ARLINGTON, VA — Michael Hlavaty has joined Crown Innovations as Senior Director of Engineering. In this role, Hlavaty will strengthen program execution across the field engineering support portfolio to provide exceptional value to Crown’s clients. He will also lead corporate business development.
Hlavaty brings more than 30 years of experience developing, integrating and supporting complex systems and products, combining a broad technical background with extensive program management responsibility.
“Michael understands the aviation mission, the Federal Aviation Administration environment, and the importance of delivering with precision, accountability and teamwork,” said Afzal Khan, President and CEO of Crown Innovations. “He is well positioned from day one to provide the expertise necessary to improve our execution and help Crown achieve the next level of performance.”
Hlavaty joins Crown from Kearfott Corp., where he served as director of engineering. He led the development of the company’s next-generation inertial navigation platform and miniature open system architecture variants, oversaw large R&D budgets and rebuilt the engineering organization into a team of more than 100 professionals. Kearfott’s system was selected as a “best of breed” solution for the U.S. Air Force Resilient Embedded GPS/INS program.
Previously, Hlavaty served as senior director of program management at Telephonics Corp., where he led program efforts for FAA air traffic control pursuits and product deployment into the National Airspace System. He served as program manager for the FAA Common Terminal Digitizer program, including the deployment of 45 systems supporting Terminal Automation Modernization and Replacement.
Earlier in his career, Hlavaty held engineering leadership roles at Advanced Acoustic Concepts, DRS Technologies, BAE Systems and Plessey/GEC-Marconi. His work spans situational awareness, navigational aids and flight safety systems, with an emphasis on compatibility between military and civil aviation and compliance with U.S. and international standards.
He has worked with agencies and regulatory bodies including the Department of Defense, FAA, National Telecommunications and Information Administration, Federal Communications Commission, National Security Agency, Department of Homeland Security and the International Civil Aviation Organization.
Hlavaty is a certified Project Management Professional. He holds a master’s degree in engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology and a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from New Jersey Institute of Technology. He is based in New Jersey.
About Crown Innovations
Founded in 1989, Crown (www.crownci.com) applies engineering, information solutions, analytics, and infrastructure services to assist government and industry in enhancing performance and planning for future challenges. Specializing in the field of aviation, Crown brings a national reputation for forging practical systems and service solutions based on real-world perspectives. Crown supports federal agencies, state and local governments, and commercial clients in adopting emerging aviation and air traffic technologies.