Leadership Team

William L. Ballhaus

William L. Ballhaus

President & Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Ballhaus has significant experience in the aerospace, defense and technology industries, including multiple CEO roles. He previously served as Chairman and CEO of Blackboard, Inc., a leading EdTech company, from 2016 until its merger with Anthology in 2021. Prior to that, he served as CEO and President of SRA International, Inc., a provider of information technology services, from 2011 until the creation of CSRA Inc. from SRA and CSC’s U.S. public sector business. Before that, Mr. Ballhaus served as CEO and President of government contractor DynCorp International from 2008 to 2010. Mr. Ballhaus has also held senior leadership positions at BAE Systems, Boeing and Hughes, where he led global government and commercial technology businesses particularly focused on software and IT.

Mr. Ballhaus currently serves on several private company boards, including as Executive Chairman at Catalis, a provider of software and payments solutions for government customers, Executive Chairman at Elite, a vertical software business focused on the legal technology market, and on the Board of Directors of Qmulos, a leading cybersecurity and IT compliance company. He is also a senior advisor at PSG, a private equity firm focused on the software industry, and a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Mr. Ballhaus joined the Board in 2022.

Mr. Ballhaus holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Davis and Master’s and Doctorate degrees in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Stanford University. He also earned a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the Anderson Graduate School of Management at UCLA.

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William L. Ballhaus
William L. Ballhaus

President & Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Ballhaus has significant experience in the aerospace, defense and technology industries, including multiple CEO roles. He previously served as Chairman and CEO of Blackboard, Inc., a leading EdTech company, from 2016 until its merger with Anthology in 2021. Prior to that, he served as CEO and President of SRA International, Inc., a provider of information technology services, from 2011 until the creation of CSRA Inc. from SRA and CSC’s U.S. public sector business. Before that, Mr. Ballhaus served as CEO and President of government contractor DynCorp International from 2008 to 2010. Mr. Ballhaus has also held senior leadership positions at BAE Systems, Boeing and Hughes, where he led global government and commercial technology businesses particularly focused on software and IT.

Mr. Ballhaus currently serves on several private company boards, including as Executive Chairman at Catalis, a provider of software and payments solutions for government customers, Executive Chairman at Elite, a vertical software business focused on the legal technology market, and on the Board of Directors of Qmulos, a leading cybersecurity and IT compliance company. He is also a senior advisor at PSG, a private equity firm focused on the software industry, and a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Mr. Ballhaus joined the Board in 2022.

Mr. Ballhaus holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Davis and Master’s and Doctorate degrees in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Stanford University. He also earned a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the Anderson Graduate School of Management at UCLA.

David Farnsworth
David Farnsworth

Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer

David Farnsworth is Mercury’s Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer, responsible for the company's financial reporting, accounting and tax operations.

Mr. Farnsworth previously served as Chief Financial Officer of HawkEye 360, a radio frequency data analytics company operating a first-of-its-kind commercial satellite constellation. Prior to that, he held several roles within Raytheon, including as Vice President and CFO of its Integrated Defense Systems business, CFO of its Intelligence, Information and Services segment, CFO of its Technical Services business and at Raytheon Corporate headquarters, where he worked directly with the CEO and COO to spearhead strategic initiatives.

Mr. Farnsworth currently serves on the Board of Directors of Merrimack Valley Credit Union, a state-chartered community credit union, and on the Board of USA Diving, the national governing body for the sport of diving. He previously served on the Board of Thales-Raytheon Systems Company, an aerospace and defense company.

Mr. Farnsworth holds a bachelor’s degree from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a master’s degree in business administration from Boston University.

Stephanie Georges
Stephanie Georges

Executive Vice President & Chief Communications Officer

As Chief Communications Officer, Stephanie Georges is responsible for driving Mercury’s marketing, communications and brand strategy. Prior to Mercury, she was Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Maxar Technologies and its predecessor, DigitalGlobe. She has also served as Executive Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Development at CenturyLink and at Qwest Communications International.

Before joining Qwest, Ms. Georges spent 18 years covering the Telecommunications Services sector as a top-ranked sell-side analyst at Morgan Stanley and Salomon Brothers where she led the global telecommunications services equity research team and was the lead U.S. telecommunications services analyst.

Ms. Georges earned a Master of Business Administration from University of Pennsylvania Wharton School and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Wellesley College.

Stuart Kupinsky
Stuart Kupinsky

Executive Vice President & Chief Legal Officer

Stuart Kupinsky is Mercury’s Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer, responsible for the company’s legal strategy, including M&A, intellectual property, and enterprise contracts.

Previously, Mr. Kupinsky served as Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel for five public and private technology companies, including Blackboard Inc. through its sale to Anthology Inc., now one of the largest global education technology companies, and Tekelec, Inc., a public global telecommunications technology company serving the U.S. Department of Defense until its sale to Oracle. Mr. Kupinsky was also Chief Counsel for FirstNet, a multibillion-dollar independent government agency building a nationwide network for first responders. Earlier in his career he served as a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice and as a law clerk on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

Mr. Kupinsky holds a J.D. with honors from The George Washington University Law School and a B.S. in electrical engineering from Lehigh University.

Steve Ratner
Steve Ratner

Executive Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer

Steve Ratner is Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer of Mercury Systems. In this key role, he is responsible building a world-class team and supporting the business in its pursuit of growth and scale.

Mr. Ratner brings more than 20 years of human resources leadership experience with extensive HR strategy, compensation, and employee engagement expertise. Previously, he was vice president of Human Resources for Raytheon Missiles & Defense, a Raytheon Technologies business segment with approximately $16 billion in annual revenues and over 30,000 employees worldwide. Prior to that, he was vice president of human resources and security at Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems. He has held numerous HR leadership positions throughout his career.

Mr. Ratner holds a master’s degree in human resources and industrial relations from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Florida.

Roger Wells
Roger Wells

Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer

Roger Wells is Mercury's Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. In this role, he leads a unified customer-facing organization that includes growth, operations, engineering, product management, contracts, and supporting functions.

Mr. Wells has more than 25 years’ experience across multiple disciplines including engineering, business development, program management, and executive management. Previously, he served as Vice President and General Manager for the Unmanned & Integrated Solutions Business Unit of Teledyne FLIR with full P&L responsibility while ensuring high levels of product quality and customer satisfaction. Earlier in his career, he worked as a DoD civilian supporting the development and fielding of world-wide C4ISR networks and information systems. He also held positions in Northrop Grumman and ICX Technologies and served as a private consultant for large aerospace and defense companies.

Mr. Wells earned his MS in Systems Engineering and a BS in Electrical Engineering from George Mason University in Fairfax, VA.

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