Leadership & Team
Executive and technical leadership.
The people responsible for Hemisphere Defense
Hemisphere Defense is led across two areas: executive and technical leadership.
Executive Leadership
John B. Sawyer
Founder, Principal & Chief Executive Officer
John B. Sawyer is the Founder, Principal, and Chief Executive Officer of Hemisphere Aerospace Investments, providing executive leadership across HAI and Hemisphere Aerospace Defense. He brings nearly four decades of commercial aerospace experience, including three decades in executive and board-level roles, and has originated, negotiated, and closed more than 250 aircraft transactions.
Full profile: John B. SawyerCraig McPike
Chair, Board of Strategy & Oversight
Craig McPike, Brigadier General, U.S. Air Force Retired, chairs the Board of Strategy and Oversight for Hemisphere Aerospace Defense, guiding defense strategy, program oversight, and senior engagement with government, allied, and industry partners. He brings more than three decades of Air Force leadership, with assignments in five major commands spanning unit, group, wing, MAJCOM, and Air Staff levels, including command of organizations exceeding 12,000 personnel.
Full profile: Craig McPikeAlex Hart
Chief Financial Officer
Alex Hart serves as Chief Financial Officer for Hemisphere Aerospace Investments and Hemisphere Aerospace Defense, bringing experience across financial operations, accounting, government contracting, and regulatory compliance. Within the defense sector, he helped scale a finance and accounting organization from approximately 30 to more than 200 employees, directed cash disbursement operations responsible for approximately $1.5 billion in subcontractor payments, and supported financial strategy associated with roughly $2.5 billion in government contract funding. His prior experience includes managing financial operations tied to more than $400 million in real estate assets across a nationwide portfolio. A graduate of Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting, he brings a disciplined approach to financial strategy, compliance, and operational planning.
Full profile: Alex HartTechnical Leadership
Robert Riedell
Director of Programs
Robert Riedell serves as Director of Programs for Hemisphere Aerospace Defense, bringing more than 30 years of aerospace and defense leadership experience spanning military aviation, aircraft modernization, engineering, sustainment, certification, flight test, and complex program execution.
Full profile: Robert RiedellChip Fichtner
Head of Engineering
Chip Fichtner serves as Head of Engineering for Hemisphere Defense, leading system and platform engineering, technical design, engineering standards, and program execution across development efforts. He brings more than 40 years as an engineering and operations executive, including service as an Executive Director at RTX, where he led large engineering, manufacturing, quality, and program-management organizations. His career spans P&L responsibility from $5 million to $900 million and teams of more than 500 across domestic and international operations, with expertise in advanced manufacturing, Lean operations, and complex systems integration. He is recognized for recovering underperforming programs and building disciplined organizations that deliver complex work reliably, experience he now applies to Hemisphere Defense's engineering and program development.
Full profile: Chip FichtnerDalton Sawyer
Technical Director
Dalton Sawyer serves as Technical Director for Hemisphere Aerospace Investments and Hemisphere Aerospace Defense, providing technical leadership across commercial and defense programs. He works closely with engineering teams, program leadership, and strategic partners to ensure technical requirements, systems integration, and engineering efforts remain aligned with mission objectives and program goals.
Full profile: Dalton SawyerAustin Fichtner
Technology Strategy & Integration
Austin Fichtner supports technology strategy, systems integration, and industrialization across Hemisphere Aerospace Defense programs, helping translate emerging technologies and complex engineering concepts into scalable, operational capabilities. His work spans advanced manufacturing, autonomy and sensing technologies, digital systems, and the production strategies that move programs from early development toward deployment. He previously served as Innovation Director at Cresting Wave and founded ElectriFit, an IoT and AI-enabled technology company that was successfully developed through acquisition. At HAD, he focuses on integration planning, manufacturing readiness, verification strategy, and the transition of advanced technologies into deployable systems. He holds a B.B.A. in Entrepreneurship from Baylor University.
Full profile: Austin FichtnerHemisphere Defense and Hemisphere Aerospace Investments (HAI) share executive leadership.
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