AV Appoints Mary Clum as President of Fast-Growing Space, Cyber and Directed Energy Business
AeroVironment, Inc. ("AV") (NASDAQ:AVAV) today announced that current Executive Vice President, Space & Directed Energy (DE) Mission Systems Mary Clum has been appointed President of the company's Space, Cyber & Directed Energy (SCDE) business segment, effective October 24, 2025. Clum will report directly to Chairman, President & CEO Wahid Nawabi. Trip Ferguson, who has decided to step down, will remain at the company for a limited period to ensure a smooth transition.
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Mary Clum has been appointed President of AV's Space, Cyber & Directed Energy (SCDE) business segment.
With more than 25 years of industry experience, Clum has honed her ability to develop and deliver highly technical defense products. She joined AV in May 2025 through the company's acquisition of BlueHalo, where she served [on the Executive Leadership team] as President of the Product & Space Systems portfolio. In that role, she oversaw product innovation and manufacturing operations, driving growth across the portfolio and ensuring alignment with the company's long-term strategic objectives. Earlier in her career, Clum spent more than a decade at Raytheon Company, including as the Senior Manager for the Directed Energy and Mobile Range product areas.
"Mary has the experience, expertise, and resolve to lead SCDE as we enhance our industry-leading technologies, scale our production capabilities, innovate into new markets, and strengthen our relationships with our partners," said Nawabi. "Since joining AV, Mary has expertly guided emerging technologies – including directed energy weapon systems and long-haul space laser communication terminals – from concept to reality with the urgency required to fulfill critical national security missions. We are confident she will continue to advance our growth and leadership in SCDE."
"I'm excited to guide SCDE's talented team as we take our mission even further," said Clum. "Across all domains, the SCDE team is engineering a safer future for our nation and its allies. Our people have provided more than 260 systems on orbit, with proven performance in the harshest environments. They are delivering advanced solutions, supporting orbital warfare, space domain awareness, resilient communications, command and control, all while degrading adversarial capabilities."
Nawabi added, "I am grateful for Trip's steadfast leadership of SCDE. His impact has positioned SCDE for continued success and we wish him the very best."
"It has been a privilege to lead AV's SCDE segment," said Trip Ferguson. "Over the past three years, I have had the pleasure of working closely with Mary and have seen firsthand her innovative vision. I know SCDE is in good hands with her at the helm and believe AV is well positioned to capitalize on the range of market opportunities ahead. I look forward to watching the continued growth of AV as I spend more time with my family."
Michael Pace, AV's Senior Vice President of Space RF Systems, will be elevated to Senior Vice President of Space & DE Mission Systems. Pace, who is a technical subject matter expert in advanced technologies, including digital beamformed phased arrays and software-defined architectures. Pace joins Johnathan Jones, who recently assumed the role of Senior Vice President of Cyber and Mission Solutions, to comprise Clum's SCDE leadership team.
About AV
AV (NASDAQ:AVAV) is a defense technology leader delivering integrated capabilities across air, land, sea, space, and cyber. The Company develops and deploys autonomous systems, loitering munitions, counter-UAS technologies, space-based platforms, directed energy systems, and cyber and electronic warfare capabilities—built to meet the mission needs of today's warfighter and tomorrow's conflicts. At the core of these technologies lies AV_Halo, a modular, mission-ready suite of AI-powered software tools that empowers warfighters and enables full-battlefield dominance: detect, decide, deliver. With a national manufacturing footprint and a deep innovation pipeline, AV delivers proven systems and future-defining capabilities at speed, scale, and operational relevance. For more information, visit www.avinc.com.
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