GD Names VP for Strategy and Business Development

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — General Dynamics Mission Systems announced that Chris Montferret is the new vice president for Strategy and Business Development in the Maritime and Strategic Systems (M&SS) line of business.
 
The M&SS line of business serves the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Air Force, restricted customers, and a variety of commercial customers with mission critical multi-domain solutions and electronic systems integration for manned and unmanned undersea, and surface vehicles. The business protects warfighters, strategically deters adversaries, and contributes to the success of our customers' missions.
 
"Chris brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to this role. He is a proven executive with a 35-year career at General Dynamics and is committed to supporting the communities we serve," said Laura Hooks, vice president and general manager of the M&SS line of business.
 
Previously, Montferret served as the Strategy and Business Development Director for the Strategic Systems business area within General Dynamics Mission Systems Maritime and Strategic Systems line of business. In this position he was responsible for customer relationship management, strategic planning, market assessment and analysis, new business investment management, and overall growth across the Strategic Systems portfolio.
 
Montferret joined General Dynamics (formerly General Electric) in 1987 as a member of the Edison Engineering Leadership Program. Since then, he has held positions of increasing responsibility in engineering, quality assurance, program management, and business development over his thirty-five year career. As a business development capture manager, he led the General Dynamics Mission Systems teams that successfully captured the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF), and Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR) programs for General Dynamics Mission Systems. As the segment director for the strategic command and control business area segment, Montferret oversaw and managed the profit and loss for multi- discipline design, production, and sustainment teams for the system that controls the targeting and launch of ballistic missiles from United States and United Kingdom SSBN submarines, and Tomahawk missiles from the United States SSGN platform. 
 
Prior to his current role, he also served as the business development director for surface systems business area, undersea systems business area, and the Air Force strategic systems campaign.
 
Montferret holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Clarkson University and earned a Master of Engineering degree in Computer and Systems Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1990. He has also completed several executive development programs within General Electric and General Dynamics.
 
He and his wife Monica live in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, where he is active in the local community, serving on the Board of Directors of the Berkshire United Way and the Dalton Community Recreation Association.
 

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State Fire Marshal: New Tracking Tool Identifies 50 Lithium-Ion Battery Fires

STOW, Mass. — The Massachusetts Department of Fire Services' new tool for tracking lithium-ion battery fires has helped to identify 50 such incidents in the past six months, more than double the annual average detected by a national fire data reporting system, said State Fire Marshal Jon M. Davine.
 
The Department of Fire Services launched its Lithium-Ion Battery Fire Investigative Checklist on Oct. 13, 2023. It immediately went into use by the State Police Fire & Explosion Investigation Unit assigned to the State Fire Marshal's office, and local fire departments were urged to adopt it as well. 
 
Developed by the DFS Fire Safety Division, the checklist can be used by fire investigators to gather basic information about fires in which lithium-ion batteries played a part. That information is then entered into a database to identify patterns and trends.
 
"We knew anecdotally that lithium-ion batteries were involved in more fires than the existing data suggested," said State Fire Marshal Davine. "In just the past six months, investigators using this simple checklist have revealed many more incidents than we've seen in prior years."
 
Prior to the checklist, the state's fire service relied on battery fire data reported to the Massachusetts Fire Incident Reporting System (MFIRS), a state-level tool that mirrors and feeds into the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS). NFIRS tracks battery fires but does not specifically gather data on the types of batteries involved. Some fields do not require the detailed information that Massachusetts officials were seeking, and some fires may be coded according to the type of device involved rather than the type of battery. Moreover, MFIRS reports sometimes take weeks or months to be completed and uploaded.
 
"Investigators using the Lithium-Ion Battery Fire Checklist are getting us better data faster," said State Fire Marshal Davine. "The tool is helpful, but the people using it are the key to its success."
 
From 2019 to 2023, an average of 19.4 lithium-ion battery fires per year were reported to MFIRS – less than half the number identified by investigators using the checklist over the past six months. The increase since last fall could be due to the growing number of consumer devices powered by these batteries, increased attention by local fire investigators, or other factors, State Fire Marshal Davine said. For example, fires that started with another item but impinged upon a battery-powered device, causing it to go into thermal runaway, might not be categorized as a battery fire in MFIRS or NFIRS.
 
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