June 25, 2019 – Jeff Geiger Announces EB VP Retirements and New Leader Appointments

EB President Jeff Geiger today announced the retirements of Ken Blomstedt, vice president of quality and radiological controls, and Terry Fedors, vice president for design and engineering. Blomstedt will retire on June 28 following 40 years of service. Fedors will retire on July 26 following 33 years of service.

Blomstedt joined EB in 1979, working in the company’s mechanical engineering organization. Among his many accomplishments, Blomstedt implemented the Subsafe program in Electric Boat’s engineering organization. In 2016 he was named vice president of quality and radiological controls.

Fedors joined EB in 1986 as an engineer on the Seawolf-class program. He progressed through a series of leadership roles in design, engineering and program management and was named to his current role in August 2016.

“We’re very grateful to Ken and Terry for their service and the many contributions they’ve made over the course of their careers at EB,” said Geiger. “We thank them and wish them and their families the best in a happy and healthy retirement.”

The following appointments were made as a result of Blomstedt’s retirement.

Will Lennon has been appointed vice president–quality and radiological controls. Lennon, who most recently was vice president of the Columbia-class submarine program, will be succeeded in that role by Beth Rafferty, formerly director of engineering–integrated power systems (IPS). Rafferty will be succeeded by Christian Drew, formerly senior manager of the compatibility test facility integration and main propulsion motor development. Both Lennon and Rafferty will report to EB President Jeff Geiger. Drew will report to Emil Casciano (see below).

In his new position, Lennon will assume leadership of and responsibility for nuclear and non-nuclear quality assurance, radiological controls, industrial radiography, welding engineering and materials engineering. Lennon joined EB in 1981 as a test engineer. He earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and applied mechanics from the University of Rhode Island.

As vice president of the Columbia-class submarine program, Rafferty will be responsible for Columbia program design and construction and collaborative support to the UK’s Successor program. Rafferty joined Electric Boat in 1994 as a structural engineer in solids mechanics, supporting Virginia-class design. She earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Polytechnic University (Brooklyn, NY) and is a graduate of EB’s Business Leader Group program.

Christian Drew will be director of engineering–IPS, leading the team developing and delivering the Columbia electric drive propulsion system. Drew joined EB in 2003 in main propulsion machinery (D435). Most recently, he was responsible for executing the compatibility test facility and main propulsor motor development programs. Drew earned a Bachelor of Science degree in marine engineering systems from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.

The following appointments were made as a result of Fedor’s retirement.

Emil Casciano has been named vice president for design and engineering, with responsibility for all engineering and design at EB. Casciano joined the company in 2013 as program manager for fleet support and UK program management following a 31-year career in the naval submarine fleet. Casciano earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Lafayette College and a master’s degree in engineering management from the Catholic University of America. His most recent role was as EB’s chief nuclear officer.

Taking over that role is Dave McCann, who will be responsible for all nuclear operations, nuclear test, fueling operations, and nuclear overhaul and repair engineering. McCann joined EB in 1990 in nuclear test engineering. He progressed through roles including shift test engineer on Trident-class submarines, chief nuclear test engineer on the Virginia class and manager of the nuclear test engineering department. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in marine engineering from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy. McCann is a graduate of EB’s Business Leader Group program.

“At this time of tremendous growth, opportunity and challenge, we look to leaders like Will, Beth, Christian, Emil and Dave to guide us as we focus on continuing to design and deliver capable, high-quality submarines to the Navy safely, on-time and on-budget,” said Geiger.