Karman's incoming CEO and more leadership moves across the market

Karman Space and Defense, and L3Harris Technologies

Jon Rambeau, a former segment president at L3Harris Technologies and three-decade industry veteran, will join this fellow hardware and systems maker as chief executive on March 23.

Rambeau will succeed the retiring Tony Koblinski, who has led Karman as CEO since 2021 and whose tenure includes the company’s $506 million initial public offering in February 2025. Koblinski will remain a member of Karman’s board of directors.

Karman supplies payloads, propulsion and launch systems, and others to other prime contractors.

Rambeau most recently worked as president of L3Harris’ communications and spectrum dominance segment. Rambeau first joined L3Harris in the fall of 2022 as president of the integrated mission systems segment after 25 years at Lockheed Martin.

At L3Harris, Sam Mehta has been appointed president to oversee both its space and mission systems segment and the group Rambeau formerly led. Mehta first joined L3Harris in 2023 as president of the communications segment after two decades at Raytheon Technologies.

A-Tek

Stephanie Cumberbatch has moved up to chief operating officer at the technology and professional services company, which she first joined in 2007 as a program manager.

Cumberbatch most recently worked as an executive vice president for eight years. She now oversees day-to-day operations and other corporate functions as CEO Kathryn Freeland continues to focus on A-Tek’s strategy and vision, she wrote in a LinkedIn post.

Cumberbatch’s career at A-Tek also includes a stint as vice president for its federal civilian business.

Boeing

Lane Ballard, a three-decade veteran of the airplane maker, has started a new role as chief technology officer following the retirement of Todd Citron after four years as CTO.

Ballard made the announcement in a LinkedIn post and said to “stay tuned” for future insights and updates.

He also holds the title of vice president of engineering and technology innovation. His career at Boeing includes stints as chief engineer, as well as vice president and general manager for the 787 program.

Bridge Defense

Dan Phillips has joined the cybersecurity and software engineering company as chief operating officer to work with CEO Jack Kilcoyne on the next phase of its strategy.

Phillips most recently worked as chief operating officer at OneVizion, a developer of enterprise software for managing large-scale infrastructure projects. He also is a former COO of Afterburner, a business consultancy.

Before entering industry, Phillips served as an Army infantry officer with assignments in both special operations and conventional units.

Constellis

Jason Rahimitabar has joined the provider of security, training and risk management services as executive vice president responsible for its LEXSO platform.

Constellis designed LEXSO as a unified decision offering that brings together sensing, threat analysis and autonomous security operations into a single view for operators.

Rahimitabar is a 15-year defense market veteran who most recently worked as vice president of strategy and growth operations for C3.ai’s federal business. He is also a 14-year veteran of CAE USA, where his most recent role was a VP post in its Washington operations team.

In February, Constellis hired former CAE and C3.ai executive Dan Gelston as CEO.

Copper River Family of Companies

Paul Pfleger has moved up to a pair of dual roles at this group of government services contractors, which are owned by the Alaska Native village of Eyak.

Pfleger will work as president of the Copper River Information Technology subsidiary, as well as executive vice president of Copper River Data Solutions.

He has been with Copper River for 16 years, a tenure that has included sales and account leadership roles.

Empower AI

Ryan Hopper has joined the artificial intelligence integrator to lead its military services business unit, a role he brings 24 years of national security sector experience to.

Hopper most recently worked as a vice president at Peraton, where he oversaw programs in support of combatant commands and other defense agencies.

His career also includes roles at Perspecta, Vencore, The SI Organization and Lockheed Martin.

eSimplicity

Richard Smith has joined this integrator of commercial and open source technology as a vice president and general manager, a role he brings three decades of public sector experience to.

Smith will oversee operations, strategy and growth of eSimplicity’s portfolio in the defense and national security markets.

His career in industry includes executive roles at ManTech and CACI International. He is also a two-decade veteran of the Navy Reserve, plus a former chief information security officer for the Transportation Security Administration.

Vibrint

Chris Oliver, formerly ID Technologies’ chief executive until its acquisition by CACI International in 2022, has joined this fellow defense tech integrator as general manager of products.

Led by CEO Tom Lash, Vibrint rebranded to its current name and identity in 2023. Vibrint is focusing on national security requirements in areas such as high-performance computing and software systems.

Oliver became ID Technologies’ CEO in 2018 following the split of Intelligent Decisions, where he spent 14 years.

Leonardo DRS

Reuben Jeffery III will join the defense technology company’s board of directors on April 1 to succeed David Carey, who is retiring after 17 years on the panel.

Jeffery will sit on the board’s government security committee and audit, nominating and corporate governance committee.

He led Rockefeller & Co. as chief executive from 2010 to 2018. He is also a former undersecretary of state for economic, energy and agricultural affairs.