ITEN DEFENSE - Key Persons
Brian Ross joined Iten Defense in August of 2020 as the Chief Operations Officer. Brian brings a wealth of knowledge in manufacturing, scheduling and maintenance experience with his 15+ years prior experience with two Fortune 500 companies. While with Dow Chemical, he designed and started up full scale production facilities in both Kuwait and China. Brian also has extensive experience in software development with a focus on automation of production processes. Brian holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Virginia.
Job Titles:
- Vice President of Business Development
Grey Chapman is the Vice President of Business Development for Iten Defense. Grey has twenty years of experience in the composite armor market. Most recently, Grey was Vice President of Sales for TenCate Advanced Armor where she managed a sales team responsible for ground vehicles, marine, aircraft and personal protection. Previously, she held sales and product development positions at Owens Corning, Martin Marietta Composites and North Carolina State University. Grey graduated Cum Laude with a BS in Textile Engineering and Magna Cum Laude with a MBA, both from North Carolina State University. Grey holds several patents related to armor materials.
James Gochneaur joined Iten Defense team in August 2019 as Director of Operations, and brings 10+ years of manufacturing experience. Prior to joining Iten Defense, James has enjoyed a progressive ten-year career at Iten Industries. His hard work and diligence enabled him to move up through the ranks over the years as a Process Technician, Supervisor, Plant Manager, and Defense Manufacturing Manager. He was responsible for numerous aspects of the armor program which now is Iten Defense. James has graduated with a Bachelors in Business Management from Kent State University.
Jeff Warren is the Waterjet and CNC Team Lead for Iten Defense. Jeff has been with Iten for almost 28 years. In August of 2019, he transferred to the Iten Defense team. Jeff and his team are responsible for waterjet cutting and building our in-house custom tooling on the CNC machines. Jeff has two beautiful daughters and 6 amazing grandchildren. Jeff's wife, like Jeff, is also a ROCKSTAR who just beat cancer!
Jim Kingston joined Iten Defense in February of 2020 as the Director of Compliance. Jim has worked in the Quality field for the past 35 years in the fiberglass reinforced plastics industry filling various roles within quality ranging from Production Inspector to the Director of Quality. Prior to joining Iten Defense, Jim was with Iten Industries for 17 years. Jim is a graduate of Kent State University and is also a member of the American Society for Quality.
Justin Neidig joined Iten Defense in August of 2019 as an Account Manager and brings with him seven years of experience in the armor industry. Justin has a dynamic past in armor originating as CSR and progressing to managing an inside sales team while performing cost analysis and scheduling. As a technical sales representative for Iten Industries, he managed multiple programs and assisted production in streamlining manufacturing processes. Justin graduated as a double major in Business Administration from Ohio University.
Job Titles:
- Vice President of Engineering and Integration
Keith Harrison is the Vice President of Engineering and Integration for Iten Defense. Keith has spent eleven years in the ballistic armor market. After spending six years as the senior technical manager for DSM Dyneema, Keith made the move to TenCate Advanced Armor where he served as the Director of Sales for the US region. At TenCate, Keith focused primarily on the aircraft and watercraft segments. Prior to his time in the armor industry, Keith spent more than ten years in the motorsports industry where he held positions with many leading NASCAR teams accumulating a number of wins and series championships. His duties focused on design, engineering, assembly, and testing/data acquisition. Keith also spent 5 years as an "over the wall" member where he pitted the cars/trucks during the race. Keith graduated with a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maryland at College Park.
Lex Watson is the Chief Executive Officer of Iten Defense. Lex has fifteen years of experience in the composite armor market. Previously Lex was Vice President & General Manager of The Protective Group where he oversaw the day to day operations of a leading platform integrator. Prior to TPG Lex held Sales and Management positions at Point Blank Enterprises, Tech Fiber and DuPont. Lex graduated with a BS in Business Economics from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
Maros Fodor joined the Iten Defense team in March 2020 as a Chief Financial Officer, and brings 15+ years of financial management experience. Prior to joining Iten Defense, Maros has enjoyed a progressive seven-year career at Point Blank Enterprises, Inc., a leading body armor manufacturer. As a Director of Financial Planning & Analysis and Treasury departments, he was responsible for numerous aspects of financial management, including corporate multi business unit budgeting, forecasting and modeling, working capital management, margin controls, creditors reporting, M&A due diligence and integration, valuation, cash management, key metrics management, insurance and benefits management, and other. Previously, Maros held a financial role with Mastec Network Solutions as well as a managing partner position of a small start-up PEO enterprise. Maros is originally from Slovakia where he graduated with dual Masters in Strategic Management and MIS from Comenius University, Faculty of Management. While in the U.S., he graduated with an MBA and MS in Finance from Webster University.
Patrick Murphy joined Iten Defense in March 2020. Patrick has over twenty years of experience in the high performance materials and the composite armor market. Most recently, Patrick was responsible for hard armor applications at Barrday Protective Solutions. Previously, he held various sales and marketing positions at DSM Dyneema, Fiber Line, Inc., and Teijin Aramid. Patrick holds a degree in Textiles from North Carolina State University. We are thrilled to have Patrick join our family. Based out of Charlotte, NC, Patrick will focus on new business development for hard armor products for various market segments including ground vehicles.