Our Leadership

Don is Headwall's President and is responsible for leading and developing Headwall’s commercial organization. He brings more than 25 years of successful leadership in recruiting, developing, and managing worldwide sales teams, most recently serving as Headwall's Vice President Sales & Marketing. Previously as VP Worldwide Sales, Marketing & Service at Zygo® Corporation. Don helped guide Zygo through its acquisition by AMETEK®, Inc., and with his leadership, the company set records for revenues and profitability.

David brings experience with government, commercial, and international customers through the delivery of high-technology products from prototypes to full-rate production. He has over 15 years of experience with mixed-model manufacturing, partnership with customers and suppliers, and a hands-on approach to leadership. Prior to joining Headwall, David was the Director of Operations for BAE Systems’ threat countermeasures product line.

Jim brings more than 20 years of high technology industry management experience to Headwall Photonics. Prior to joining the Company, Jim was CFO of Industrial Defender, a leading provider of cyber security solutions for control systems in the oil and gas, utility and chemical industries, until its sale in 2014 to Lockheed Martin. Jim started his career in public accounting at KPMG, specializing in manufacturing and high-tech industries.

Leo joined Headwall as Chief Financial Officer in January of 2023. He brings 25+ years of experience in financial management at companies specializing in high-tech and industrial products and services. Prior to Headwall, Leo held financial leadership roles at Brooks Automation and Thermo Fisher Scientific. Earlier in his career Leo was an audit manager for Ernst & Young, LLP.  Leo earned his bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Bentley University and a CPA license in Massachusetts.

Christian joined Headwall as Business Development and OEM Account Manager for the European region with a focus on expanding sales and solidifying customer relationships across the region. Since then, he has been the driving force behind the recent successful introduction of the MV.X Advanced Machine Vision camera that is helping transform Headwall’s powerful technology into intuitive solutions that directly provide actionable data.

Dennis brings deep operations management experience at some of the most respected names in instrumentation to Headwall Photonics. Prior to joining the Company, Dennis was Director of Operations at Zygo^® Coporation, the worldwide leader in precision optical measurement equipment for industrial metrology applications. Prior to that he was Production Manager at Exelis (now part of L3Harris), managing production of analytical instrumentation. Dennis served as a Precision Measurement Equipment Specialist for the United States Air Force and holds degrees from Walden University, College of the Air Force, and Central Connecticut State University.

Carla comes to Headwall with over 20 years of engineering leadership experience in fast paced, rapid-growth environments. Her expertise includes New Product Introduction, leading the transformation of innovative concepts into robust commercial products multiple times. Carla received her MBA from the Stern School of Business at NYU. She also holds an MS in Engineering Science from RPI and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the Rochester Institute of Technology. She is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and a past President of the Society of Women Engineers, Connecticut Section.

Dawn comes to Headwall with over 20 years of Human Resources experience, primarily with small-to-medium sized companies.  Her experience includes integrating companies,  developing compensation and benefits strategies, and leadership development.  Dawn received her MBA from the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University, and her BA from Northwestern University.

David has positioned Headwall as a worldwide provider of instrument-based spectral sensing solutions that touch many aspects of daily life. From precision agriculture and industrial food inspection to critical areas such as homeland security and military reconnaissance, David has helped bring the science of spectral imaging to new application areas and geographical regions.