Board of Directors
The business culture and practices of Aviat Networks are built on a strong set of values that govern our relationships with customers, partners, employees, shareholders, suppliers and the communities in which we operate. These values include integrity in all business dealings, an exceptional customer focus and a dedication to innovation, consistent execution and teamwork in everything we do.
"Our board of directors is guided by these same principles. We are proud that we have an extremely well qualified, independent board of directors dedicated to protecting the interests of all our shareholders through strong governance and dedication to driving long-term value."
John Mutch
Chairman of the Board of Directors
John Mutch was appointed Chairman of the Board in February 2015 and has served as a director since January 2015. Mr. Mutch is the founder and managing partner of MV Advisors LLC, a strategic block investment firm which provides focused investment and strategic guidance to small and mid-cap technology companies. From October 2008 to January 2014, Mr. Mutch served as the President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of BeyondTrust Software. Prior to founding MV Advisors, in March 2003, Mr. Mutch was appointed by the U.S. Bankruptcy court to the Board of Directors of Peregrine Systems. He assisted that company in a bankruptcy work-out proceeding and was named President and Chief Executive Officer in July 2003. Peregrine Systems was sold to HP in December 2005. Previous to running Peregrine Systems, Mr. Mutch served as President, Chief Executive Officer, and a director of HNC Software, an enterprise analytics software provider. HNC Software was sold to FICO in August 2002. Before HNC Software, Mr. Mutch spent seven years at Microsoft Corporation in a variety of executive sales and marketing positions. Mr. Mutch previously served on the boards of Steel Excel, Inc., Rhythym One, Maxwell Technologies, Inc., Phoenix Technology, Edgar Online, Aspyra, Overland Storage and Brio Software. He has served as a director at Agilysys, Inc., a provider of information technology solutions since March 2009. Mr. Mutch holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Cornell University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago.
In May 2021 Ms. Klein was appointed as a director of Aviat Networks. In 2021 she was also elected a director of Rockley Photonics, a chipset developer and module supplier, where she chairs the Nominating and Governance committee and serves on Compensation. Since 2019 she has been a director of Intevac (NASDAQ:IVAC), a manufacturer of vacuum deposition systems, where she serves on the Compensation and the Nominating and Governance Committees. In 2017 she was elected a director of Photon Control (TSX:PHO), a provider of optical sensors and systems to the semiconductor industry, where she served on Audit and chaired the M&A Committee until the company’s acquisition in July 2021. She is also a director of Gridtential Energy, a private energy storage company. From 2005 until 2010 Ms. Klein served as Senior Director of Applied Ventures LLC, the venture capital arm of Applied Materials, where she recommended and managed investments in energy storage and solar energy, and represented Applied Materials on the boards of energy technology companies. Ms. Klein co-founded Boxer Cross Inc., a semiconductor equipment manufacturer, and served as CEO and Director from 1997 until its acquisition by Applied Materials in 2003. She previously co-founded and led High Yield Technology, a semiconductor metrology company, from 1986 until its acquisition by Pacific Scientific in 1996. Ms. Klein earned an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a BS degree from the University of Illinois.
As Aviat’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Smith leads the advancement of the Company’s financial and operational performance, while strategically navigating through a rapidly evolving industry.
Mr. Smith has more than 25 years of leadership experience in business management and a proven track record of creating value for companies. He most recently served as Senior Vice President, US Windows and Canada for Jeld-Wen, where he had full profit and loss responsibility for Jeld-Wen’s $1B+ windows business, implementing lean manufacturing principles and strategic development programs to deliver growth and improved profitability. Prior to Jeld-Wen, he served as President of Polypore International’s Transportation and Industrial segment and oversaw transformative initiatives that helped prepare the former public company for sale to the Asahi Kasei Group. Previously, he served as Chief Executive Officer and a director of Voltaix Inc., until its sale to Air Liquide.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Smith held various executive leadership positions at Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies, including Cooper Industries, Dover Knowles Electronics and Honeywell Specialty Materials. In these roles, his responsibilities ran the gamut of operations, sales and marketing, business development, and mergers and acquisitions. Mr. Smith also served on the board of Soleras Advanced Coatings from 2015 to 2018. He has both a Bachelor of Science degree in Material (Ceramics) Engineering and PhD in Material Science and Engineering from Rutgers University, and holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Arizona State University.