Fortem Technologies, a Pleasant Grove-based developer of airspace safety and defense systems, has announced changes in its executive leadership team. Jon Gruen will move from his current executive chairman role and become the company’s CEO, while current CEO Timothy Bean will move into a newly formed position as president and chief operating officer (COO). The company said the reorganization positions the company with additional leadership to better address the increasing market demand for its systems and reinforces the company’s focus on growth in the defense and government markets.
“With recent investments and the expansion of our Washington, D.C., presence, the time is right to make this move,” said Bean. “Jon and I have worked closely for over two years and I am excited to have him full-time at the company.”
Gruen brings more than 25 years of leadership experience in the military and defense industry, providing emergency management and security solutions to government customers. He was instrumental in securing more than $10 billion in program value as a business development principal at Lockheed Martin. He also co-founded a defense innovation management and operations firm which scaled startup companies to over $1.5 billion in combined revenue in just three years, according to a Fortem release. He is also a U.S. Navy Reserve SEAL captain and led special operations teams in Afghanistan and Iraq. Gruen holds a bachelor’s degree from the United States Naval Academy in physics and received his MBA from the Haas School of Business at the University of California-Berkeley.
“With Jon’s impressive defense and commercial background, he is well-suited to lead the company’s growth efforts and our critical Washington, D.C., market presence,” said Matt Ocko, a Fortem board member. “Our growing leadership team with Jon and Tim at the helm enables us to serve more of our customers, in more geographies, with even more aggressive capabilities for supporting true security for law enforcement and warfighters against exponential human-operated and autonomous threats.”