AeroVironment creates COO, promotes Herring

AeroVironment announced a realignment of its senior management team to support its growth plans. The company promoted Senior Vice President and UAS General Manager Tom Herring to the newly established position of chief operating officer. Herring will focus on the planning and execution of the company’s annual operating plan and on operational excellence.

The company also promoted Roy Minson from vice president and deputy general manager, UAS to senior vice president and general manager of the UAS business segment. AeroVironment’s board of directors approved Minson’s appointment as an officer of the company, effective May 7, 2012. Minson joined AeroVironment in April 2010 after nearly 30 years of broad experience in defense and commercial markets to lead UAS business development and serve as vice president and deputy general manager for the business segment.

“Tom will focus his attention on the effective execution of our annual operating plan and the efficient expansion of our capabilities to support the growth we anticipate. Both Roy Minson and Wahid Nawabi, general manager of our Efficient Energy Systems business segment, will now report to Tom,” said Tim Conver, AeroVironment chairman, chief executive officer and president.

AeroVironment pioneered and is now a leader in the small unmanned aircraft systems market. AeroVironment also helped pioneer the market for electric vehicle (EV) charging solutions and is now a leader in industrial EV and passenger EV charging infrastructure solutions, with deployment of more than 7,000 of its level 2 charging systems in 44 states and multiple Canadian provinces and a growing number of its networked fast charging stations available for public use.

“Our team’s success in growing existing businesses and moving innovative new products and services to market has been outstanding and other major product and market developments are coming to fruition. Our senior management team is now structured to focus diligently on both operational excellence and the achievement of our long-term growth plans, and we look forward to continuing to create value for all our stakeholders,” said Conver.

“When I joined AeroVironment in 2009 I was excited by the growth prospects that lay ahead of the company and by the opportunity to help realize them,” said Herring. “Today I am even more enthusiastic about our people, our products and services that are so important to our customers and the multiple, significant growth opportunities we are pursuing. I look forward to working with Tim and the broader AeroVironment team in my new role as we continue to deliver valuable new capabilities to our customers that empower them to be more successful.”