Appointment

APPOINTMENTS AIR MARSHAL VR CHAUDHARI ASSUMES COMMAND OF WESTERN AIR COMMAND

New Delhi. Air Marshal VR Chaudhari AVSM VM took over as Air Officer Commandingin-Chief of Western Air Command, Indian Air Force (IAF) on August 1. He succeeds Air Marshal B Suresh PVSM AVSM VM ADC.

Air Marshal VR Chaudhari was commissioned into Fighter Stream of the IAF on December 29, 1982 as a Fighter Pilot. In a distinguished career spanning nearly 38 years, the Air Officer has flown wide variety of fighter and trainer aircraft in the inventory of IAF. He has a flying experience of more than 3800 hrs, including operational flying on MiG-21, MiG-23 MF, MiG 29 and Su-30 MKI fighter aircraft. In recognition of his distinguished service, the Air Marshal was awarded Vayu Sena Medal (VM) in January 2004 and the Ati Vishist Seva Medal (AVSM) in January 2015.

VICE ADMIRAL S R SARMA ASSUMES CHARGE AS CHIEF OF MATERIEL, INDIAN NAVY

New Delhi: Vice Admiral S R Sarma on September 1 assumed charge as the Chief of Materiel (COM) of the Indian Navy. He replaces Vice Admiral GS Pabby, who superannuates on completion of an illustrious naval career spanning close to four decades. The Admiral officer is a post graduate in Computer Science and Engineering from IISc, Bengaluru and a distinguished alumni of Naval Higher Command Course. During his illustrious career spanning over three and a half decades, he has served onboard Indian Naval Ships Vindhyagiri, Rana, Krishna and Mysore in various capacities. In recognition of his distinguished services, the Vice Admiral was awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) and Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM). He is also a recipient of Lt VK Jain Gold Medal in 1994.

VICE ADMIRAL DINESH TRIPATHI ASSUMES CHARGE AS DIRECTOR GENERAL NAVAL OPERATIONS

New Delhi: Vice Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi on August 13 assumed charge as Director General Naval Operations (DGNO). He is an alumnus of National Defence Academy Khadakwasla and was commissioned into Indian Navy on July 1, 1985.The Flag Officer is a specialist in Communication and Electronic Warfare, and has served on frontline warships of the Navy as Signal Communication Officer and Electronic Warfare Officer, and later as the Executive Officer and Principal Warfare Officer of Guided Missile Destroyer INS Mumbai. A graduate of Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, where he was awarded the Thimmaya Medal, Vice Admiral Tripathi has attended Naval Higher Command Course and Naval Command College at the US Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island in 200708, where he won the Prestigious Robert E Bateman International Prize.

VICE ADMIRAL MA HAMPIHOLI TAKES CHARGE AS COMMANDANT, INDIAN NAVAL ACADEMY

New Delhi: Vice Admiral MA Hampiholi on July 27 took charge as Commandant of the Indian Naval Academy (INA) from Vice Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, who served a successful tenure of over 13 months. Vice Admiral Tripathi took over as the Commandant of Indian Naval Academy on June 12, 2019 last year. During his tenure, the Academy saw marked transformation in infrastructure and training facilities. Under the Flag Officer’s leadership, on November 12, 2019, INA was bestowed with the President’s Colour for rendering 50 years of yeoman service in shaping Naval leaders for Indian Navy, Coast Guard and Friendly Foreign Countries. Vice Admiral Tripathi was accorded a warm send off, with the traditional ‘Pulling Out’ ceremony. Vice Admiral Hampiholi is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Khadakvasala; Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, the erstwhile College of Naval Warfare, Karanja and the prestigious National Defence College, New Delhi.

BOEING APPOINTS MARC ALLEN CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER

HICAGO. The Boeing

CCompany on September 17 named B Marc Allen as chief strategy officer and senior vice president, Strategy and Corporate Development, reporting to President and CEO David Calhoun. The company also announced Christopher Raymond as the company’s chief sustainability officer, a newly created position reporting to Executive Vice President, Enterprise Operations and Chief Financial Officer Greg Smith. The appointments are effective October 1.

Allen, first appointed to the company’s Executive Council in 2014 as president of Boeing International, will now take on responsibility for the enterprise’s overarching strategy, including long-term planning; global business and corporate development; and strategic investments, acquisitions and divestitures.

As Boeing’s first chief sustainability officer, Raymond will be responsible for further advancing Boeing’s approach to sustainability that is focused on environmental, social and governance priorities, stakeholder-oriented reporting and company performance. Operating within the Enterprise Operations, Finance and Sustainability organization, Raymond will lead a team that collaborates across Boeing’s commercial, defense and services businesses and its enterprise functions in support of the company’s commitment to responsible and inclusive business practices and positive global impact.

Raymond first gained responsibility for Boeing’s sustainability strategy in April 2020 when his role leading strategy was expanded to integrate corporate development and deepen the company’s focus on environmental and social considerations.

Christopher Raymond B. Marc Allen

MV RAJA SEKHAR JOINS BEL AS DIRECTOR (R&D)

Bangalore. MV Raja Sekhar took charge as Director (Research & Development) of Navratna Defence PSU BEL on September 1. He was working as Chief Scientist of BEL’s Central Research Laboratory (CRL)-Bangalore, and Officer on Special Duty (OSD) at BEL’s Corporate Office, before his elevation. Raja Sekhar joined BEL’s Ghaziabad Unit on February 1, 1985, as Probationary Engineer after completing B. Tech in Electronics & Communication Engineering from Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati. In a career spanning over 35 years, he has worked in various capacities and gained rich experience in diverse technologies of BEL. He was instrumental in the indigenous development of state-of-the-art Thermal Imager-based Sights and Systems in association with IRDE.

LORENZO MARIANI APPOINTED MANAGING DIRECTOR, MBDA ITALIA

New Delhi. Starting from September 1, Lorenzo Mariani has become Executive Group Director Sales & Business Development of MBDA and Managing Director of MBDA Italia. Reporting directly to Eric Béranger, the group’s Chief Executive Officer, he also becomes a member of MBDA’s Executive Committee. Mariani succeeds Pasquale Di Bartolomeo following his appointment as Leonardo’s Chief Commercial Officer. As Executive Group Director Sales & Business Development, Mariani will guide an integrated multi-national team responsible for generating the order intake to sustain the long term performance of the company. This includes all activities related to the whole product life cycle, and for understanding precisely what customers require and developing the most compelling solutions to meet these requirements. As Managing Director of MBDA Italia, Mariani will be the senior representative of the company in Italy. He will lead MBDA’s relationship with both the Italian customer and the Italian industrial community.

BOEING APPOINTS DANDRIDGE TO LEAD COMPANY’S COMMUNICATIONS

CHICAGO. US aerospace and defence major Boeing on September 9 named Ed Dandridge as the company’s senior vice president and chief communications officer effective September 28. Dandridge succeeds Greg Smith, who has served as interim chief communications officer since July in addition to his role as executive vice president of Enterprise Operations and chief financial officer. Dandridge will report to Boeing President and CEO David Calhoun and will serve on the company’s Executive Council. In this role, Dandridge will oversee all aspects of Boeing’s communications, including business unit communications, corporate communications, media relations, public affairs, leadership communications, employee engagement and corporate branding, as well as channel and content marketing. Dandridge joins Boeing from AIG, where he served as global chief marketing and communications officer, AIG General Insurance, since April 2018. Dandridge is a seasoned global executive and recognized industry leader with more than 25 years of experience.