Previously Held Position As Director Of National Security Space Mission

Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. has selected Dave Kaufman to lead its National Defense strategic business unit. As vice president and general manager, Kaufman's responsibilities include acquisition and execution of space hardware programs for Ball's defense and intelligence-related customers.

"In his 12 years with Ball, Dave has shown dynamic leadership on critical programs and earned the confidence of customers in the national defense community," said Robert D. Strain, Ball Aerospace president. "He has also identified and captured future business opportunities for the company in new and adjacent markets."

Prior to the appointment, Kaufman was director for Ball's National Security Space mission area within National Defense. He previously served as Ball's program manager for the Space Test Program Standard Interface Vehicle under contract to the U.S. Air Force; and program manager for the Orbital Express Nextsat program sponsored by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Kaufman joined the company in 2000 as a spacecraft systems engineer, and has more than 20 years of experience supporting the aerospace industry and government customers in design, test, project and systems engineering, and management.

Earlier in his career, Kaufman was awarded two patents for his research and development work and led thermal and system engineering efforts for multiple communications satellite programs. Kaufman earned his Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology and bachelor's degrees from Stanford and Willamette Universities.

FMI: www.ballaerospace.com