Our Team

 

Chester Kennedy
CEO
ckennedy@gobridg.com

   

Chester N. Kennedy has more than 35 years of experience in the aerospace and commercial electronics industries. During his three-decade tenure at Lockheed Martin, Kennedy held a number of key leadership roles in the areas of engineering, program management and business development.

As CEO of BRIDG, Kennedy plans to build upon the organization’s early entry into the highly competitive smart sensor market sector. He will focus on facilitating the partnerships required to help industry transition to the new era driven by the Internet of Things.

Kennedy served as Vice President and Chief Engineer of Training and Logistics Solutions at Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Training. He led a 2,000+ member global engineering team responsible for developing a wide variety of products, including support equipment, flight and ground simulators, training curriculums, automated test equipment and some of the most sophisticated Information Technology based logistics solutions in the world. Kennedy was accountable for program performance, managed department budgets, controlled engineering rates, and directed technology strategies to promote sustainability and support future growth.

Kennedy’s diverse experience includes a rotation at Lockheed Martin’s headquarters where he was responsible for corporate-wide technology strategies and independent assessments of operational risks. He also actively participated in every phase of the program life cycle, from concept development through mature product sustainment.

Kennedy is an outspoken supporter of STEM outreach and serves on Florida’s For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) executive advisory board. He is an active member of the Board of Directors of the Orlando Aero Club, an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics Astronautics, a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and is Vice Chairman of the Martin Federal Credit Union Board of Directors. He also holds positions on Industry Advisory Boards for the University of Central Florida and University of Florida. Additionally, Kennedy has served on the Naval Research Advisory Council by appointment of the Secretary of the Navy.

Kennedy holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Tennessee and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the Florida Institute of Technology.