About ARA

Logen Thiran

Logen Thiran is President & CEO of Antenna Research Associates, Inc (ARA), a company that designs and manufactures state-of-the-art RF subsystems solutions including antenna subsystems for defense, intelligence, and commercial applications globally. Prior to ARA, Mr. Thiran served as President of the Intelligence Communications and Avionics Solutions (ICAS) business unit of Leonardo DRS where he devoted 10 years of his career serving customers in the C5ISR market. He has over 25 years of business leadership experience in defense electronics providing mission capability for the warfighter.

Mr. Thiran has experience in private equity and venture capital investing, M&A, technology selection and investment, new-business startup, and business turnaround. His business expertise spans across working with government and prime customers in North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and Africa.

He has a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from North Carolina State University, and an MBA from Duke University.

Joe Kunze

Dr. Joseph Kunze is ARA’s Chief Technology Officer. In 2022, Dr. Kunze’s company, SI2 Technologies was acquired by ARA to expand the company’s offerings to include signal mitigation systems, Active Electronic Steered Arrays (AESA), additive manufacture and low profile, low vis conformal antenna solutions.

Prior to starting SI2, Dr. Kunze was Vice President and Business Unit Leader at Triton Systems, Inc. in Chelmsford, MA., and previously worked at the 3M Company in Mendota Heights, MN.

He received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (Worcester, MA), and his M.S. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Virginia (Charlottesville, VA). Dr. Kunze is an active member in several leading professional societies and organizations including the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) and the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA).

Bill Watson

Bill Watson has an expansive career leading, building and growing companies. As Chief Growth Officer, he will identify areas of growth by pursuing new markets and strengthening ARA’s presence in existing ones.

Watson’s career spans more than 30 years in all aspects of the defense industry, including engineering, manufacturing, and program management. Most recently, he served as CEO of RADA Technologies LLC. In this position, he grew a FOCI-mitigated operation to expand RADA Electronic Industries into the US market until RADA was acquired by DRS Technologies. Prior to this position, Watson served as VP of Sales and Business Development for L3 Technologies and Safran. He also brings 13 years of experience as VP or Executive Director of various departments at DRS Technologies.

Azhar Haq

Azhar Haq is Vice President & CFO responsible for managing and maintaining government contracts, ensuring compliance and safeguarding ethics. Mr. Haq oversees ARA’s government contracting compliance program and implements effective and relevant procedures and training to ensure open communication and timely delivery throughout the organization.

He oversees processes, policies and procedures to assist the company in satisfying its government contracts and regulatory and compliance obligations.

Prior to joining ARA, he served as the Director of Finance for Common Securitization Solutions and also worked at DRS Signal Solutions where he held positions including Senior Director of Finance, Acting General Manager/CEO and Director of Finance, CFO.

Mr. Haq holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from The George Washington University School of Business with concentrations in Finance and International business.

Lori Kalata

Lori Kalata, Human Resources Director is responsible for developing and leading company policies relating to HR, ensures our legal compliance in labor and benefit laws and implementation of our organization’s core values and talent strategy . Ms. Kalata works collaboratively with other division leaders in areas of employee relations, staffing, employee retention strategies, communications, safety and facility projects.

Prior to her work at ARA, Ms. Kalata served as the Director of Human Resources for DRS Technologies, Inc. where she managed a staff of 11 HR, facility and administrative professionals across several DRS locations.

She earned her Employee Benefits Specialist certification from The Wharton School, and attended Canisius College where she earned the designation of Senior Human Resources Professional.