Philip King

President

Education: BS and MS in Electrical Engineering.

Commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force in 1972. Served as a USAF Pilot, 1972-85. Flew the F-4 Phantom II, the O-2, and the F-15 Eagle. The O-2 was a Forward Air Control (FAC) aircraft. The other two were jet fighters. Had assignments all over the U.S. plus one wonderful year at Kunsan, Korea.

Joined McDonnell-Douglas in St. Louis, MO in 1985 as an Electronics Engineer assigned to F/A-18 Avionics Integration. Remained there as McDonnell became part of Boeing in 1997. Retired from Boeing in Nov 2011, after spending nearly 27 years in Avionics Engineering, Engineering Support of International Marketing Efforts, Avionics Management, and ultimately, Program Management. My final position was in F-15 Program Management, reporting directly to the Boeing F-15 VP/GM.

In 1988, while employed by McDonnell, I joined the U.S. Navy Reserve as an Aviation Engineering Duty Officer (AEDO). Initially commissioned as a Navy Lieutenant. Served in the USNR, 1988-2005. During that time, I was assigned to NAVAIRSYSCOM field units and also to the HQ, which is currently at NAS Patuxent River, MD. The Navy trained me in Defense Acquisition. I served as the Commanding Officer of two USNR AED Units – one at NS Newport, RI; the other at NAS Atlanta, GA. Retired as a Navy Captain in late 2005.

At McDonnell / Boeing, I was extensively involved with the development of helmet mounted displays. In 1986, I integrated the Kaiser Agile Eye into the F-15 Simulators for use in a USAF R&D study that demonstrated that we could double our kill ratios by employing helmet mounted displays in fighter aircraft. In 1987, I integrated the Kaiser Agile Eye into a U.S. Navy F/A-18 Hornet, and on 13 Nov 87, we made the first flight ever of a modern helmet mounted display in a fighter-attack aircraft, when we flew the Kaiser Agile Eye in an F/A-18A Hornet at NAWC China Lake, CA. As you may know, Kaiser Electronics was one of the original parent companies of VSI, and they ultimately became part of Rockwell-Collins. In the early 90s, I integrated the prototype Elbit Display and Sight Helmet (DASH) into an F/A-18D Hornet for demonstrations to the Israeli Air Force and the Republic of Singapore Air Force.

In Dec 1994, I was invited by the U.S. Government to the first meeting involving industry, for a new initiative called the Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS). In 1996, I became part of the initial Boeing JHMCS Program, and we selected VSI as the supplier of JHMCS equipment. I worked on the Boeing JHMCS Program for the next 16 years, serving first as the F/A-18 IPT Lead, then as the Deputy Program Manager, and finally as the Boeing JHMCS Program Manager, from 2005-2011.

Soooo … I know this business – Helmet Mounted Displays – from the standpoint of the Business (JHMCS Program Manager), the Technology (Avionics Engineer involved in helmet mounted display development), the Government Defense Acquisition stuff (trained by the U.S. Navy), and the Operational Fighter Pilot / Warfighter issues and concerns (former USAF Fighter Pilot and FAC). And I know the two services – Air Force and Navy – that make up most of our current and potential customers. Hopefully, that experience (nearly 40 years) will help me lead this wonderful enterprise well, so we can enjoy continued success.

Phil

Alexander (Alex) Aharonov

Chief of Staff & Director of Product Support

Alex Aharonov is presently the Chief of Staff & Director of Product Support at Vision Systems International, LLC. Prior positions included Senior Program Manager for development programs at VSI, JHMCS Program Manager at Elbit Systems, Ltd., Technical Manager and System Engineer at Elbit Systems, Ltd.

Alex has over 15 years of experience in military avionics which includes marketing, design, development, manufacturing and support of advanced avionics systems, including helmet mounted systems, flight simulators, telemetry data analysis systems, and avionics integration stations. Alex received a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Bridgeport in 1991 and a Masters Degree in Management from Boston University in 1996.

Daniel (Dani) Jasper

Vice President of JHMCS Programs

Dani Jasper is presently the Vice President of JHMCS Programs at Vision Systems International, LLC. Prior positions included Deputy Program Director of JHMCS at VSI, Program Manager at Elbit Systems, Ltd. and Technical Manager and System Engineer at Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI).

Dani has over 25 years of experience in military avionics which includes marketing, design, development, manufacturing and support of advanced avionics systems and aircraft upgrades including Helmet Mounted and Display systems, Fire Control systems ,Navigation systems, Display and Control systems  and  avionics integration stations. Dani received a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from the Technion University at Haifa, Israel, in 1984, and a Masters Degree in Management from Polytechnic of New-York in 2002.

Louis (Lou) M. Taddeo

Executive Director of Business Development & Strategic Planning

Mr. Louis Taddeo is the Executive Director of Business Development & Strategic Planning at Vision Systems International, LLC, and (VSI).  Lou has over 20 years of Helmet Mounted Display (HMD) specific experience ranging from Program Management to Marketing and Business Development.  Lou was instrumental in the formation of VSI as a member of the original team in 1996. His experience encompasses every aspect of VSI’s HMD product line including contribution to all company successes and accomplishments.

Prior to VSI, Lou was employed at Kaiser Electronics as the Program Director for all fixed-wing Helmet Mounted Display programs.  He also led the initial development team for the F-22 head-down display suite and the F-14D cockpit display suite.  Prior employment included positions in project and systems engineering at several aerospace companies including McDonnell Douglas, General Dynamics and United Technologies.  Lou received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Aeronautical Maintenance from San Jose State University in 1979, and a Master of Science Degree from the University of Southern California in 1982. Lou is a rated Commercial Pilot and avid golfer.

Francis Tang

Chief Financial Officer

Francis Tang is presently the Chief Financial Officer of Vision Systems International, LLC. Prior to his position at Vision Systems International Francis was the Assistant Corporate Controller at the corporate office of Kaiser Aerospace & Electronics Corp (KAEC) from 1993 to 2001. Before moving to the corporate office of KAEC in 1993, Francis was the Division Controller at Kaiser Electronics (the largest division of KAEC) from 1980 to 1993. The five years prior to his employment with Kaiser Electronics, Francis worked at Electromagnetic Systems Lab (a subsidiary of TRW) and Physics International.

Francis’ 34+ years in his field has been associated with DoD contractors and, in addition to his knowledge and expertise of FAR and CAS, has designed, developed and implemented various financial, cost accounting, budgeting and analytical systems/models over the course of his career.

Francis received his Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from the University of California, Berkeley in 1974 and a MBA from California State University, Hayward in 1980.

Dave MeDearmid

Director of Contracts

Dave McDearmid is the Director of Contracts at Vision Systems International, LLC. In this capacity he is responsible for all Customer contracts, subcontracts to suppliers and proposal pricing. Dave has worked in various capacities on USG and DoD programs since 1972. Prior to joining VSI in 1997 he worked for Kaiser Aerotech serving as Director of Pricing and previously as Program Manager on Fleet Ballistic Missile programs. Earlier, while working for Kaiser Engineers, he served as Director of Proposals, and worked in the contracts group of a Joint Venture engaged in a $780 Million USG-funded transportation project.

Dave’s 37+ years of experience in various positions has given him a solid background in the administration and execution of USG and DoD engineering and manufacturing programs. Dave has a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from California State University, San Jose.

James (Jim) Baker

Director of Quality Assurance

Jim Baker is the Director of Quality Assurance at Vision Systems International, LLC. Jim has over 25 years experience in the electronics industry, holding Quality and Operations management positions in both high volume computer manufacturing (Sun Microsystems, Apple Computer and Hewlett Packard) and in the Defense Contracts industry (Raytheon, Texas Instruments and Motorola).

In these roles, Jim has led corporate technical projects in CFC elimination, lead free soldering for electronics assembly, solder joint reliability, and seamless site-to-site product transfer. He has also taught courses at Stanford and UC Berkeley concerning electronics assembly and product lifecycle processes.

Jim is a certified Six Sigma Black Belt and has a B.A. degree in Chemistry from the University of California at Riverside and M.S. in Chemistry from Michigan State University.