Uncategorized News Archives
Ultra Maritime Hosts Royal Canadian Navy
Ultra Maritime had the pleasure of hosting Commodore Trevor MacLean, Capt(N) Mike Stefanson, Chief Petty Officer First Class Cavel Shebib, and CANFLTLANT Staff for a discussion on Ultra Maritime’s world-leading sonar technology. UM is the world’s premier provider of undersea warfare systems, products and solutions, delivering advanced technologies that create maritime operational advantages. This visit included a tour of our newly expanded Dartmouth facility which houses Sonobuoy production and our new Towed Array Sonar ‘Center of Excellence’.
UM invests heavily in Atlantic Canada and creates skilled jobs for a growing workforce in the Aerospace & Defense Sector.
Ultra Maritime to attend AFCEA WEST 2024
Dates: 13 FEB – 15 FEB
Location: San Diego Convention Center 111 W. Harbor Drive , San Diego, CA 92101
ABOUT the event:
The premier naval conference and exposition on the West Coast, WEST is now in its 34th year of bringing military and industry leaders together. Co-sponsored by AFCEA International and the U.S. Naval Institute, WEST is the only event in which the makers of platforms and the designers of technologies can network, discuss and demonstrate their solutions in a single locale.
One recurring highlight of WEST is the chance to hear from the Sea Service Chiefs – the Chief of Naval Operations, the Marine Corps Commandant and the Coast Guard Commandant. In addition to the main program, WEST offers three Engagement Theaters: Marine, General, and Information Warfare. These smaller, more intimate venues allow military, government and industry professionals to drill deeper into specific topics and issues.
Ultra Maritime announces Mark Potter CSC as Vice President and General Manager of Australia Line of Business
Adelaide, AUS: Ultra Maritime (UM) has named Mark Potter CSC as Vice President and General Manager of the Ultra Maritime Australia Line of Business (LoB). Mark will be responsible for operational excellence, business strategy and growth and will have leadership of our Australian facilities.
UM Australia provides electronic warfare (EW) and undersea warfare capabilities to the Royal Australian Navy and other allied nations. Mark commented on his appointment: “I am excited to join Ultra Maritime at what is a truly significant time in our nation’s defence history, given the recent AUKUS announcement.”
“We, as a business, are extremely well-placed to support this mission through our capabilities and positioning. I look forward to leading the team as we continue to leverage and expand our suite of EW and underwater warfare offerings in Australia, and across Ultra Maritime, to deliver the operational advantage to our navy and nation required to combat an ever changing threat.”
Mark is well positioned to take UM Australia in to the next phase of its growth journey, joining from Babcock, where he led the Marine business in Canada and Australia and has recently been working in the United Kingdom. He also spent 29 years in the Royal Australian Navy, finishing his career as Commander Submarine Force.
Mark reports to Carlo Zaffanella, President & CEO, and is based in the Mawson Lakes area of Australia.
Ultra Maritime announces Wayne Clifton as Vice President and General Manager of UK Line of Business
Loudwater, UK: Ultra Maritime (UM) has named Wayne Clifton as Vice President and General Manager of the Ultra Maritime UK Line of Business (LoB). Wayne will be responsible for operational excellence, business strategy and growth and will have leadership of the Weymouth, Loudwater and Greenford sites.
Prior to joining UM, Wayne led Leonardo’s Integrated Sensing and Protection LoB. His experience is well-suited to leading the rapidly evolving and growing Ultra Maritime UK LoB, which is focused on designing, producing and delivering complex electronic systems, mostly in support of undersea warfare.
“I am looking forward to leading Ultra Maritime UK, and the dedicated and talented team leveraging our exciting and innovative technologies, with the goal of ensuring we’re focused and committed on not only building sustainable growth, but always delivering on our commitments to our stakeholders, including the UK Royal Navy, who we are proud to protect every day through our innovative capabilities,” commented Wayne.
Wayne reports to Carlo Zaffanella, President & CEO, and is based in the UK.
Ultra Maritime Announces Danielle Willard as General Counsel
Braintree, US: Ultra Maritime (UM) has named Danielle Willard as the company’s Senior Vice President and General Counsel. Danielle brings significant government contracting and M&A experience, and will be responsible for all risk-related functional groups, including legal, contracts, security, and compliance for the company.
Prior to joining UM, Danielle ran Jacobs’ Risk Management Group for the Divergent Solutions line of business, where she supported the cyber and intelligence US government contracting business.
“I am looking forward to learning more about our customers and the missions that we’re supporting at Ultra Maritime. I’m excited to be working across all our functions to provide an active and dynamic set of services to the business that will contribute to delivering value to our customers,” commented Danielle.
Danielle has a juris doctorate from the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law and serves on the Board of Directors for the Baltimore chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel and on the Board of Directors for the Susquehanna Symphony Orchestra.
Danielle reports to Carlo Zaffanella, President & CEO, and will be based in the Washington, D.C. area.
Ultra names Mark Kenny as Ultra Maritime’s SVP, Strategy & Business Development
Braintree, US: Ultra Maritime announces the appointment of Mark Kenny as Senior Vice President, Strategy & Business Development of Ultra Maritime.
In this new role, Mark will be responsible for the technical and business growth strategies to bring innovative and disruptive capabilities to the Naval warfighter.
Mark joins Ultra Maritime after serving as VP for Advanced Naval Systems and VP/GM of the Unmanned Maritime Division at L3Harris where he led the growth of unmanned maritime businesses and naval strategic development efforts. Prior to that he was CEO of Adaptive Methods, an undersea software business and was VP/GM of Special Mission Systems at Northrup Grumman.
He is a retired US Navy admiral, serving principally in submarine warfare, commanding at the submarine, squadron, and group levels during tours in the Pacific and Atlantic fleets. Mark served ashore within the Navy and Joint Staffs, including leading operational efforts in submarine and naval support of counterterrorism operations.
Mark will report to Carlo Zaffanella, President & CEO of Ultra Maritime and will be based in the Washington D.C. area.
“We are honored to welcome Mark to the Ultra Maritime team. He brings deep experience and energy from a career leading undersea and unmanned businesses and strategic growth efforts. His Naval service and reputation with current leadership will play a pivotal role in growing Ultra Maritime as we continue to deliver on our commitments to our customer,” commented Zaffanella.
Mark graduated from the United States Naval Academy and a has master’s degree from the Naval War College. He currently serves on the Advisory Council of both the Undersea Warfare Division of the NDIA and the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI).
Ultra Secures Follow-On Order for Canadian Surface Combatant Hull Mounted Sonar From Lockheed Martin Canada Inc.
Dartmouth, Canada: Ultra Electronics Maritime Systems Inc (Ultra) has secured an initial three ship set production order from Lockheed Martin Canada Inc. (Lockheed) for the supply of Hull Mounted Sonars (HMS) for the Canadian Surface Combatant (CSC) ship. The latest order is valued at circa $19.5M and further supports manufacturing jobs at Ultra’s recently refurbished and expanded site located in Dartmouth, Halifax.
The CSC program is the largest and most complex shipbuilding initiative in Canada since World War II. Revitalizing the Canadian shipbuilding industry, the project is sustaining and creating thousands of highly-skilled jobs and enables Canada to domestically support the combat ships once in service. Lockheed Martin Canada holds the contract for the design and integration of the CSC Combat System with Ultra acting as the anti-submarine warfare lead, and supplying extensive capabilities, inclusive of the HMS.
Rikki Douglas, Vice President of Business Development, commented: “We are delighted to have secured the next phase of the CSC HMS contract on such an important program to Canada and we are fully committed, working closely with Lockheed Martin Canada, to deliver an exceptional sonar capability to the Royal Canadian Navy.”
Tom Graham, CSC Program Director, commented: “Ultra’s CSC team, based at the purpose built facility in Dartmouth, are well placed to execute the design, procurement, manufacture and supply of the HMS. We remain excited to be part of the wider CSC program, delivering state of the art equipment to the next generation of Canadian warships.”
Ultra Names Carlo Zaffanella as Ultra Maritime’s President and CEO
London, UK: Ultra announces the appointment of Carlo Zaffanella as the new President and CEO of Ultra Maritime, effective 6 September 2022.
Carlo joins Ultra from General Dynamics Mission Systems where he was General Manager of the Maritime and Strategic Systems line of business. Having spent 22 years at General Dynamics, Carlo has held various leadership roles of increasing responsibility, principally in the maritime market place.
“I am delighted to be joining Ultra Maritime at such an exciting time in the company’s growth. We have over 2,000 brilliant and dedicated people within the company and I look forward to working with them to support our customers mission critical needs and protect what matters,” said Zaffanella. “The future of Ultra Maritime is bright and we look forward to continuing our mission of delivering leading multi-mission solutions to protect our navies.”
Carlo started his career in General Electric as a Systems Engineer in submarine combat systems. He has a BSEE from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an MEEE from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Carlo succeeds Thomas Link, who will leave Ultra at the end of September.
Six Tips for Women in Engineering
I was asked by a coworker what my experience was like as a female engineer over the years. Her daughter was considering majoring in it. She wanted to know if she would have a difficult time in such male dominated career and if I had any tips for success. The quick answers were: maybe and, yes I do.
Honestly, it’s not something I stop to think about often, but this time I paused to reflect. What I know for sure is that it was hard, but it was also worth it. This career and the path I took was the perfect one for me. I strongly believe there is not only a place for women in the field, but that they are needed.
My Career Path
Before I share those tips, a little bit about my own journey. I’ve been a software engineer in the defense industry for more than 20 years. I have a degree in applied mathematics – yes, another male dominated field. That degree may not seem like the typical starting point for an engineer; however, it prepared me for the fundamentals of software engineering. I secured an internship at Exxon working on rigs with geologists and other oil and gas professionals before moving on to Lockheed Martin, which was when my engineering career gained momentum.
The work was exciting: building software for flight and medical simulators. I loved what I did at Lockheed Martin, and I had three children while working there. What was it like being 1) the only female, 2) the only pregnant one on the team and then, 3) the only one to take significant time off to have kids? Put simply, it wasn’t easy, but I made it work. Knowing I wouldn’t be the last woman to have this experience, I partnered with management to establish the first part-time work week for parents, which I am proud to say is still in place today.
I joined Ultra 21 years ago, and over the course of my career I’ve had ample opportunities for advancement. I underwent both Make a Difference and Management Leadership training, which prepared me to advance and eventually take on the role of President in 2020.
Now for my tips.
Tip One: Be Yourself & Say Yes
One important thing is to establish your brand (aka: reputation) and expectations early on. Be yourself. Don’t water down your identity or your ideas.
Remember to be authentic and avoid saying only what you think others want to hear. Answer questions honestly and accurately and avoid canned responses.
Perhaps most importantly, always say yes. I’m not saying take on absolutely everything. What I’m saying is that even if you’re not 100 percent sure about a promotion or a new position, say yes. I’ve done this recently myself when I became President of Ultra’s C2I division, and I’ve done it repeatedly throughout my career. We learn by doing, and you know more than you think.
Tip Two: Ask
If you don’t ask for what you want, you won’t get it. In the worst-case scenario, you’re told no. In the best-case scenario, you end up getting what you want (like part time work weeks for parents).
Tip Three: Negotiate & Work Hard
When you’re negotiating, whether it’s for a promotion or a passion project, the important concept to remember is the difference between push/pull and win/win. Rather than pushing your agenda and pulling a (hopefully) favorable response, frame the discussion in terms of how both sides can benefit from adopting your desired outcome. Listening and asking questions without becoming defensive helps establish a professional reputation…with the added benefit of getting what you want.
One thing is certain, however: to be successful in any negotiation, you must have a history as an innovator and hard worker. Stay relevant and essential.
Tip Four: Be Open to a Teachable Moment
When it comes to dealing with male co-workers and managers, I learned a valuable lesson. Speaking up and calling out inappropriate behavior or speech directly with that person is the quickest way to resolve an issue. In most cases, instead of it being a potential HR nightmare, it turned into a teachable moment.
Standing up for yourself in real time not only helps others course-correct their own behavior, but it also shows that you’re willing to have difficult, direct and honest conversations.
Tip Five: Hire Curious & Authentic People
More than anything, I look for three things in a candidate. First is the authenticity I mentioned above. Don’t tell me what you think I want to hear – tell me the truth and don’t embellish.
I highly value learning agility. In many cases, the people I interview are new to defense. In those cases, I need to know they have an active and curious mind.
Finally, I want results-driven candidates. In engineering, sometimes creating innovation isn’t always pretty, but if they are the type of person who stays focused on the results, they can make it work. Success will follow.
Tip Six: Remember to Help Others
When a woman in engineering comes to work, they do not just represent their own work and talent. They are paving the way for the next generation of women engineers. Make time to mentor those women – students, early career professionals, even little girls. We must all do our part to set the stage for their success.
Good luck to all the current and up and coming female engineers, I look forward to working with you one day in the near future.