Herrick Technology Laboratories promotes Kettering to CEO
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By
Ross Wilkers
Chad Kettering will lead the next phase of HTL's push to further develop its software capabilities and roll out new radios.
Herrick Technology Laboratories, a maker of software-defined radios and other defense communications products, has promoted 12-year company veteran Chad Kettering to chief executive in a move effective immediately.
Kettering succeeds HTL’s founder Acie Vickers, who has moved to chairman of the board of directors. HTL said Wednesday this transition takes place as Vickers shifts to address a serious health issue.
The Germantown, Maryland-headquartered company designs its products and systems for use in signals intelligence and electronic warfare programs. In the spring of 2024, HTL received a $25 million equity investment from the government market-focused investment firm Blue Delta Capital Partners.
HTL’s plan was to use a bulk of that capital to further develop its software capabilities and work toward rolling out a lineup of next-generation radios.
Now as CEO, Kettering will lead the next phase of those efforts. Kettering most recently worked as vice president of engineering at HTL and joined in 2013 from Digital Receiver Technology, a Boeing subsidiary.
“Acie has built a world-class, cutting-edge provider of SIGINT and EW products to the Department of [Defense], the intelligence community and our allies across the globe, and I look forward to leading our team forward in developing and delivering even greater capabilities,” Kettering said in a release. “We sincerely wish Acie a full and speedy recovery as he addresses the health challenges that he is facing and the entire HTL family will have him on our thoughts during his journey.”
HTL also operates a research-and-development and production laboratory in Manchester, New Hampshire. This facility is home to design, assembly and testing work on prototypes along with low-quantity production runs.
“Working with Chad for the past 2 years has shown our team why Acie has always been so bullish on his abilities and his capability to scale," said Mark Frantz, a Blue Delta co-founder. "Chad is an accomplished technologist, leading a large team delivering innovative and dynamic EW and SIGINT products to the defense industrial base."