We are the leader in connecting and educating engineers while promoting, developing and advancing aerospace, commercial vehicle and automotive engineering.
Chief Legal Officer, General Counsel and Secretary
Gregory Bradley, Esquire, is the Chief Legal Officer, General Counsel and Secretary of SAE International. In this role, Greg is responsible for the organization’s legal, intellectual property, risk management and corporate governance affairs. Greg has 30 years of experience in private and corporate practice and, just prior to joining SAE International, was Chief Intellectual Property Counsel for a medical device company in Pittsburgh and General Counsel for one of its divisions. Greg was also in private practice with intellectual property and general practice law firms in Chicago and Pittsburgh.
Greg is a founding member of the Q. Todd Dickinson (Pittsburgh) Intellectual Property Chapter of the American Inns of Court and a Past President of the Pittsburgh Intellectual Property Law Association (PIPLA). He is also a member of the Association General Counsel Forum, the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC), and the Advisory Committee for the Study of the Local Patent Rules for the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
Greg holds Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering (BSME) and Juris Doctor (JD) degrees from the University of Pittsburgh. He is a registered patent attorney and is licensed to practice in Pennsylvania, Illinois, Minnesota, and the District of Columbia.
Vice President, Programs
Chris Ciuca is the Vice President of Programs at SAE International. In this role, Chris is responsible for the strategic direction of SAE’s programmatic portfolio serving the mobility community through SAE membership, aerospace and ground vehicle standards development and pre-professional educational workforce development initiatives.
Chris joined SAE in 2006 and led SAE’s educational outreach initiatives to recognition as a National Science Board Public Service Award winner and has since built infrastructure that services over 120,000 students each year through SAE STEM outreach programing. Under his leadership, SAE has grown the outreach portfolio to service students in 31 counties through workforce development initiatives focused on cybersecurity, software development, simulation, and systems integration of connected and automated vehicle technologies.
In the broader community, Chris serves in advisory roles for the National Science Foundation, National Academy of Engineering and other private and publicly funded STEM projects, is a published author on educational strategies and techniques for delivering classroom-based instruction and serves as a recognized expert on multiple preK-16 STEM projects.
Vice President, Sales and Service
David Kurywchak is the Vice President of Sales and Service of SAE International. In this role, David is responsible for leading the global sales teams for SAE International’s information products, professional development offerings, and events sponsorship and exhibitions as well as a dedicated team of Customer Service Specialists who support all of SAE International’s customer needs.
David’s focus is on the total customer experience whether it is an individual purchasing just one SAE standard, or a corporation or university engaging with multiple SAE products and services. His experience in organizational design has enabled him to create the appropriate sales and service organizations to achieve organic growth and market penetration. His focus has always been on the consultative sales process centered around customer needs which he considers critical to achieve SAE’s growth objectives and expanding our mission.
David has over 25 years of sales and management experience, most recently with Elsevier servicing private and public education institutions in the US and Canada. Over his 20+ year career, he has served in a variety of roles in sales, business development, and sales management. David holds a B.A in English from the University of Pittsburgh and an M.B.A from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University.
Chief Growth Officer
Frank Menchaca is the Chief Growth Officer of SAE International. In this role, Frank is responsible for its commercial activities including information products, professional development, events, marketing, content management and its operations in Europe and China. He brings several decades of experience to this effort, most recently with Cengage Learning, where he created digital products to match the workflows of students, instructors and professionals in libraries, businesses, and schools worldwide. Among the imprints he has run are Charles Scribner’s Sons Reference, Gale, Macmillan Reference USA, National Geographic Learning, Chilton's, and Professional Trade Reference.
Among Frank's areas of focus have been agile product development, user experience research and persona mapping, and proprietary content development. He has specialized in developing products for global markets, including Brazil, Mexico, Japan, China, and the Gulf states. Frank has also developed and managed strategic partnerships with the Smithsonian Institution, National Geographic Society, Harvard University Law School, The British Library, and many others.
A published author, Frank's writings include journal articles in information science. Among his creative outputs are visual art, music production, poetry, and essays. He holds a B.A. in Spanish and English Language and Literature from New York University, Phi Beta Kappa and Magna Cum Laude, and an M.A. with Honors from Yale University in English Literature. He speaks and writes in Spanish.
Frank and his wife Deirdre have three sons, Gabriel, William, and Aidan.
Chief Human Resources Officer
Melinda Rombold is the Chief Human Resource Officer of SAE International. In this role, Melinda is responsible for leading all strategic aspects of the Human Resource function for the organization. Melinda and the HR team focus on advancing cultural/organizational change, enabling SAE to achieve its growth objectives and to attract and retain talent. She partners with leadership at all levels for change management and employee engagement initiatives and serves as the steward for the organization’s ethical and social conscience.
Melinda brings 25 years of Human Resource leadership. Over her career, she has worked for the PTC Group, Ansaldo STS, RedZone Robotics, Del Monte Foods and Tuscarora Inc. where she has held progressive leadership positions in these domestic and global companies within technology, engineering, consumer-packaged goods, and manufacturing.
Melinda’s philosophy to Human Resources is to partner with leadership to ensure the critical balance of organizational success and employee initiatives. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Robert Morris University and a Master of Arts in Human Resource Management from St. Francis School University.
Chief Executive Officer
David Schutt, Ph.D., is the Chief Executive Officer of SAE International®. He oversees the global management and operations of the +$160M SAE Group, consisting of SAE International (SAE), Performance Review InstituteSM (PRI), SAE Industry Technologies Consortia® (SAE ITC) and several subsidiaries and joint ventures.
SAE International is a not-for-profit educational and scientific organization dedicated to advancing mobility technology and design engineering to better serve humanity. Its more than 128,000 members, including engineers, business executives, educators, and students from more than 100 countries, develop technical standards, publish authoritative literature, and share information and exchange ideas for advancing the engineering of mobility systems. SAE is the world's resource for designing, building, maintaining, and operating self-propelled vehicles for use on land or sea, in air or space.
Performance Review Institute is a trade association that advances the interests of industry through development of performance standards and administration of quality assurance, accreditation, and certification programs, as well as related activities for the benefit of industry, government, and the public. It provides a full range of programs and services designed to improve manufacturing process and product quality by adding value, reducing total cost, and promoting collaboration between global stakeholders in the mobility and other interested industries.
SAE Industry Technologies Consortia (SAE ITC) is a trade association with a mission to build industry infrastructure tailored to the respective technology, market and industry member groups while satisfying time horizons and providing the responsible resources to enable achievement of industry objectives. Within SAE ITC, Defense Automotive Technologies Consortium™ (DATC), administers as an Other Transaction Authority (OTA), a US Government mechanism to engage non-traditional defense contractors to integrate innovative automotive technologies quickly and efficiently into military ground vehicles, ultimately resulting in speed of adoption of commercial technologies and improved defense capabilities.
Dr. Schutt serves on a variety of not-for-profit and for-profits boards, national commissions, and local business organizations. Prior to joining SAE International in 2007, Schutt worked at the American Chemical Society (ACS) in several executive management positions.
Dr. Schutt holds a Doctorate in Chemistry and Chemical Physics from Princeton University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Calvin College. He also earned an M.B.A. from Johns Hopkins University.
Chief Financial Officer
Brian Trybend is the Chief Financial Officer of SAE International. In this role, Brian is responsible for the organization's overall financial strategies and policies, accounting practices, and relationships with lending institutions and the financial community. With respect to investments, Brian works directly with the SAE Finance Committee and Investment Advisor to oversee the Enterprise's investment portfolio of more than $160M.
Brian is a key member of SAE’s strategy team and has been instrumental in developing SAE’s strategic plans and annual business plans. In addition, he has led many of SAE’s acquisition efforts and played a key role in establishing SAE’s global operations in China. Brian has over 27 years of for-profit and non-profit experience, both domestically and internationally.
Prior to joining SAE in June 2000, he worked in public accounting, providing both audit and tax services to a diverse client base including individuals, for profit, not for profit, and governmental entities. After public accounting, he moved into a lead tax position with a multi-billion-dollar health system and then held a similar role with a multi-billion-dollar power generation company. In both roles, his focus was on mergers and acquisitions.
Brian received his B.A. degree in accounting from Washington and Jefferson College and is a Certified Public Accountant. He is a member of the Pittsburgh Society of Association Executives (PSAE), the Council of Engineering and Scientific Society Executives (CESSE), and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Raman Venkatesh, Ph.D., is the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of SAE International (SAEI). Dr. Venkatesh is responsible for strategy and global operations of SAEI generating close to $100 million in revenues as well as providing leadership to SAEI’s international staff of 350 professionals dedicated to advancing global mobility and design engineering. In addition, he oversees major business development and strategic alliances, including M&A and joint ventures.
Dr. Venkatesh was appointed as VP – Americas for FISITA and serves on the FISITA Executive Leadership Committee and is a member of the advisory board for the Swanson School of Engineering at University of Pittsburgh. He also serves on the boards of SAEI’s subsidiary companies, including as Chairman of SAE Media Group.
Prior to joining SAEI, Dr. Venkatesh was the CEO of a strategic business unit in Eureka Forbes Ltd., a consumer products company with operations across Asia and Europe. Previously, he was the Director of New Business Development for the American Chemical Society, a $600 million+ organization based in Washington, DC, serving a broad scientific enterprise. He earlier served on the boards of four companies, including as chairman of a technology joint venture in India.
His career spans business management and technology leadership roles in various industries and geographies. Dr. Venkatesh is the recipient of the prestigious American Hero award for an innovative technology implemented across the USA. He earned a B.E. (Hons.) in chemical engineering from BITS, Pilani (India) followed by M.S. and Ph.D. in chemical engineering from University of Pittsburgh, where he won the Outstanding Graduate Student award. He also earned an Executive MBA degree from the Katz School of Business at University of Pittsburgh, where he was honored with Dean’s special recognition for his achievements. He has advanced management diplomas on M&A and Strategic Alliances from Harvard Business School and the Wharton School (University of Pennsylvania).
Dr. Venkatesh is an inventor in over 10 patents and has authored more than 30 articles and citations in peer-reviewed journals, international conferences, and reputed magazines. He is listed in the ‘Who’s Who in Science & Engineering’ and is a member of Beta Gamma Sigma and Sigma Xi international honor societies. He has given several invited lectures at leading universities and non-profit organizations around the world.
Chief Information Officer
Rich Wilkie is the Chief Information Officer of SAE International. In this role, he is responsible for supporting the Organization's strategic goals through technology products, applications, and infrastructure.
Prior to joining SAE International in 2018, Rich held Executive IT Management roles at several Fortune 500 companies including Hewlett-Packard, Nortel Networks, ECI Telecom, Apollo Education Group, and most recently with Opus Global. In these roles, he was responsible for building and supporting numerous enterprises, carrier and consumer products for the financial services, telecom, education, and medical industries.
Rich earned his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts.