May 30 2008
QinetiQ, an international defence and security technology company, announced today the appointment of Mike Kalms as CEO of QinetiQ Australia. This appointment is key to the continued development of QinetiQ’s Australian presence and underlines its strategic importance to its overall Europe, Middle East and Australasia business. Mike is due to take up his appointment on 16th June.
“Mike has a wealth of experience and will play a critical role in growing our Australian operations,” commented Clive Richardson, QinetiQ’s Chief Operating Officer for Europe, Middle East and Australasia. “We are confident in the strength of the Australian defence market and are looking to establish QinetiQ as a leading provider of independent advice services within the country. Bringing together a strong management team with Mike at its head is an important step in achieving this and will help us expand our tangible operational footprint in this growing market.”
Mike joins us from BAE Systems and his most recent roles have included head of strategy for the Australian subsidiary and, more recently, business manager for Nulka, the anti-missile defensive system which is Australia’s most successful defence export programme. He has had experience working in the UK on secondment as the Operations Director for NITEworks, a BAE Systems led programme in which QinetiQ is a lead partner. This led to his appointment as General Manager of the equivalent Rapid Prototyping, Development and Evaluation (‘Rapid’) Program (RPDE), a joint Australian industry and Defence Department initiative.
An Australian national, Mike studied economics at Sydney University, and has a Masters Degree in Management from the University of New South Wales. He is a part-time major in the Royal Australian Armoured Corp, is an active sportsman, and is married with one son.
QinetiQ purchased three Australian defence consulting businesses at the end of 2007 / January 2008 – Ball Solutions Group, Novare Group and the Melbourne-based engineering business of AeroStructures Group. These are now operating under the QinetiQ name and bring the total number of QinetiQ staff in Australia to around 300 with a turnover of A$48 million.