Leadership

Paul Myrick was appointed President of Chemring Countermeasures on September 15, 2014. In this role, he is responsible for the overall management of Alloy Surfaces, Inc and Kilgore Flares, LLC. Prior to joining Chemring North America, Mr. Myrick held senior positions with ATK (most recently as Vice President for Business Development, Missiles Product Group), Lockheed Martin’s Fire Support division, and was a Senior Systems Manager at System Studies and Simulations, Inc., in Washington DC. In 2003, Mr. Myrick retired from the US Army with over 20 years of service as a Field Artilleryman and acquisition professional. He commanded a battery in the 82d Airborne Division and was an Operations Officer in a Pershing Battalion. His last years of active duty service was with PEO Tactical Missiles working as the Product Manager for the M270A1 Improved MLRS Launcher. During this assignment, Mr. Myrick was deployed to the Middle East as the Operations Officer for the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology) Operations Cell during Operation Iraqi Freedom where he was awarded the Bronze Star. Mr. Myrick holds a BS in BioMedical Computing from Rochester Institute of Technology and an MS in Acquisition Management from the Naval Postgraduate School.

Tank Williams was appointed Interim President of Chemring Countermeasures USA in April 2015. In this role, he is responsible for the overall management of Alloy Surfaces and Kilgore Flares. Mr. Williams brings with him more than 30 years of experience as an international business leader overseeing multiple site operations. He is highly skilled in strategic planning, process reengineering, product rollout, market positioning, sales and account management, contract negotiation and customer/vendor relations. Mr. Williams has effectively spearheaded acquisitions and joint venture opportunities and lead successful integrations. Before joining Chemring Countermeasures USA, Mr. Williams was the Senior Vice President and General Manager of Global Operations at Meggitt Aircraft Braking Systems and held senior positions with the company since 1989. Prior to Meggitt, Mr. Williams worked for United Technologies and Rockwell International. Mr. Williams has a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from Barry University and received his Master’s in Business Administration/Aviation from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University.

Joseph F. Verbitski, Jr. is the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Chemring Countermeasures USA. In those roles, he is responsible for overall management and continuing viability of both Alloy Surfaces, Inc. and Kilgore Flares LLC. While maintaining the CFO position, he has lead both the Contracts and IT departments of those companies since 2007. Prior to joining Chemring, Mr. Verbitski was the Corporate Controller at Applied Tech Products from 2001 until 2007. He also held equivalent jobs at Productive Plastics, Inc. and L-3 Communications. Mr. Verbitski received his MBA from Widener University in Chester, PA and his BS, Accounting, from LaSalle University in Philadelphia, PA.

Elaine Soltani is the VP of Research & Development for Chemring Countermeasures USA. She joined the company in 1996 as a Material Scientist and was promoted to Manager of Materials Development. Prior to working at Chemring, Ms. Soltani held research positions at the Naval Research Laboratory and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Areas of specialty include product development, process engineering and materials characterization. Ms. Soltani holds an MS in Materials Engineering from the University of Maryland in College Park, MD.

John Fleitz currently serves as the Vice President of Sales and Business Development for Chemring Countermeasures USA. In this role, he oversees the sales and BD functions of the organization and is responsible for the planning and directing of the sales and marketing policies, objectives and initiatives for both Alloy Surfaces, Inc and Kilgore Flares, LLC. Mr. Fleitz has 16 years of experience in the defense industry, most recently as the Director of Business Development for Chemring North America, where he coordinated business development and government affairs functions for CNA’s seven business units. Prior to his work in the defense sector, Mr. Fleitz spent several years in the political arena working for US Congressman Curt Weldon of Pennsylvania, where he served as his District Director. Mr. Fleitz holds an Executive MBA from the University of Delaware Lerner College of Business and Economics and an undergraduate degree from West Chester University of Pennsylvania.

Ron Kunkle has been the Vice President Health, Safety and Environmental for Chemring Countermeasures USA since August 2013. Ron retired after 16 years with Raytheon working in both the Missile systems and Integrated Defense systems, making many positive changes in the HSE arena. In his role, he managed the HSE requirements for all Patriot, THAAD, HAWK, UAE, JLENS and other government programs. Mr. Kunkle was also certified as a Special Government Employee for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), focused on the Voluntary Protection Program (VPP). Mr. Kunkle served over 22 years in the US Air Force and retired with an extensive background in industrial safety, ordnance safety and system safety engineering. He helped establish the American Society of Safety Engineers, Las Cruces ZIA section and holds the position of Treasure. Mr. Kunkle holds a Bachelor’s degree from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, in Adult Education.

Gerri Ginett is the Vice President of Human Resources for Chemring Countermeasures USA and is responsible for company-wide human resources programs, employee development and organizational change. Ms. Ginett has over 25+ years' experience in the Human Resource field and specializes in employee relations. She serves as Corporate Ethics Officer to ensure full compliance with training requirements, the corporate ethics program, conduct, resolution of confidential matters and investigations.

Robert DiIenno is Director of Operations of Alloy Surfaces Company, Inc and is responsible for Manufacturing, Engineering, Purchasing, Shipping and Receiving, Facilities and Maintenance. Prior to assuming this role, he was Alloy Surface’s Director of Quality Assurance and was responsible for all aspects of the quality program. Mr. DiIenno’s previous work at Thiokol (Morton Thiokol\Cordant Technologies\Alcoa\ATK) included development of product-program specific quality assurance programs and the development and maintenance of the quality management system. During his 22 year tenure at Thiokol, he directed work on solid rocket propulsion systems for many weapons systems, satellites and space exploration missions. He holds both an MBA and BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Delaware. He also obtained Quality Manager and Quality Engineer certifications from American Society For Quality (ASQ) and a Production and Inventory Management certification from American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS).