Speakers

Tom Bell is President of Rolls-Royce Defense where he leads a global team of 9,000 professionals providing cutting edge power, propulsion, and service solutions for Aerospace, Naval, and Nuclear Submarine applications to customers in more than 100 countries. Tom is also Chairman and CEO of Rolls-Royce North America, Inc. (RRNA), with oversight responsibility for all activity in North America. Tom has more than 35 years of experience in the aerospace and defense industry. He began his career at Martin Marietta (now Lockheed Martin) in Human Space Flight. He then joined McDonnell Douglas (now The Boeing Company) and held varied positions in Manufacturing Engineering, Contracts and Pricing, Sales and Marketing, and Program Management. Tom holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Louisiana State University and an MBA from the Florida Institute of Technology. He serves on the Board of Trustees for the National Defense Industrial Association and the Executive Committee for the Aerospace Industries Association.

Mitch Snyder is the president and chief executive officer of Bell, and a member of Textron’s Corporate Leadership Team. He leads a multibillion-dollar business that provides innovative products for defense and commercial customers across the globe. Before being named CEO in October 2015, Mitch was executive vice president of Military Business responsible for providing strategic direction, overall management and performance for all of Bell’s government programs. Since joining Bell in 2004, he has led the manufacturing centers and spearheaded several of the company’s most significant initiatives, including the V-22 Program. Previously, Mitch held several senior leadership positions at Lockheed Martin in engineering, business development, manufacturing and the F-16 Program Office. He worked with customers throughout Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Mitch holds a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from Kansas State University, where he is an Alumni Fellow and a Hall of Fame Inductee. He completed the Defense Institute for Security Assistance Management Executive Course. He is also a member of the Association of the US Army Council of Trustees.

Marcus Weisgerber is the global business editor for Defense One, where he writes about the intersection of business and national security. He has been covering defense and national security issues for more than a decade, previously as Pentagon correspondent for Defense News and chief editor of Inside the Air Force. He has reported from Afghanistan, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia, and often travels with the defense secretary and other senior military officials.