Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International competitors

Lieutenant General (Ret.) Robert M. (Bob) Shea is the President and CEO of the Armed Forces Communication and Electronics Association (AFCEA). Prior to assuming this position, he served as the Executive Vice President, Strategic Solutions, for Smartronix, Inc., Hollywood, MD. Lieutenant General Shea’s final active duty position was as the Director, Command, Control, Communications and Computer Systems (C4 Systems), The Joint Staff. He was the principal advisor to the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff on all C4 systems matters within the DoD. While in that position, he was given the responsibility for developing the first U.S. National Military Strategy for Cyberspace Operations. He also served as Deputy Commander, U.S. Forces Japan; Commander of the Marine Component, Joint Task Force Computer Network Defense; Director of the Marine Corps Command and Control Systems School; and Commanding Officer, 9th Communications Battalion, I Marine Expeditionary Force during Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Among Lieutenant General Shea's previous staff assignments are Director for C4 for the Marine Corps; the Chief Information Officer of the Marine Corps; Director of Intelligence for the Marine Corps; the Director for Command, Control and Communications (J6) for the United States Pacific Command; and various other staff positions in the Marine Corps and Joint community. Shea earned a M.A. from Central Michigan University. He also attended The Basic School, Advanced Communications Officers' Course, the Marine Corps Command and Staff College, and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, National Defense University. Lieutenant General Shea served for 10 years as the Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Toys for Tots Foundation. He has also served as a Director on two corporate boards, an executive partner with a private equity corporation, and an advisor/consultant to several telecommunication and defense industry corporations. He also has served on study panels for the National Research Council and the Defense Science Board. Lieutenant General Shea's awards include: Defense Distinguished Service Medal, DoD Superior Service Medal with gold star in lieu of second award, Legion of Merit with gold star, DoD Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Marine Corps Commendation Medal, and Navy Marine Corps Achievement Medal with two gold stars. He is also a recipient of the North American IT Leadership Award from the Rocky Mountain Chapter of AFCEA and he is a Federal 100 Award winner.

Susannah Schaefer is Executive Vice Chair, President & Chief Executive Officer of Smile Train, an international organization focused on empowering local medical professionals to provide free cleft lip and/or palate surgery and comprehensive cleft care to children globally. Susannah joined Smile Train in February 2013, after serving as a member of the organization’s Board for over ten years. In her role as CEO, she leads Smile Train’s vision to expand access to healthcare and increase local capacity in countries in which Smile Train helps children. During her time as CEO, Susannah led an organizational rebrand, seeded funding for hundreds of thousands of new smiles, expanded cleft surgical training and education programs throughout the world and helped to establish organizational partnerships in Haiti and Rwanda. In addition, Susannah led the team in developing Smile Train’s ground-breaking Virtual Surgery Simulator, further accelerating cleft surgical training and enhancing the organization’s “teach a man to fish” model. Susannah came to Smile Train after almost twenty years in operational roles, bringing a vast network and past experiences to the team. Previously, Susannah served as Vice President, Director of International Marketing at CA Technologies, where she led implementation of the company’s international marketing strategies. Earlier in her career, Susannah was the Director of Marketing, Asia for CA Technologies, where she built the organization’s presence throughout the region and hosted the first regional CA World conference in China. Susannah is a Trustee of The Smile Train UK and serves on the Board of Directors of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications from the State University of New York College at Oswego.