The Airborne Systems Team

Experience and Know-how

The Airborne Systems team brings hundreds of man years of parachute design, development and engineering expertise to meet airborne system requirements. The engineering content and team know-how cannot be matched by any other supplier. The team's experience and approach constantly has them thinking outside the box, providing creative and innovative solutions to critical delivery, launch and recovery needs.

Elek Puskas, Chief Executive Officer
Elek Puskas is the Chief Executive Officer of Airborne Systems. He has been in his current position since April, 2005. Elek was previously President and CEO of Airborne Systems North America (1996 to 2005). Prior to that, he was Director of Operations, General Manager and President and CEO of Para-Flite, Inc. (1969 to 2005) the Pennsauken, New Jersey based company specializing in the development of military ram-air gliding parachutes. Elek Puskas has been a member United States Parachute Association since 1963. He is an experienced parachutist with more than 3,600+ jumps. Elek has served as the U.S. delegate to the IPC Para-Ski Subcommittee and has served as head of the delegation or team leader for the U.S. Para-Ski Team in 1983, 1985, and 1987. Elek has held a number of committee chairmanships in the Parachute Industry and has served as the President of the PIA for multiple terms. He served on the Technical Committee of the AIAA, and chaired Committee S-17 of the SAE's for more than 10 years. Elek holds 9 parachute related U.S. patents and numerous foreign corresponding patents. He has published several technical papers in the proceedings of the SAFE Annual Symposium and has contributed to Parachutists Magazine. He has lectured at AIAA functions about ram air parachute design, published and presented a technical paper at the 8th AIAA Aerodynamic Decelerator and Balloon Technology Conference. In 2003, he was awarded the PIA's Don Beck Memorial Award for "Achievements Which Have Withstood The Test of Time." Elek was born in Hungary and is a naturalized U.S. Citizen. His interests include parachuting, skiing, running, and tennis.

Brad Pedersen, Chief Operating Officer, Airborne Systems North America
Brad Pedersen is the Chief Operating Officer for Airborne Systems North America. He is responsible for North American sales, production and product support of personnel parachutes, cargo and precision delivery parachutes, and oxygen systems. Brad is also responsible for the Airborne Systems Space and Recovery Systems sales, engineering, production and product support business. The North American facilities include Airborne Systems North America of NJ located in Pennsauken, New Jersey, Airborne System North America of CA located in Santa Ana, California and Airborne Systems North America of NC located in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Prior to joining Airborne Systems, Brad Pedersen worked for Sikorsky Aircraft where he held several executive positions in program management and strategic planning. He also worked for Boeing Helicopters in Mesa, Arizona where he held positions in program management and flight test. Brad Pedersen earned a bachelor's degree in Engineering and an MBA from Arizona State University.

Chris Rowe, Managing Director, Airborne Systems Europe
Chris Rowe joined Airborne Systems in June 2006 as Managing Director IGQ and brings a wealth of experience of the international defence industry, with more than fifteen years as Managing Director. Prior to joining the company, Chris led the Radar business of a major BAE Systems joint venture, and before that was Managing Director of Alvis Vehicles, a leading UK designer and manufacturer of wheeled and tracked armoured vehicles. His previous experience also includes the running of electronics-based military and civil simulation and training businesses operating internationally. Chris has a first class Honours degree in Engineering from Salford University, and an MBA from City University, London, gained mid-career.   

Frank Frankowski, Chief Financial Officer
Frank Frankowski joined Airborne Systems in January, 2005 as Chief Financial Officer. He has overall responsibility for financial matters for Airborne Systems, and each of its operating locations. In addition to Finance, he is also responsible for Information Technology and Human Resources. Prior to joining Airborne Systems, Frank was a Senior Manager with KPMG in the CFO Advisory Services Group, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He served a variety of clients including clients in the chemicals, financial services, and manufacturing industries. Prior to KPMG, Frank was the Chief Financial Officer for three different companies in the utilities industries. He began his career with Deloitte and Touche upon graduation from Drexel University in Philadelphia with a BS in Business Administration. Frank Frankowski is a Certified Public Accountant, a member of the American Institute of CPAs, the New Jersey Society of CPAs, and Rotary International.

JC Berland, Chief Technical Officer (CTO) Airborne Systems
JC Berland is Chief Technical Officer (CTO) of Airborne Systems. Prior to his position at Airborne Systems, JC was President of Para-Flite, the Pennsauken, New Jersey based company specializing in the development of military ram-air gliding parachutes. Before joining Para-Flite, JC Berland was Chief of the French Airborne Troops and Special Forces Test Department at the French Ministry of Defense (Major Rank). In that position, he conducted feasibility studies and testing on new high-glide parachute designs. During this 14-year term at the French Ministry of Defense, JC Berland acted as the French representative and President of the International Working Group of Experts which established test procedures for aerial delivery and air drop of personnel. In 1999, JC joined Para-Flite Inc. as its Chief Engineer. His design initiatives include military high glide personnel parachutes as well as precision guided aerial delivery ram-air parachute systems capable of carrying up to 30,000 lb payloads. Additionally, JC Berland has led the design of the ATPS (Advanced Tactical Parachute System), currently being tested by the US Army to replace the military T10. JC Berland earned his engineering diploma in Ground Weapons Engineering from the Ecole Nationale Superieur d'Ingenieurs des Etudes et Techniques d'Armement in Paris. He also holds certificates as a professional parachutist, tandem master and private pilot. He has made over 4,000 parachute jumps, the majority of which were made in direct, military parachute testing.

Elizabeth Johnson, Executive Vice President, Sales
Prior to her becoming Executive Vice President of Airborne Systems Sales, Elizabeth Johnson was Airborne Systems Global Managing Director of International Marketing and Sales, and Director of Marketing and Sales for Irvin Aerospace North America. She has also been active in the parachute industry in several ways as an active skydiver with more than 3000 jumps, a member of the Canadian Sport Parachuting Association since 1982, a member of the United States Parachuting Association since 1993, and an accomplished jump instructor. Ms. Johnson holds Canadian Static Line and Free Fall Instructor Ratings as well as USPA Accelerated Freefall Jumpmaster Certification. She has served as President of the Ontario Sport Parachuting Association from 1991 to 1994, organized the 1992 Canadian Women's Record Skydiving Formation which still stands today and was a participant in the 1995 World's Largest Women's Skydiving Formation (100 women). Ms.Johnson was a 1996 participant in the Canadian National Championships, the July 2000 Canadian Record Skydiving Formation, 54-way, and a participant of the World Record Skydiving Formation, 300-way in July 2000. She ia a member of the Parachute Industry Association and in 2004 nominated to the Executive Board. Ms. Johnson is a 1982 graduate of the Retter Business College, Toronto, Canada.

Gary Calvaneso, Executive Vice President, Marketing
Prior to becoming Executive Vice President of Airborne Systems Marketing, Gary Calvaneso was Vice President of Marketing for Irvin Aerospace. Gary brings an exceptional background of global marketing experience with some of the world's most respected medical technology companies such as HP, Siemens, and GE. Prior to joining Airborne Systems, Calvaneso was Vice President of Marketing for VIASYS Healthcare and was General Manager of Orbotech, Inc. a world leader in high-tech inspection and imaging solutions for computer hardware. During his career, Mr. Calvaneso has served as an executive in several technology companies and has held a variety of positions with increasing responsibility in his 15 years with Hewlett-Packard. He brings over 20 years of corporate experience in marketing management. Mr. Calvaneso attended the State University College at Buffalo and has multiple degrees in Education and IT.