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March 2026
National Press Club Washington, DC

2024 Aviation Week Program Excellence Awards Finalists and Winners

Note: The 2024 Program Excellence Award winners were recognized in 2025 because Aviation Week’s Defense Conference, where the awards are presented, moved from November 2024 to May 2025.


OEM SYSTEM DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT

Winner:
Embraer

Phenom 100EX

  • Simone Gobo Barcellos, Director, Phenom Program Office

Finalist:
Lockheed Martin

OSIRIS

  • Chris Granrud, Program Manager, Rotary and Mission Systems

OEM SYSTEM PRODUCTION

Winner:
Lockheed Martin

THAAD

  • Matthew Kotylo, Director, THAAD Production Programs

Winner:
Raytheon

LIDS Coyote

  • Andrew Gallerani, LIDS Product Line Director

Finalist:
Northrop Grumman

E-2D Production

  • Janice Zilch, Vice President, Multi-Domain Command and Control Programs

OEM SYSTEM SUSTAINMENT

Winner:
Lockheed Martin

F-16 Viper Upgrade Program

  • Casey Anderson, Senior Program Manager, F-16 Viper Upgrade Programs

SPECIAL PROJECTS

Winner:
West Star Aviation

West Star Aviation Academy

  • Michael Zada, Chief Project Officer
  • Katie Johnson, Chief People Officer

Finalist:
Delta Air Lines Tech Ops

Electronic TaskCard System

  • Tuvayas Duckworth, Senior Product Owner, Technical Publications

SUPPLIER SYSTEM DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT

Winner:
Collins Aerospace

Collaborative Mission Autonomy

  • Brian Batovsky, Program Manager, Collaborative Mission Autonomy

Finalist:
Honeywell

High-Altitude LiDAR Atmospheric Sensing (HALAS)

  • Kent Grimsrud, Senior Program Manager

Finalist:
Top Aces

F-16 Advanced Aggressor Fighter

  • Ed Woodruff, Director, Program Management Office

SUPPLIER SYSTEM PRODUCTION

Winner:
Honeywell

Next-Gen Resilient M-Code Navigation System

  • Aaron Grierson, Program Manager

SUPPLIER SYSTEM SUSTAINMENT

Winner:
Collins Aerospace

B1 Radio Upgrade

  • Reg Bush, Senior Manager, Value Stream Management