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Westar Management Team
Robert Topping, President & Chief Executive Officer
Robert Topping joined Westar in 1989 as Engineering Manager and was appointed
by the Board to his current role as Westar's President and Chief Executive
Officer in 1999 when Westar had 19 million dollars in revenue. Prior to
joining Westar, he was a Lead Avionics Engineer at Boeing. Mr. Topping
holds a BS in Electrical Engineering and a BS in Computer Engineering
from the University of Missouri, Columbia.
J. Garrett Martz, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating
Officer
Garrett Martz is currently the Chief Operating Officer for Westar where
he is responsible for the operational management of the company, executing
complex projects and satisfying Westar's customers. Mr. Martz joined Westar
in 2003 as a result of the acquisition of ELMCO Inc. where he was the
President and Chief Executive Officer. Prior to ELMCO, Mr. Martz was a
Project Engineer at TRW. Mr. Martz holds a BS in Electrical Engineering
from Auburn University and a MS degree in Electrical Engineering from
Southeastern Institute of Technology.
William Goss, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial
Officer
Bill Goss joined Westar in 2006 and is responsible for directing the
company’s accounting, finance, IT and legal departments, as well as
managing its merger and acquisition activities. Mr. Goss brings to
Westar more than 20 years of experience in leading corporate financial
strategies, including contract management and pricing. He previously
served as Senior Vice President and CFO of Affiliated Computer Systems’
IT Outsourcing Group and, prior to that, as CFO of Honeywell
International’s Hardware Product Group. Mr. Goss earned a BS degree in
Business Administration from the University of Texas at Dallas. He is a
Certified Public Accountant and Black Belt trained in Six Sigma.
Randall Tieszen, Executive Vice President, Aviation Programs
Mr. Tieszen joined Westar in 2003 and is responsible for managing the
Company's delivery of services and technology to aviation customers who
require engineering, software, programmatic, and logistics services. Prior
to joining Westar, Mr. Tieszen served in the U.S. Army retiring as a Brigadier
General. During his Army career, Mr. Tieszen commanded aviation units
from company to brigade and served as the Deputy Commanding General and
Commandant of the Army Aviation Center. Mr. Tieszen holds a BS in Biology
from the University of South Dakota and a MS in Organizational Management.
John Irby, Executive Vice President
Mr. Irby joined ELMCO, Inc in 2004 and became Executive Vice President,
Space and Missile Systems shortly after Westar acquired ELMCO. He is responsible
for space and theater, and tactical missile systems engineering, software
development, test and evaluation, and simulation. Mr. Irby also runs Westar's
Special Projects Business Unit focusing on entrepreneurial activities
related to advanced technology. Prior to joining Westar, Mr. Irby was
the Vice President for Advanced Programs at Teledyne Brown Engineering,
and previously worked for TRW. Mr. Irby holds a BS and MS in Electrical
Engineering from the University of Tennessee.
James H. Williford, EVP, Business Development
Mr. Williford is Westar’s Executive Vice President of Business Development,
a position he has held since joining the Company in 2002. He is in charge
of the Company’s program development and bid & proposal activities.
Prior to joining Westar, Mr. Williford was the Executive Director of Marketing
at Lear Siegler Services, the Vice President of Business Development at
BAE Systems, a Programs Manager of Advanced Technology Programs at Boeing/Rockwell
and the Manager of Strategic Product Marketing at Honeywell. He holds
an MBA from Golden State University and a BS in Mechanical Engineering
from the University of Tennessee.