CEO Today Business Women of the Year Awards

65 www.ceotodaymagazine.com CEO Today Business Women of the Year Awards 2018 USA TERESA COVINGTON Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of AeroVironment, Inc. FIRM PROFILE Since AeroVironment’s beginnings more than 40 years ago, our scientists and engineers have sought innovative solutions to many of our most difficult security, energy and infrastructure management challenges. But as remarkable as our products are, it’s the actionable intelligence they provide our customers that most clearly defines our company. From the moment we developed our breakthrough unmanned aircraft systems, we understood their primary benefit—giving people the ability to see the situation ahead. With AeroVironment’s sophisticated eyes in the sky, we could provide life-saving intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance for our troops on the battlefield. Today, AeroVironment has become the acknowledged expert and largest supplier of small, unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) to the Pentagon and to dozens of allied nations. As effective as our small UAS have become on the battlefront, they promise to be equally life-saving on the home front. AeroVironment’s family of integrated and interoperable UAS also gives law enforcement personnel and first responders the ability to see and assess the situation ahead. While AeroVironment’s information solutions will significantly change the way farmers and energy providers monitor and manage their assets. Although theAeroVironment story began in the air, early on we also understood the impact our energy technologies could have on the ground—leading to our role in the development of the GM Impact, the prototype for the world’s first commercially produced electric vehicle. Since then, our EV test systems and charging solutions have fast become the intelligent choice for electric vehicle manufacturers, fleet managers and drivers, paving the way for a cleaner, more sustainable world. ABOUT TERESA COVINGTON Since joining AeroVironment in 2011, Teresa Covington has provided financial leadership to AeroVironment and its EES business segment and has served as a senior member of the company’s finance team. Covington served as the company’s interim chief financial officer from February 5, 2015 to July 7, 2015. Covington’s responsibilities included financial analysis, planning, accounting, credit and collections as well as launching and leading a new product line management organization. Prior to joining AeroVironment, Covington served as senior vice president and chief financial officer at Line 6, a global designer and manufacturer of musical instruments now part of Yamaha. Covington earned her master’s in business administration from Stanford University Graduate School of Business, a master’s in electrical engineering from the University of Southern California and a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. www.avinc.com “As remarkable as our products are, it’s the actionable intelligence they provide our customers that most clearly defines our company.”