AeA Announces Its New President and CEO

Washington, DC (October 8, 2007) - The AeA (formerly the American Electronics Association) announced today it has selected Christopher W. Hansen to succeed William T. Archey as its President and Chief Executive Officer.

Tim Guertin, the President and CEO of Varian Medical Systems in Palo Alto, California, the Immediate Past Chairman of the AeA Board and Chair of the CEO Selection Committee stated “we are delighted to have Chris join AeA as its new President and CEO. Chris is the Group Executive Officer for the AARP where he directs all of the association's advocacy initiatives and programs nationwide. He also manages 53 AARP offices and 675 staff located in Washington and throughout the country. This background alone makes Chris the ideal leader for AeA. While AeA has a strong presence in Washington, the predominance of its resources is located in its 17 local councils as well as two offices overseas. The experience and success that Chris has had in managing a large field organization will be invaluable in his position at AeA. But in addition to that experience Chris also spent sixteen years directing the Boeing Corporation’s government relations functions in Washington and in the states. For three years he was the Senior Vice President of Government Relations for Boeing.”

Prior to working at Boeing Chris Hansen also directed the Washington operations for General Dynamics. Mr. Guertin further stated “Chris has managed a large field force and is intimately familiar with advanced technologies particularly in the aerospace sector, a combination that is ideal for leading AeA’s 2500 member companies who in turn represent 1.8 million employees.”

Mr. Hansen received his Bachelors Degree at the University of Denver and his Masters in International Management from the American Graduate School of International Management in Glendale, Arizona. He is also a member of the New York Stock Exchange’s Individual Investors Advisory Committee.

Mr. Hansen will start on November 15 at AeA. He and Mr. Archey will overlap until February 2008 which will ensure a smooth transition to this new era.

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About AeA
AeA, the nation’s largest technology trade association with 2,500 member companies representing all segments of the high-tech industry, is dedicated solely to helping our members’ top line and bottom line. We do this in partnership with our small, medium, and large member companies by lobbying governments at the state, federal, and international levels, providing access to capital and business opportunities, and offering select business services and networking programs. For more information, please visit www.aeanet.org.

This page was last updated on 10/03/07.