Leadership

Shahram Askarpour

Chief Executive Officer

Shahram Askarpour joined IS&S in 2003 as Vice President of Engineering. In March 2012 he was promoted to President. Since 2003, he has been a key contributor to the company’s leadership, strategy and technology. Dr. Askarpour has more than 40 years of aerospace industry experience in increasingly responsible technical and managerial positions. Prior to joining IS&S, he was employed by Smiths Aerospace (a division of Smiths Group PLC), Instrumentation Technology and Marconi Avionics. He holds a number of key patents in the aviation field. Dr. Askarpour was awarded an undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering from Middlesex University in the United Kingdom, a post graduate Certificate in Systems Engineering and a PhD in Automatic Control from Brunel University London. He was an Associate Research Fellow for three years at Brunel and has published numerous papers in leading international peer reviewed journals. He has also completed management courses at Carnegie Mellon University and finance courses at the Wharton School.

Relland Winand

Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Winand was appointed as the interim Chief Financial Officer of the Company on November 8, 2023, after Michael Linacre, Chief Financial Officer of Innovative Solutions and Support, Inc. (the “Company”), notified the Company on November 8, that he is resigning from all of his positions with the Company, effective immediately.

Mr. Winand previously served the Company as Chief Financial Officer from December 2014 until his retirement in July 2022, after serving as the Company’s Controller from September 2014 to December 2014. Mr. Winand has served in a number of executive financial capacities with public companies, including Chief Financial Officer of ECC International, Corp, a manufacturer of computer-controlled maintenance simulators primarily for the Department of Defense and Vice President Finance and Administration of Traffic.com, Inc., a leading provider of accurate, real-time traffic information in the United States. Immediately prior to joining Innovative Solutions and Support, Inc., Mr. Winand was Chief Financial Officer of Orbit/FR, Inc., an international developer and manufacturer of sophisticated microwave test and measurement systems for aerospace/defense, wireless, satellite, and automotive industries, from 2008 to 2013. From January 2014 until September 2014, Mr. Winand served as a consultant for Solomon Edwards Group LLC. He has over 30 years’ experience in financial management and reporting for both public domestic and international manufacturing companies. Mr. Winand received a B.S. in Accounting from Drexel University and an M.B.A. in Finance from Widener University.

Brian Urbanski

Vice President of Quality

Brian Urbanski joined the company in 1999 as Director of Quality and was promoted to Vice President of Quality in 2002.   His current responsibilities include: ISO9001/AS9100D Management Representative, FAA Certification Liaison to the Boston Aircraft Certification Office, Accountable Manager to the FAA/EASA Repair Station, CASE-1A Management Representative, D0-178B/C Software Quality Assurance Manager, DO-254 Hardware Quality Assurance Manager, Type 2 LOA Aeronautical Database Manager, and Reliability and Maintainability Manager. Mr. Urbanski is the main focal point for coordinating all FAA STC, TSO and PMA projects at IS&S.  Prior to joining IS&S, Mr. Urbanski held Six Sigma Master Black Belt positions at Raytheon and Allied Signal.  Mr. Urbanski holds a BS in Materials Engineering from Drexel University, he is a certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt, and he has over 30-years in aerospace continuous improvement and quality management systems.

Markus Knopf

Vice President, Product Development

Markus Knopf joined the company in 2000 as a member of the IS&S Engineering department in various capacities. Prior to joining IS&S he worked as a Design Engineer on ultrasonic fastener equipment covering the automotive and aerospace markets. Mr. Knopf holds a BS/MS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Applied Sciences in Ulm-Germany and an MS in Information Science from the Pennsylvania State University.

Kevin Cravens

Vice President, Program Management

Kevin Cravens joined the company in 2001 as a software engineer working on flat panel display systems. He has since held positions in systems engineering, project engineering, and program management. Prior to joining IS&S he worked as a Design Engineer at Boeing Helicopters working mission computer software on the RAH-66 Comanche attack helicopter as well as flight control software for Boeings tiltrotor aircraft (V-22 and 609). Mr. Cravens also worked for Unisys on CRM software for the banking industry. Mr. Cravens holds a BS in Aerospace Engineering from Virginia Tech and has completed management and finance courses at the Wharton Business School.