LEADERSHIP TEAM

Chief Executive Officer:  Mr. Harry A. Pape

Mr. Harry A. Pape joined the Windmill team in 1996 as Windmill was gearing up to support the anticipated sale of the USAF E-8 JointSTARS Air-to-Ground Surveillance System to NATO.  This was a natural return to his active duty roots, as he had been a cadre member of the successful NATO Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AWACS) program in the late 1970’s; that program also was the genesis for Windmill International.  As Windmill's Chief Executive Officer, he leads a diverse team of experienced professionals Preparing and Supporting the Defenders of Freedom.

Mr. Pape entered active duty with the U.S. Air Force in 1973 after earning his commission through the AFROTC program, beginning his career as a Production Officer in the Hughes Aircraft Company AF Plant Representative Office in California.  His assignment to the NATO AWACS program came next.  He left active duty from Hanscom AFB continuing his military service in the Air Force Reserve and went to work in the energy conservation field, later becoming the Materiel Manager at Nuclear Metals Inc.  During this period, he co-founded several successful small businesses involving high-tech materials, processes and products.  The lure of the emerging Internet led to several engagements that formed the foundation for his work over the past 14 years as both a Windmill member and an Air Force Reservist, preparing the AF work culture to exploit the power and challenges that global networks bring to information exchange and semantic technologies bring to information asset management.  In his final Air Force Reserve assignment, Colonel Pape provided transformation support directly to the AF Chief Information Officer.  Harry retired from the Air Force Reserve in 2002 and has continued his work as a Windmill member, focusing on information management and related enabling technologies for the Electronic Systems Center, AF Materiel Command and Headquarters Air Force.  He has nurtured the Information Services practice for over a decade.

A recognized thought leader, Harry has presented at conferences across North America on subjects ranging from knowledge management, to Introducing semantic technologies, to work culture transformation. 

Mr. Pape earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research from Cornell University followed by an MBA in Finance and General Business from the Johnson School at Cornell. 

Active in his local community, he has served for over 20 years as the elected Town Moderator and enjoys the many varied activities associated with his 250-year-old country farmstead.

Vice President of Specialty Products Division: Ms. Laura Z. Dion

Laura Z. Dion, Vice President of the Specialty Products Division for Windmill International, Inc., has more than 20 years of strategic business planning and product development experience. Ms. Dion has a distinguished track record within the defense, aerospace and industrial markets, with demonstrated success in the development of custom, engineered product lines, fostering customer relationships and forging business alliances in the global marketplace. She also has significant experience supervising the direction of technical teams, product support, contracts, and marketing communications.

Ms. Dion became a part of the Windmill team in 2007 and was responsible for the development of the marketing and sales strategies for Professional Services, Logistics and Tactical SATCOM product lines. Ms. Dion is currently responsible for growing Windmill’s Specialty Products Division with quality engineered products, in keeping with the KA-10 GBS Suitcase Portable Receive Suite offered in the Tactical SATCOM product line. Before joining the Windmill team, Ms. Dion was Vice President of Global Sales for the Aerospace & Defense Division at AMETEK, Inc., Site Manager for New England Instrument (NEI), Marketing Manager for Kollsman Instrument and an Engineer for Polaroid Corporation. Ms. Dion has secured and delivered on development programs for customers such as Boeing, General Electric, Pratt & Whitney, Cessna, Embraer, CESA and Honeywell. Ms. Dion was a manager on the team that was awarded the Pride in Excellence Award for contributions to the development of the B777 aircraft.

Ms. Dion holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute and a Master of Business Administration degree in Marketing from Babson College

.

In her spare time, Ms. Dion enjoys jogging, reading and spending time with her family.

Vice President of Professional Services: Mr. Bruce R. Denner

As Windmill International’s Vice President of Professional Services and long-term Member-Owner, Bruce R. Denner brings experience, commitment and energy to our Company.

Bruce is a seasoned professional with over 25 years experience in organizational leadership and program management. He is an energetic executive with a background in large companies, entrepreneurial startups, and the federal Government.  He is comfortable leading enterprise strategic planning and execution efforts.  Well versed in today’s information technologies, Bruce has a credible background leading successful programs and bringing them to completion.

Like our founder, Mr. Denner served the US Air Force with pride for over 20 years. He was in Southeast Asia flying AC-130 Gunships and later, during the Cold War, he flew RC-135 Rivet Joint.  Moving into staff work, he assumed duties as a War Planner at NATO-SHAPE and rounded out his career as an Acquisition Officer, procuring War Planning, Intelligence and Flight Management computer systems.  His career provided him an understanding of the Government’s way of doing business that cannot be taught in business schools.

This privilege of serving in the Air Force allowed Bruce to build the leadership, management and technical skills necessary to be successful in our business.  Years of Project and Program Management, both inside and outside of Government, have left him with experiences in growing, adapting and refining corporate approaches to overcome challenges. Upon his retirement from active duty, Bruce led Business Development and Capture activities for Fortune 100 defense contractors. He also managed enterprise-level software development and web technologies implementation in direct support of Government clients.

Following his work with corporate America, Bruce turned to the entrepreneurial challenge of small business.  He managed operations and developed new business in an Internet startup before coming to Windmill International in 2001.  He has worked in Windmill’s Product Development segment winning and managing a successful Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) effort on internet-based collaborative technologies.

From his work in the Windmill Corporate Office, Bruce moved onward to manage Windmill’s largest Professional Services account.  In this effort, Bruce was asked to serve not only Windmill’s best customers, the US Air Force,  but our oldest customers as well.  He has been able to return to his roots at NATO and also has provided “greybeard” support to the NATO’s E-3A program.   Bruce is a known and trusted entity within NATO and shares NAPMA’s commitment to the success of the alliance.  He is also a familiar face at the USAF Electronic Systems Center and takes great pride in contributing to the mission of supporting the Warfighter.