Nach dem Tod ihres Gründers Dr. Javad Ashjaee im Jahr 2020 hat die US-Eigentümerfamilie im Jahr 2021 ein neues Management installiert und im Jahr 2022 ein neues Büro in Vilnius, Litauen eröffnet.
Wir haben die Gelegenheit genutzt, die neuen und zum Teil bereits bewährten Mitglieder des Managements von JAVAD GNSS für Sie zu interviewen, um mehr über die Ziele für die zukünftige Entwicklung zu erfahren.
Gary Walker, CEO of JAVAD GNSS & CEO of JAVAD EMS
Beginnen wir mit Gary Walker, dem neuen CEO von JAVAD GNSS und langjährigen CEO von JAVAD EMS.
Jürgen (Rüffer): Gary, How long are you now working for the JAVAD group ? And what was your previous position before you took over as a CEO ?
Gary (Walker): I have had a relationship with the JAVAD group of companies for over 20 years. I initially met Javad Ashjaee at my previous company in the late nineties. It was at an electronics manufacturing services company and Javad had a small emerging and very interesting company, so we decided working together. I developed a friendship with Javad, so after leaving my previous company and taking some time off, Javad reached out to me to see, if I would be interested to set up an EMS company for JAVAD that would build the GNSS products along with many other products from 3rd party companies, operating as a traditional EMS company.
The idea became reality in early 2010 and has grown significantly since that time. It is a manufacturing facility located in Silicon Valley, building and shipping world class products. Having the GNSS products built within our own factory at our home base in California USA is significant, as the crisis of the recent Corona pandemic showed.
In July 2022 I took on the position of Executive Vice President at JAVAD GNSS, overseeing the day-to-day operations of that entity along with being the President of JAVAD EMS.
Jürgen: What are the three major goals you want to achieve within the next 3 years ?
Gary: There are so many positive things we are doing as a company, it is hard to narrow it down to 3. But the following would be a snapshot of where we are now and where we want to be end of 2025 and beyond.
I want to be part of a management team that works tirelessly to transform the company from being a technology company into a commercial company with global reach and presence. What do I mean by that?
I am told that the view of many people in the market is that JAVAD has outstanding technology, in most cases second to none. We can and will do things, that others will not. That has always been the core foundation of the company and why the company is held in such high regard by our customer base.
What we want to do is take the legacy and foundation of great technology and customized solutions and become more of a global commercial presence, based on market driven products both in the Geospatial, Survey and Monitoring as well as in the Mil/AS technology sector.
We have recently introduced to the market new products in both sectors, which we believe will result in significant sales based on what the market needs. We are continuing to look at ways to make our products better while also being easier to use.
We will also be introducing some new products later this year as well as a more focused approach (sales, marketing and engineering) to our radio product line.
Our goal as a company in the next 3 years is 4x revenue growth. In order for that to happen we need to commit more resources to certain markets.
The first priority is strengthening our position in Europe. We have a goal of making the European market the same or more from a commercial perspective as our US market. There is no reason it can’t be if we commit ourselves to that. The first step was establishing an EU product development office in Lithuania. As this market grows for us, so will the scope of services this office will offer in the EMEA market. We have also committed to an ‘in market’ sales director to manage this market. Tammy Aalto joined the company in July 2023 and brings with her a vast European experience in our industry, for both customers and our distribution partners.
As we expand our presence in Europe, we are also looking at other emerging markets that we will need to be a part of. We want to significantly expand our global footprint, but do so in a scalable approach. This will mean setting up new distribution partners as well as making our presence known in account-based marketing and investing in trade shows in these markets.
Finally, we want to expand our OEM sector products here in the USA but outside of it as well. In the past year we exhibited at 3 prominent shows whereas in the past we did not. We are making the investment in these shows to increase our exposure to this fast-growing area of the business.
We do very well in the US within certain Mil/AS applications, but really looking to build upon that into other OEM applications needing a robust GNSS solution for their PNT requirements, including commercial UAV’s. So we have decided for the first time to exhibit at the Space Tech Expo Europe show in Bremen in November this year. We are very much looking forward to that show allowing us to engage with new prospects in this very fast-growing market.
Jürgen: Thank you Gary for your time and for answering my questions, and good luck for your exciting mission at JAVAD GNSS.
Nema Ashjaee, Member of the Board of Directors, Vice President Design
Jürgen (Rüffer): Dear Nema, we already know each other for more than 20 years.
So what is your current role at JAVAD ?
o as the son of the founder Javad Ashjaee?
o and as a member of the management team?
Nema (Ashjaee): My time at the JAVAD companies started long ago as a high school student working in the manufacturing department during the summers. While I was not directly building most of the products, I enjoyed being exposed to the entire manufacturing process, which was quite a fascinating experience. I learned about the assembly, testing, and inspection processes that each of our products goes through before they are ready to leave the manufacturing facility. At the time, I was responsible for fulfilling customer orders and ensuring shipments make it out the door on time.
I later rejoined the company as Design & Visualization Specialist in 2014 to assist with a few projects that my father was developing. He and I worked very closely, and I was happy to see many familiar faces from my previous summers, as well as some new ones. The core values on which my father founded this company continue to drive myself and the entire team.
Since my father’s passing, I have stepped into a more significant role within the company as VP Design, and a member of the Board of Directors.
My architecture background and collaborative instincts are the backbone that allow me to bring multiple departments together to ensure consistency across product design, engineering, branding, and messaging. I’m excited by the challenge of evolving and growing this company into a market-focused endeavor while maintaining the technology-first approach that has made JAVAD so successful. Ultimately, we aim to develop products that solve our users’ problems and make their work and their lives easier. As VP of Design, this is what truly inspires me.
Jürgen: And what are your two major goals for the next 3 years?
Nema: Over the next several years our team is committed to realizing this vision of bringing our high-technology products to a wider commercial market. Those who have used our products in the past quickly fall in love with them, when they learn just how productive and accurate they can be. As a designer, I know we can take deliberate steps to enhance the user experience to make these core values more readily accessible.
These design efforts will further underpin our goal of growth in current markets as well as expansion into new markets that have not yet realized the benefits of the JAVAD brand. Again, I am excited and driven by these challenges and couldn’t be happier to be working with a team that is committed to the collaborative effort that is required to achieve these goals.
Jürgen: Thank you Nema for answering, and good luck for your future at JAVAD GNSS.
Simon Baksh, Vice President Product Development
Jürgen (Rüffer): Simon, what are the most important experiences from the past that you will use in your position as VP Product Development ?
Simon (Baksh): Past experiences highlighted the importance of a thorough product feasibility before action. A successful product is brought to market based on a sound understanding of the technology application, up-to-date market data for ensuring a Return on Investment and meticulous product management for delivery on time. Global navigation history shows there are always key technologies of the day, and it’s in their method of application and service to our community that we may contribute meaningfully to improving speed of delivery, accuracy, and reliability.
Jürgen: Andwhat is the major potential of the existing technical expertise of JAVAD ?
Simon: JAVAD has a wealth of GNSS patents covering RTK, Multiple Engines, Multipath, Anti-Jamming, Anti-Spoofing and Interference Rejection and many more. These exceptional patented techniques will be included in our products for options to assure PNT (Position, Navigation, Timing). In parallel, both our software and hardware development projects will leverage our cumulative technical expertise for a new generation of products with a greater ease of use than ever before.
Jürgen: What are the three major challenges for your position for the next 3 years ?
Simon: As technology marches on, the emergence of navigation in space brings a new environment for using our PNT solutions. Most applications were on land, sea or airborne for a few decades. Now, LEO, MEO and GEO satellites and space travel creates new challenges for navigation and wireless communications as the normal earth-based infrastructure is not available or stretched to new extremes. JAVAD is already active in developments to provide solutions to the new space environment as well as our traditional geospatial business.
Jürgen: Thank you Simon for your time and answering, and good luck for your mission at JAVAD GNSS.
Tammy Aalto, Sales Director EMEA
Jürgen (Rüffer):Tammy, you are the newest member of the JAVAD management team. What are the most important experiences from the past that you will use in your position as a Sales Director for Europe ?
Tammy (Aalto): Having a career drenched in radio and GNSS I’ll be guiding JAVAD into more of the industrial, telemetry and utilities markets. We have superior radio products that have not been exposed to these industries. With my experience of 25 years in these markets, introducing JAVAD’s exceptional OEM, Radio & GNSS products into these markets, where the possibilities are endless, is exciting.
Jürgen: What are the three major challenges for your position for the next 3 years ?
Tammy: I would like to highlight four of these.
First, spreading the message that the JAVAD of the past is not the JAVAD of the future. We are encouraging and educating our Distribution and Customers to test our products and solutions in every market sector, such as in the industrial, telemetry and utilities markets. JAVAD has not typically made an appearance due to lack of visibility and support. Today we are prepared.
Second, we have simply been seen as a GNSS company, but having a large comprehensive solutions portfolio that can fit into and be customized into any project or solution required. We are easily integrated and with owning our own boards this process can be done swiftly.
Third, while JAVAD has been seen as “just” a product supplier, we can deliver turn-key solutions.
Fourth, we are providing more market driven pioneering solutions now and in the long future ahead of us. With our success growing, we are excited to add new distribution into these markets.
Jürgen: What is the major potential of the European markets for JAVAD ?
Tammy: With more commercial exposure into markets JAVAD has traditionally not been a part of, we will find ourselves championed by these industries in a short time. The top-class products and solutions JAVAD offers into these critical markets and applications are second to none. JAVAD’s success in mission critical applications, such as with over twenty years flight heritage in the US and Europe including with the European Space Agency ESA will undoubtedly signal to these markets it is a market leader in no time.
Jürgen: Thank you Tammy for answering my questions and good luck for your mission at JAVAD GNSS.
Andrew Scott, Director of Marketing
Jürgen (Rüffer): Andrew, as the Director of Marketing what is your major focus in marketing JAVAD products in Europe for the coming 2 years?
Andrew (Scott): Three areas will focus marketing in the next 2 years.
First, an increase presence, awareness, and relevance of the JAVAD brand by demonstrating the competitive value of our products as solutions to our distribution partners and end-users.
Second, the implementation of targeted marketing to raise our visibility in existing and new markets such as Aero/Mil and Radios. This will include customer case studies which bring alive how JAVAD solutions have addressed customer problems.
And third, deepen the knowledge of our customers with real-time CRM data to be more responsive to improve the brand and product experience wherever people connect with us.
Jürgen: What is your major challenge in the marketing of JAVAD products?
Andrew: We have solid awareness of our technology innovation legacy with our customers and those who follow the industry closely including the media. Yet there is a large and untapped market of potential customers who do not know about us.
Our historic focus on R&D and technology innovation has meant that we are an almost best kept secret to our customers in the know. Marketing’s role today is to ensure that more markets know about what we do, and how our product solutions bring value to our customers.
To ensure that we connect with the market we will dedicate our efforts to being as creative as possible to effectively communicate our solutions in the most relevant and engaging way possible. By doing this we will achieve our 4X revenue objective in the next three years.
Jürgen: And what are your expectations for the positioning of JAVAD GNSS in the global competition of GNSS manufacturers?
Andrew: We believe that the history of our pioneering technology combined with being market driven provides a unique positioning for the company. The value our products deliver is often mission critical to the needs of our customers. In the past we mostly communicated technology driven feature functionality.
Today we are focused on communicating how our products deliver quality and value in our solutions for customer challenges. This includes how they can save time, increase productivity, reduce time to revenue while minimizing risk and meeting performance requirements.
For our Geospatial, Survey and Monitoring markets we see a significant opportunity in a mid-market priced segment where we believe our products quality and value will provide a very attractive offering. For our GNSS OEM boards we see huge potential in Europe with 20 plus years of space proven products which has been mainly focused on the US.
We see Europe as key market to be in and our increased commitment to this is indicated by exhibiting for the first time at the European Space Tech Expo in Bremen this November.
Jürgen: Thank you Andrew for your time and answering, and good luck for your mission at JAVAD GNSS. We are looking forward to meeting all of you at Intergeo in Berlin.
