Tampa, Florida, USA. 29 April 2021. CAE announced several additions to the CAE USA Board of Directors, including William M. (“Mac”) Thornberry, Former Member of Congress and Representative for Texas’s 13th District; Brian Morra, former Northrop Grumman Corporation executive; and Sonya Branco, currently CAE’s Executive Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer. 

CAE USA is a U.S. corporation that operates under a Special Security Agreement (SSA) between the U.S. government, CAE USA and parent company CAE Inc.  The SSA calls for a Board with a majority of outside directors who comprise the Government Security Committee and oversee the company’s compliance with U.S. government security and export control regulations. 

“We are pleased to welcome Mac Thornberry, Brian Morra, and Sonya Branco as new members of the CAE USA Board of Directors,” said General Bryan “Doug” Brown (Ret.), Chairman of the CAE USA Board of Directors and former Commander, U.S. Special Operations Command.  “The outside Directors on the CAE USA Board take great responsibility for overseeing the continued expansion of CAE USA, particularly with the acquisition of L3Harris’ Military Training business expected to close in the second half of this year.  CAE USA is an organization that is very well-positioned to serve the U.S. Department of Defense and its readiness requirements across multi-domain operations.”

Rep Thornberry retired from Congress in December 2020 after a 26-year career.  Notably, he served on the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) throughout his time in Congress and was the HASC Chairman from January 2015 to January 2019.  Chairman Thornberry is recognized as one of the leading U.S. lawmakers on national defense and security issues.

Brian Morra is a former executive with Northrop Grumman Corporation and has more than 40 years of experience in the aerospace and defense industry.  Sonya Branco has been Executive Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer at CAE for the past five years. She has global responsibility for the company’s finance activities.

The CAE USA Board of Directors is now made up of the following members.

Outside Directors (members of the Government Security Committee):

  • General Bryan “Doug” Brown (Ret.), Chairman and former Commander, U.S. Special Operations Command;
  • Admiral Tim Keating (Ret.), former Commander of the U.S. Pacific Command;
  • Honorable Sue Payton, former Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Air Force for Acquisition;
  • Brian Morra, former Northrop Grumman Corporation executive;
  • Chairman Mac Thornberry, former Member of Congress and HASC Chairman.

Inside Directors

  • Marc Parent, President and Chief Executive Officer, CAE;
  • Sonya Branco, Executive Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer, CAE;
  • Daniel Gelston, Group President, Defense & Security, CAE.