ACE Group is the young, small company with over a century of combined experience in support of this great Nation, the airborne weapons systems that protect it, and the acquisition programs required to design, develop, procure, test, evaluate, field, and support them.
Tom Ganse, Founding Partner and Company President
Mr. Ganse retired from the U.S. Navy following a distinguished career as a carrier-based Naval Aviator, highlighted by more than 3,000 flight hours and 800 arrested landings in tactical jet aircraft. He has been supporting the Naval Air Systems Command since his military retirement in 1998. Tom has extensive expertise in the Contract Support Services industry, having provided continuous direct customer support for advanced development programs, while filling progressively more challenging contract management positions for over 20 years. Before electing to return to his Small Business roots, he served as manager for a major DoD company’s NAVAIR portfolio in the eastern United States, where he was responsible for nearly 350 people across dispersed geographic locations, in support of over 36 contracts worth more than $600M. Tom subsequently pioneered and launched the ACE Group in August, 2013.
Mac McNellis, Founding Partner
Mr. McNellis is a retired U.S. Navy pilot with extensive experience across multiple military disciplines and Areas Of Responsibility. His operational background includes both Squadron and Carrier Air Wing Command tours while completing more than 4,000 flight hours and 1000 arrested landings in tactical jet aircraft. He previously supported the US Special Operations Command, the US Central Command and the US Pacific Command in strategic communications and operational planning and has been supporting the Naval Air Systems Command since 2011. Mac’s experience includes systems engineering, operational analysis and management services in the areas of Air Combat Survivability, Common Systems Integration, EW Test & Evaluation, Unmanned Aerial Systems Payload Design, and Air Warfare Analysis as both a senior project manager for a large company and as an Independent Consultant.
Stan Salamon, Founding Partner
Mr. Salamon is an industry certified Project Management Professional (PMP), who provides a broad range of military operational experience obtained while serving twenty six years of active duty with Marine Corps Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) aviation and ground units, afloat and ashore. Unique to his experience is a diverse aviation background with over 3400 flight hours obtained in tactical jets, helicopters, and multi-engine turboprop aircraft, and experience serving with the 3D Marine Division as an Air Officer and principle staff member. The diversity of his background and experience enables him to provide a multi-disciplinary perspective to aviation issues. In addition, he trained and served on the senior analytic staff for the Chief of Naval Operations (OPNAV N81) as the Assistant Sea Strike Branch Head and Operations Analyst supporting Sea Strike Requirements. Prior to joining ACE Group, Stan supported Naval Aviation requirements as a Senior Operations Analyst with a private firm and as an independent consultant.
Jodi Stanalonis - Vice President of Corporate Operations
Ms. Stanalonis holds a B.S. degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from Towson University. She has over 25 years of human resource, financial, contract administration and supervisory experience in support of the defense Contract Support Services industry. She is responsible for the day-to-day administration of corporate support operations for ACE Group. Ms. Stanalonis is actively involved representing ACE Group St. Mary’s County community support organizations to include the Chamber of Commerce, Navy Alliance, and the Shop With a Cop program. She also was appointed to the Maryland Stadium Authority Board of Directors in March 2016 and continues to serve on that Board.
Kelly Graves – Business Area Director, Product Development
Ms. Graves is an industry certified Project Management Professional (PMP), who brings over 22 years of NAVAIR and NAWCAD Senior Analyst experience to ACE Consulting Group. Her diverse background includes experience in the areas of Accelerated Acquisition, Program Management, Risk Management, Technical and Business analysis, Weapons Systems Acquisition, Systems Engineering, Operations Support and Software requirements analysis and development. She has been with ACE Consulting since its inception in 2014. Ms. Graves continues to provide customer support in these areas while leading a diverse team of over 30 people across multiple contracts.