POINT BLANK ENTERPRISES - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Member of the BOARD of DIRECTORS
- Director of the United States Secret Service
- Director United States Secret Service ( Ret )
- Vice Chairman of LexisNexis Special Services Incorporated
Brian L. Stafford was appointed as the 20th Director of the United States Secret Service on March 4 1999, continuing the tradition of the agency's lead executive being drawn from the ranks of its career agents. This unique tradition is part of the Secret Service's proud history, which dates back to 1865.
Mr. Stafford safeguarded Presidents Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush and Clinton, and served as Director under both President Clinton and President George W. Bush. Before being named Director, he held the key positions of Special Agent in Charge of the Presidential Protective Division and Assistant Director of Protective Operations where he oversaw all security operations for the agency.
Mr. Stafford earned a B.A. in Business Administration and an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Mount Union in Alliance, Ohio, where he served as a trustee. He also continued his education at the University of Pennsylvania, The Wharton School.
Prior to joining the Secret Service, Mr. Stafford served in the United States Army and completed a tour of duty in Vietnam where he earned the Bronze Star. He is a recipient of the Most Distinguished American Award from the Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation and the Distinguished Patriot Award from the Sons of the Revolution.
Mr. Stafford serves as the Vice Chairman of LexisNexis Special Services Incorporated. He also is an advisor to McKinley Capital Management, HandySoft Global Solutions, and Intific. He was formerly Chairman of Seisint Incorporated and the Vice Chairman of The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Job Titles:
- Product Line Manager - Hard Armor
Job Titles:
- Director of Federal LE Sales
Job Titles:
- Director of National Accounts International Sales ( Canada )
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Leadership Team
- President
- President of First Tactical
Job Titles:
- CEO
- Member of the BOARD of DIRECTORS
- Member of the Executive Leadership Team
Mr. Gaston joins Point Blank Enterprises after a successful four year stint serving as CEO of Friction Holdings and later, as CEO of the combined operating group, Raybestos PowerTrain, one of the largest manufacturers of transmission-related friction products in the world. Over the course of his career, he has held senior management positions with Siemens Corporation, General Products Corp., Eaton Corporation, Philips and O.E.M. Worldwide. He brings to Point Blank extensive operational, manufacturing and financial expertise and has a proven track record in building global brands.
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Member of the BOARD of DIRECTORS
- Director General, USA ( R )
- Director General, USA ( Ret )
- Executive Director of the General Hugh Shelton Leadership Center at North Carolina State University
General Henry H. Shelton was born in Tarboro, North Carolina. He received a bachelor's degree in textiles from North Carolina State University and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Infantry through the Reserve Officer Training Corps.
General Shelton spent the next 38 years in a variety of command and staff positions in the continental United States, Hawaii, and Vietnam. He served two combat tours in Vietnam, the first with the 5th Special Forces Group and the second with the 173rd Airborne Brigade. Also, he commanded the 3d Battalion, 60th Infantry in the 9th Infantry Division at Fort Lewis, Washington; served as the 9th Infantry Division's Chief of Staff for operations; commanded the 1st Brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina; and, was the Chief of Staff of the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, New York.
Selected for promotion to brigadier general in 1988, General Shelton served two years in the Operations Directorate of the Joint Staff. In 1989 he began a two-year assignment as the Assistant Division Commander for Operations of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, where he participated in the liberation of Kuwait during Operation DESERT SHIELD/STORM. After the Gulf War, he was promoted to major general and assumed command of the 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. In 1993 he was promoted to lieutenant general and assumed command of the XVIII Airborne Corps. In 1994 during his tenure as Corps commander, General Shelton led the United States Joint Task Force that restored democracy in Haiti. In March 1996 he was promoted to general and became Commander in Chief of the U.S. Special Operations Command.
General Shelton became the 14th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on October 1, 1997, and served 2 two-year terms, retiring on September 30, 2001. In this capacity he was the principle military advisor to Presidents Clinton and Bush as well as the Secretaries of Defense and the National Security Council.
Among his many military awards, General Shelton has received four Defense Distinguished Service Medals, two Army Distinguished Service Medals, the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal for Valor, and the Purple Heart.
For his exemplary service to his country, the 107th Congress bestowed the Congressional Gold Medal on General Shelton on September 19, 2002. He has also been decorated by 16 foreign governments and, in 2001, General Shelton was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.
General Shelton is the 2008 recipient of the United States Army Infantry's Doughboy Award and the 2009 NFL and College Football Hall of Fame Distinguished American award. He was also presented the Army Special Operations Professionals Man of the Year award in 2009.
Highlights of his civilian awards include the Charlotte (NC) World Affairs Council World Citizen Award for 2002, North Carolina's highest Award for Public Service, the Eisenhower Award from the Business Executives for National Security, the American Academy of Achievement's Golden Plate Award, Intrepid Freedom Award, and recognition as National Father of the Year, among others.
After retiring from the Armed Forces, General Shelton served as President, International Operations, M.I.C. Industries from 2001-2005. He has also served as a director on a number of public company boards to include Anheuser Busch Companies (2001-2008), Anteon International (2001-2007) and Professional Products of America (2005-2009). He is currently Chairman of the Board of Red Hat, Inc. and serves as a director of L-3 Communications. In addition he serves on boards of the following private companies: CoVant, AT Solutions, The O'Gara Group, Point Blank Enterprises and HighMark. He previously served as a director of Robbins-Gioia, BioSignia and Professional Products Services (P2S).
General Shelton is the Executive Director of the General Hugh Shelton Leadership Center at North Carolina State University and serves as a Director of the Hugh and Carolyn Shelton Military Neurotrauma Foundation, Washington, DC.
General Shelton has authored two books; " Secrets of Success, Values-Based Leaders", was published in 2009 and his autobiography, "Without Hesitation", was released in October 2010.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Leadership Team
- EVP / Commercial Business
- Executive Vice President of Commercial Business
Hoyt Schmidt serves as the Executive Vice President of Commercial Business for Point Blank Enterprises (PBE). In his current role, he is responsible for all commercial law enforcement sales within the United States. He oversees the domestic sales team, corporate training staff and ballistic demonstration personnel. He leads the development of strategic relationships amongst the company's national network of distributors and is instrumental in helping to oversee revenue forecasting and sales in new markets.
Since joining Point Blank in 2006, Hoyt quickly moved into other management positions within the organization. Prior to his current appointment, Hoyt held various key positions including Regional Vice President, Director of Training and Sales Representative within Point Blank Enterprises.
Earlier in his career, Hoyt worked as a sales representative in the armor industry for one of the leading distributors in Florida. He was able to increase their sales every year. His performance and understanding of market dynamics led to an opportunity to join Point Blank Body Armor.
Prior to entering the armor industry in 2001, he retired from a career in Law Enforcement where he held multiple roles within the agency including investigator, law enforcement trainer, and tactical operator (SWAT).
Hoyt earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Florida State University in 1993.
Job Titles:
- Chief Financial Officer
- Member of the Executive Leadership Team
Ivan R. Habibe, Chief Financial Officer at Point Blank Enterprises, Inc. brings over 20 years of financial management experience within the consumer products and manufacturing industry. Mr. Habibe is a results focused and effective leader with proven ability to assist in the turnaround of underperforming and/or financially troubled companies.
Prior to joining Point Blank Enterprises, Mr. Habibe was the Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of Baldwin Technology Company Inc., a global products manufacturing company with operations in the Americas, Europe, Japan, Australia and China. Under his leadership, Mr. Habibe was involved in the operational restructuring of Baldwin and played a critical role in navigating Baldwin in a post-recession environment. Mr. Habibe was instrumental in the successful merger of Baldwin into a $1.5 billion global supplier of manufacturing technology and services in robots March 2012.
Previously, Mr. Habibe was the Chief Financial Officer of Russell Hobbs, Inc., an $800 million global consumer products company formed through the combination of Applica Consumer Products and Salton, Inc. Mr. Habibe was named CFO during the December 2007 merger of Applica and Salton. Prior thereto, Mr. Habibe was Chief Accounting Officer of Applica, a $500 million consumer products company which was acquired by private investment firm Harbinger Capital Partners in January 2007. Mr. Habibe was an integral part of the business improvement of Russell Hobbs, Inc. and instrumental in the merger of Russell Hobbs, Inc. with Spectrum Brands in June 2010, forming a global $3 billion public consumer products company.
Mr. Habibe, who earned degrees in Accounting and Finance at Florida International University, is a Certified Public Accountant (inactive) and has eight years of experience with Deloitte & Touche, LLP in roles including Senior Manager in the firm's Audit and Assurance Practice.
Job Titles:
- Sales Director for Asia and Pacific Rim
Job Titles:
- Director of European and North Africa Sales
Job Titles:
- VP of Latin American and Caribbean Sales ( South America, Mexico, Caribbean and Central America )
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Leadership Team
- President
- President of Protective Apparel & Uniforms
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Leadership Team
- EVP of Military Sales and Business Development
Mr. Edwards joined Point Blank Enterprises and its subsidiary The Protective Group (TPG) in February 2016, as Vice President of Business Development - Land Systems. In this role, he was responsible for generating tactical and strategic directions for the organization in relation to armor for land systems business development, program management and sales. In his new post as Executive Vice President of Military Sales and Business Development, Mr. Edwards will lead the organization's ongoing efforts to build a close and cooperative relationship with the various U.S. Defense agencies that depend on life-saving, force protection technologies and products that Point Blank and its affiliate companies are known for delivering.
With over 25 years of industry experience, Mr. Edwards brings a broad range of expertise, including in executive operations, product and business development and engineering roles at a number of large Aerospace, Military and Automotive Equipment organizations. Prior to joining PBE/TPG, he was the President of TenCate Advanced Armor Inc., where he was in charge of all aspects of the day-to-day business and strategically positioning the company for long-term growth. He has also served as EVP of Research, Product Development and Engineering at Force Protection Inc.; Vice President of Operations at Ducommun Inc.; EVP, Divisional Manager & Corporate Officer at Newport Corp.; VP of Operations and Logistics at Giddings & Lewis; and VP of Operations at Koch Industries, Inc. Mr. Edwards received his Bachelors' Degree in Mathematics from Wright State University in Ohio and MBA from Pepperdine University in California.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Leadership Team
- President
- President of the Protective Group
Mike is a graduate of Youngstown State University's William Rayen College of Engineering and Technology with a Bachelor of Engineering Degree in Mechanical Engineering. He completed his degree work in 1991 and finished first in his class academically with Magna Cum Laude honors. Mike has also completed Advanced General Management training courses at Duke University, Harvard Business School, and Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.
In 1991, Mike acquired a position with General Electric's Manufacturing Management Technical Leadership Program and spent two years in the advanced training and development program. He subsequently assumed Manufacturing Operations Leadership with GE in their Plastics and Transportation Divisions.
In 1995, Mike took a leadership position with Huffy Corporation as Total Quality Manager for the Missouri Bicycle Manufacturing Division. In this role he championed the Factory Continuous Improvement Program. His experience is based on the Toyota Production System. He has trained under the Shingajitsu and Time-Based Management Consulting groups and has trained and led hundreds of students in Lean concepts and Kaizen Events.
In 1998, Mike joined the Siemens Power Corporation as Manager of Technical Services and Total Quality in the Charlotte Turbine Generator Division. As Manager, he was responsible for development of business strategies, plant capital, strategic programs and Plant Total Quality. In 2001, Michael accepted the position of Plant Manager in the Fort Payne, AL electrical components plant for Siemens and was responsible for the general management of a 400+ person, medium-industrial factory with sales of $100 million. Mike then moved to Siemens Power Generation Headquarters in Orlando, FL as the Director of Strategic Marketing. In this role he led the overall business technology investment planning and lead support of M&A.
In 2005, Mike accepted the position of President and Chief Executive Officer of Siemens Industrial Turbomachinery in Houston, TX. He was responsible for the Siemens Oil and Gas and Industrial Power Generation business in the Americas Region. In 2008 order bookings for Siemens Oil and Gas in the region were in excess of $500 million. While at Siemens, Mike also held positions on boards of several companies including Siemens Industrial Turbomachinery (TX), Incoven (Venezuela), Siemens One (NY), and served as Chairman of the Board of Directors for Turblex Inc. (MO).
In January 2009, Michael accepted the position of Senior Vice President of Converteam Group North America. In this role he is responsible for the Converteam Electrical Systems and Components business for all markets serving the North America region. He was the President and CEO of Converteam Inc., Electric Machinery Inc., and Converteam Holdings Incorporated. In January of 2012, following the acquisition of Converteam by General Electric (September of 2011), Mike was appointed Global Services Leader for GE Power Conversion. He was responsible for over 700 aftermarket services employees and $300 million in revenue. In September of 2012, Mike was appointed as Energy Management Services Leader, responsible for over 2500 employees in 15 countries and for over $800 million in revenue.
Mike joined Point Blank Enterprises in June of 2017 as the President of the Protective Group, a hard armor design and manufacturing company serving the defense and law enforcement markets.
Mike lives in South Florida with his wife Melissa and children Lucas, Vivienne, and Abram.
Job Titles:
- Foreman
- Member of the Executive Leadership Team
- EVP International Business Development, Federal Sales & Marketing
- International Sales
Michael Foreman is the Executive Vice President of Point Blank Enterprises, Inc. Michael has held a variety of positions within the Company since joining in 2003 as a Sales Representative and advancing to VP Sales and Marketing in 2006 and SVP International and Federal Sales in 2011. In his current role as Executive Vice President, he is responsible for Product Line Management, Marketing, Federal and Government Sales, and International Business Development.
Michael has over 41 years' experience in the field of law enforcement, as a police officer, deputy sheriff, supervisor, manager and command staff member. He has worked in various areas of law enforcement, uniform patrol, vice, narcotics, criminal investigations, K-9, tactical patrol, drug interdiction, and SWAT. He's been involved in the field of special weapons and tactics for 24 years as an operator, sniper, team leader and commander. He is retired from the Orange County Sheriff's Office, Orlando, Florida, where he held the rank of Chief.
He has served on a number of committees both locally and nationally representing law enforcement training needs in the area of tactical operations, since 1996 he has served as a Director for the National Tactical Officers Association and past President of the Florida SWAT Association. Currently is holds the position of Director Emeritus with the National Tactical Officers Association.
Michael has served as a consultant, lecturer and trainer at various colleges, police academies, and law enforcement agencies throughout the United States, Canada, South America, Caribbean and Europe. He has trained over 3,000 officers in law enforcement related subjects. He is also qualified to testify as an expert in the State and Federal Courts. He is often requested to review materials, documents and circumstances involving tactical operations and the use of force for law enforcement agencies.
Michael has a Degree in Criminal Justice, a graduate of Florida Senior Leadership Program, and Leadership Orlando and has received over 5,000 hours of law enforcement training.
Job Titles:
- COO
- Member of the Executive Leadership Team
Job Titles:
- Sales Director for Australia and New Zealand
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Leadership Team
- President / Gould & Goodrich
- President of Gould & Goodrich
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Leadership Team
- SVP
- SVP Military Operations
- SVP of Military Sales