Brian serves as Vitech’s Chief Innovation Officer, where he is responsible for managing the R&D department and developing the product portfolio roadmap. Brian has over 19 years of systems engineering experience in the development of aerospace, optical observatory, and defense systems. Prior to his role at Vitech, he served as the Project Manager of the United States Extremely Large Telescope Program (US-ELTP) and has also held senior systems engineering and management roles at World View Enterprises and the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST). He also worked at SpaceX in their early days where he was responsible for specifying, designing, and testing all the Falcon 1 ground support systems. Brian has diverse experience with numerous MBSE tools and modeling methodologies.  

He holds an M.S. in systems architecting and engineering from the University of Southern California, and a B.S. in aerospace engineering from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Additionally, Brian holds the Object Management Group’s Certified Systems Modeling Professional (OCSMP) certification at the Model Builder-Fundamental level.  He is a member of the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE), the INCOSE Technical Leadership Institute, and is a past president of the INCOSE Southern Arizona chapter.  

Doug Johnston joined Vitech’s executive team as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) to oversee all financial operations, supplier negotiations, and human resource functions.

With more than 15 years of accounting experience, Doug has worked as director of Brown, Edwards & Company L.L.P. Certified Public Accountants, where he managed the New River Valley and the Employee Benefit Solutions division, as well as provided comprehensive financial services to individual and small business clients.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Concord University; CPA licenses in West Virginia and Virginia; and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, as well as the West Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Jim Long spent most of his nearly 50-year career on the forefront of what is now known as systems engineering. An innovator, Jim created the industry’s first behavior diagram in 1967, which was, at that time, called a function sequence diagram. Jim’s career included a variety of technical, management, and executive positions with General Motors, TRW, and TITAN Systems, with many of his advances published in numerous conferences and trade journals. His work played a critical role in the development of aerospace, propulsion, defense, surveillance, and communication systems. A highly respected systems engineer, Jim is one of the world’s 35 named International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) Fellows.

Jim co-founded Vitech and dedicated the final 18 years of his career as an energetic and passionate champion for model-based systems engineering and CORE, a model-based, integrated systems engineering software tool that connects people, processes, data, and documentation. He directed the development of Vitech’s systems engineering methodology and helped make Vitech a technical leader, advancing systems engineering as an industry and profession.

A member of INCOSE since 1992, Jim served the Council in many roles, including Corporate Advisory Board representative and president of the Washington Metropolitan Area Chapter, the largest chapter of INCOSE, and was a key contributor to numerous technical initiatives. In late 2010 the INCOSE Foundation established the James E. Long Memorial Post Doctoral Fellowship to honor and recognize his many contributions to the industry.

James E Long Memorial Post Doctoral Fellowship