Board of Directors

Heather is the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for Northrop Grumman's Space Systems sector where she leads a team of finance and contracts professionals responsible for the full business management and support of the sector.

Prior to this role, Heather served as the CFO for Innovation Systems and Technology Services sectors with similar leadership responsibilities. She is also a member of the Northrop Grumman CFO Council.

Heather joined Northrop Grumman in 2014, where she was CFO and Director of Business Management for the Cyber Division within Northrop Grumman's former Information Solutions sector. In this role, Heather worked directly with the Cyber team to ensure solid financial performance and flawless program execution for Northrop Grumman's Cyber portfolio. Following this assignment, Heather served as vice president and CFO for Enterprise Shared Services, responsible for the financial leadership of all centralized company services including IT, security, HR, and general accounting.

Prior to working at Northrop Grumman, Heather worked for more than 12 years for the Boeing Company, in a number of increasingly responsible financial management positions, including serving as the CFO of the Electronic and Information Systems division. In addition to her CFO role, she has experience serving in leadership positions specifically within Program Business Management, Financial Planning and Analysis and Risk Management. She is the Chairman of the Credit Union Board of Directors and serves on the Human Resources and Loan & Share committees.

Heather holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland.

Diane is the Executive Officer, Operations Administration at the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro), the nation’s third largest transportation agency. She is responsible for the financial management and administrative services of Metro’s daily operations. Diane's career spans 25 years of progressively diverse experience leading strategic initiatives and driving organizational change through transformational leadership. Diane has an extensive commitment to public service. She has been active in her community: A member of the Women’s Transportation Seminar, she was a committee member on the California Transportation Association, a mentor and volunteer. She launched and serves as the current President of the Advancement of Latinos at Metro Association (ALMA). She holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science from California State University Northridge and a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Southern California (USC). Diane is the 1st Vice-Chair of the Credit Union Board of Directors and serves on the Budget and Loan & Share committees.

Rob is the Program Execution lead for Future Air Dominance Programs at Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems. Rob joined Northrop Grumman in July 2014 and served in several roles to include E-2 Flight Test IPT Lead, E-2D Aerial Refueling Program Manager and Director of Japan Programs for E-2.

In January 2020, Rob was selected to be the Deputy IPT Lead for Manned Airborne Surveillance Programs (MASP) at NGA where he was responsible for the day-to-day operations for E-2D, JSTARS and ALMDS.

Prior to joining Northrop Grumman in 2014, Rob was the Commanding Officer of AIRTEVRON TWENTY (VX-20), the U.S. Navy’s premier Maritime Developmental Flight Test squadron consisting of more than 23 aircraft (E-2D, P-8, Triton, P-3C, KC-130J, E-6A and T-6). Responsible for more than $2.0B in assets, Polvino led an organization of 430 military personnel, civilians, and contractors in the execution of more than 7,000 annual flight hours on five ACAT-1D and more than 30 other ACAT programs at various stages of maturity.

Rob received his bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from the United States Naval Academy (USNA) and his master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School (USNPS). He also is a Class 120 Graduate of the United States Naval Test Pilot School (USNTPS).

Retired, Steve had been with Northrop Grumman Electronic Sensors since 1979 and held numerous management positions in operations and program management. His last position was the Director, Aviation and Weapons Systems Programs. Equipped with a B.S. in business and an MBA in management, Steve’s credit union service dates back to 1982. In 1985, he was elected to the Westinghouse Family of Maryland FCU Board of Directors. In 2000, Steve joined the Northrop Grumman FCU Board of Directors where he held the positions of 2nd Vice Chair and 1st Vice Chair and Chair. He currently serves on the Financial Strategies, and Loan & Share committees.

Kathi retired in 2015 from the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) after 35 years of service. During her tenure with Metro, she served in various management and leadership positions in Personnel and Human Resources, retiring as Director of Human Resources. Kathi joined the Board of the Metro Transportation Employees Federal Credit Union (MTEFCU) in 1991 and served as Vice President and President of the Board, and Chair of the Supervisory Committee. Kathi served as a member of the Supervisory Committee of Northrop Grumman Federal Credit Union (NGFCU) and later became the Chair of the NGFCU Supervisory Committee until she joined the Board in 2009. She has served as Chair of the NGFCU Board of Directors and currently serves on the Human Resources, Facilities, and Loan and Share Committees.

Petros is managing principal of TBL Strategy, an executive advisory firm he founded in 2006. Prior to founding TBL Strategy, Petros served as a Managing Director at Citigroup Global Markets and its predecessors, Salomon Smith Barney and Salomon Brothers. In these roles Petros worked closely with Northrop Grumman Corporation among many other clients. Petros currently serves on the Board of Directors of Sonnedix Power Holdings Ltd., a global, utility-scale, solar power producer and on the Advisory Board of Aries I Acquisition Corp., a publicly-traded special purpose acquisition company. Petros holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics with a minor in Physics from Hamilton College, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Eric is the Vice President and CFO of Aeronautics Systems (AS) for Northrop Grumman where he leads a team of finance and contracts professionals responsible for the full business management and support of the sector. Most recently Eric was the Vice President and CFO of the Strategic Space Systems division at Northrop Grumman Space Systems sector. Prior to that, Eric served as the Vice President and Controller for the Aerospace System sector and in various business management leadership positions at Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems and the Corporate office. Prior to joining Northrop Grumman in 2005, he held a variety of engineering positions at other aerospace companies.

Eric earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Santa Barbara, a master’s degree in aeronautical and astronautical engineering from Stanford University and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Southern California.

Before being elected to the NGFCU Board in 2015, Eric participated in the Volunteer at Large program with the Northrop Grumman Federal Credit Union starting in 2012. He served a term as the Chair of the Credit Union Board of Directors and is a member of the Executive Committee.

Jessica is a Program Director for Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems (AS), where she is responsible for providing missions systems capabilities to advanced weapons system platforms within cost, schedule, and technical requirements.

Jessica had previously served as a Chief Engineer within Advanced Programs, responsible for assuring the technical solution was optimized to best meet all of the challenging technical performance and cost requirements with a well understood level of risk. Prior to that she was a Deputy Chief Engineer for a significant effort in the Strike Division, integrating the programmatic engineering team into the sector’s overall engineering functional organization. She held a role as a Program Manager in the Military Surveillance and Targeting and Military Aircraft Systems divisions of Aerospace Systems, where she served as the Chief of Staff for the Sector Vice President and General Manager, supporting both the strategic development and integration of the division portfolio.

She has a B.S. in Optical Sciences and Engineering from the University of Arizona, a M.S. in Systems Engineering and a M.S. in Software Engineering from the Florida Institute of Technology. She also has an MBA from the Florida Institute of Technology and Certificate in Aerospace Project Management from the California Institute of Technology.

Jessica currently serves on the Credit Union Supervisory and Technology Committees.

Aaron is Vice President, Strategic Force Programs for the Payload and Ground Systems Division at Northrop Grumman Space Systems, a premier provider of space and launch systems serving national security, civil, and commercial customers.

In this role, Aaron leads the Strategic Force Programs organization, which is responsible for providing innovative and affordable sensors that support the missile warning, missile defense, technical intelligence, weather sensing capabilities, and the ground elements for these missions for the DoD, NOAA, and NASA.

Most recently, Aaron served as the ground segment lead for an emerging space program overseeing a complex development program leveraging Agile execution methodologies to deliver three satellite operations centers and eleven ground antennas across six geographically dispersed sites. Previously, Aaron served as the Integrated Mission Control Operating Unit Director in the Payload and Ground Systems Division where he oversaw Ground Element software programs. His portfolio primarily included the software ground elements of four large related programs, including smaller adjacent efforts. Aaron’s prior roles with Northrop Grumman include leading a family of aircraft mission planning & execution programs and delivery of airborne Battle Management and Command & Control capabilities.

Aaron earned a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of California, Santa Cruz and a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Jay Patel is the Vice President of Remote Sensing Programs for the Payload and Ground Systems division for Northrop Grumman Space Systems sector, a premier provider of space and launch systems serving national security, civil and commercial customers.

As Vice President, Jay has executive responsibility for leading all aspects of the business unit, focusing on key space systems, payloads and software that supports Northrop Grumman's customers’ national security missions. In this role, he also leads efforts to drive operational and production efficiency with integrated development and design activities across product lines.

Since joining Northrop Grumman in 2004, Jay has held various leadership positions with responsibilities spanning systems engineering, hardware and software products including most recently serving as Vice President of Engineering for the Payload and Ground Systems division where he led engineering performance, training and development, staffing and personnel support. Previously, he also served as director for Systems Engineering, Integration and Test (SEIT) in the Mission Systems sector, director of the Mission Enterprise Systems Operating Unit, and program director within Remote Sensing Programs.

Prior to joining Northrop Grumman, Jay held various technical and leadership roles including design engineering, front line product management, sales and marketing, program and capture management for both commercial and government customers.

Jay earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is a champion for building a diverse, equitable and inclusive culture, serving as co-chair of the company’s Space Systems DE&I Council. Jay is also a dedicated mentor and participates in the High School Involvement Partnership (HIP), the Asian Pacific Professional Network (APPN), Gen2Gen and Connect1NG employee resource groups. Jay also serves on the advisory board for the College of Computer and Electrical Engineering for the University of Maryland College Park.

Tim Staley is Vice President, Associate General Counsel and Sector Counsel for Northrop Grumman’s Space Systems Sector, a leading global provider of space-based solutions for the United States, foreign governments, and other civil and commercial customers around the world.

Tim leads the Space Legal Team in providing legal counseling and business advice across Northrop Grumman’s diverse Space portfolio. Tim previously served as the Division Counsel for Space’s Strategic Space Systems Division, and prior to that, as Senior Counsel with the Aeronautics Sector in Redondo Beach, California. Tim was also legal counsel for the GBSD/Sentinel capture, the James Webb Space Telescope and many of Northrop Grumman’s restricted Space programs. Tim currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the NG Foundation.

Prior to joining Northrop Grumman in 2015, Tim served as a Managing Legal Counsel at a large government contracting and construction firm focused on commercial nuclear power, oil and gas production, DoD weapon systems, and the management and remediation of DOE’s nuclear weapon complexes. Earlier in his career, he worked in private practice in Washington, D.C. where he represented TRW in bid protests and other litigation matters. Tim also served as a federal judicial clerk for the Hon. Robert J. Yock at the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in D.C.

Tim received his J.D. from The Catholic University, Columbus School of Law in Washington, D.C., and his B.A. from John Carroll University in Cleveland, OH. Tim is a member of the California, District of Columbia and Maryland bars.

Leigh Cokonis is the Vice President and sector controller for the Space Systems Sector. As sector controller, Leigh is responsible for financial operations and compliance, with oversight of financial planning, financial reporting and accounting, government compliance, indirect rates, budgets, internal controls, and financial tools.

Most recently, Leigh was the Vice President and sector controller for the Aeronautics Systems sector, responsible for financial planning and reporting, accounting, earned value and scheduling, financial tools, and ensuring compliance with the company’s internal controls and policies and procedures.

Leigh joined Northrop Grumman’s Corporate office in 2015 as the Director Accounting Consultation, Compliance, and Controls, where she led the company’s implementation of the new revenue recognition and lease accounting standards and oversaw the enterprise-wide Sarbanes Oxley program. In 2017, she transitioned to the Aerospace Systems Sector, where she served as the Director Financial Planning, Reporting, and Analysis. In this role, she led the Sector’s activities related to the Annual Operating Plan and monthly forecasts, as well as quarterly filings with the SEC.

Prior to joining Northrop Grumman, Leigh was the Senior Accounting Manager at Exelis Inc. and a Senior Manager in KPMG’s audit practice specializing in the Aerospace and Defense industry.

Leigh earned her Bachelor of Business Administration and Master of Science in Accounting degrees from James Madison University. She is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in the state of Virginia. She recently moved from California to Virginia with her husband and twelve-year-old son, Nicholas, and is a member of the Board for Northrop Grumman Federal Credit Union.