CAE has announced the appointment of Todd Probert as group president, defense and security, effective Jan. 27, 2020. He will be based in Washington, D.C., and is succeeding Gene Colabatistto, who retired from CAE in December 2019.
“I am very pleased to welcome Todd Probert to CAE’s executive management team, as our new group president, defense and security. He is a proven strategic business leader with the right balance of technical, business and international experience in defense and technology,” said Marc Parent, CAE’s president and chief executive officer. “Todd’s competencies and background are very well aligned with CAE’s emphasis on digital innovation and our long-term vision to be the training partner of choice. His ability to drive business growth and create strategic partnerships will bring significant value to our company and our defense customers.”
Probert worked for Raytheon, the world’s fourth largest defense company, over the past 10 years. Most recently, he was leading the command, control, space and intelligence business unit as part of Raytheon’s intelligence, information and services segment. In this role, he spearheaded Raytheon’s use of commercial software development practices and artificial intelligence for military and intelligence community customers in addition to establishing strategic relationships with Silicon Valley companies. He previously served as the vice president of Raytheon’s mission support and modernization product line where he steadily grew the business during his tenure.
He has formed innovative partnerships with leading tech companies to transform the development timelines and delivery of capabilities to the U.S. Department of Defense in areas such as fully open architectures, artificial intelligence and cyber security. He also held the position of vice president, engineering and technology, where he managed the engineering workforce for Raytheon’s intelligence, information and services portfolio.
Before joining Raytheon, Probert worked for Honeywell Technology Solutions, Inc. (HTSI) in various functions such as strategy and business development, planning and operations, merger and acquisition activities, and he also served as HTSI’s chief technology officer. Prior to that, he worked for ANSER, where he led the space technology division.
In 2019, Probert was named by WashingtonExec as one of the Top 10 Department of Defense (DOD) Executives to Watch based on business accomplishments, impact on the defense community and vision for the future. He also received the 2019 Aviation Week Program Excellence Award in the OEM Sustainment category.
Probert holds a master’s degree in aeronautical and astronautical engineering from Purdue University, where he was named Outstanding Aerospace Engineer of the Year in 2017. He has a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Michigan.
