 1; Will
Continue to Serve as Chairman of the Board of Directors
SIMI VALLEY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV) today announced that its Board of
Directors has appointed Wahid Nawabi, currently president and chief
operating officer, as chief executive officer and a member of the Board
of Directors, effective May 2, 2016. Mr. Nawabi succeeds Tim Conver, who
will retire as CEO effective May 1, 2016, and remain chairman of the
Board.
"The AeroVironment Board, with my full support, has selected an
outstanding and proven leader at a time when our management team is
strong and our opportunities are great. This is the right time for Wahid
Nawabi to transition to CEO of AeroVironment," said Mr. Conver.
"Throughout his tenure at AeroVironment, Wahid has demonstrated
exceptional leadership in complex and broad management roles while
executing our strategy and generating value for our customers. Over the
past five years, Wahid has been integral in supporting and building on
our culture of innovation. He is uniquely capable and positioned to lead
the next phase of AeroVironment's growth for the benefit of our
customers, employees and stockholders. I look forward to working with
Wahid and my fellow directors to continue supporting AeroVironment as
chairman, with a focus on increasing long term stockholder value."
"Tim recognized the unique potential of our people and culture more than
25 years ago and transformed AeroVironment into a pioneering business
and market leader, delivering valuable new categories of capability to
customers in multiple industries," said Mr. Nawabi. "Today,
AeroVironment operates a strong core business while advancing a
portfolio of growth opportunities, including unmanned aircraft systems,
Tactical Missile Systems, commercial UAS and electric vehicle charging.
I am grateful for Tim and the Board's confidence in me, and honored to
assume the leadership of our tremendous team in pursuit of continued
growth and value creation."
Mr. Conver became AeroVironment's president in 1990 and has served as
its CEO since 1992. During that period AeroVironment grew from a private
company with annual revenue of $10 million to a public company with
annual revenue last fiscal year of $259 million and a current market
capitalization of more than $650 million.
"The Board maintains an ongoing, deliberate process for managing
executive succession. This announcement is the result of that process,
and began when Tim first approached the Board to discuss planning for
his succession several years ago," said Arnie Fishman, lead independent
director. "When the Board appointed Wahid to the COO role nearly one
year ago and to the role of president this past January, we were
confident he was the right leader for AeroVironment. Wahid has
demonstrated the skills and characteristics we knew were required to
continue to lead the company with the success that Tim has delivered
over the last 25 years and we are excited to welcome him to the new
role."
About Wahid Nawabi
Wahid Nawabi, 46, has served as chief operating officer of AeroVironment
since April 2015 and as president since January 2016. He joined the
Company in 2011 as senior vice president and general manager of the EES
business segment, where he led the redesign of the segment's business
strategy and successfully launched a number of innovative new products.
Mr. Nawabi also managed multiple business process improvement projects,
which led to significant enhancements in operational efficiency. He then
directed the integration of engineering, operations, supply chain and
quality functional organizations into a single corporate shared services
model across both UAS and EES business segments and all product lines.
Before joining AeroVironment, Mr. Nawabi worked with global technology
companies in industries spanning industrial/electrical equipment
manufacturing and clean technology. He initiated and led the
Enterprise/Data Center business at APC, which was later acquired by
Schneider Electric, growing revenue to $600 million between 2000 and
2008. Mr. Nawabi also previously led C&D Technologies' Americas business.
About AeroVironment, Inc.
AeroVironment is a technology solutions provider that designs, develops,
produces, supports and operates an advanced portfolio of Unmanned
Aircraft Systems (UAS) and electric transportation solutions. The
company's electric-powered, hand-launched unmanned aircraft systems
generate and process data to deliver powerful insight, on demand, to
people and enterprises engaged in military, public safety and commercial
activities around the world. AeroVironment's electric transportation
solutions include a comprehensive suite of electric
vehicle (EV) charging systems, installation and network services for
consumers, automakers, utilities and government agencies, power
cycling and test systems for EV developers and industrial
electric vehicle charging systems for commercial fleets. More
information about AeroVironment is available at www.avinc.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
Certain statements in this press release may constitute "forward-looking
statements" as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. These statements are made on the basis of current
expectations, forecasts and assumptions that involve risks and
uncertainties, including, but not limited to, economic, competitive,
governmental and technological factors outside of our control, that may
cause our business, strategy or actual results to differ materially from
those expressed or implied. Factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from the forward-looking statements include, but are
not limited to, our ability to perform under existing contracts and
obtain additional contracts; our reliance on sales to the U.S.
government; changes in the timing and/or amount of government spending;
changes in the supply and/or demand and/or prices for our products and
services; changes in the regulatory environment; the activities of
competitors; failure of the markets in which we operate to grow; failure
to expand into new markets; failure to develop new products or integrate
new technology with current products; and general economic and business
conditions in the United States and elsewhere in the world. For a
further list and description of such risks and uncertainties, see the
reports we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including
our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on
10-Q. We do not intend, and undertake no obligation, to update any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise.
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AeroVironment, Inc.
Steven Gitlin, +1 (626) 357-9983
pr@avinc.com
Source: AeroVironment, Inc.
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