Board of Advisors

Aris Melissaratos
Secretary, Maryland Department of Business and
Economic Development

Governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. named Aris Melissaratos to the position of Secretary of the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED) in January 2003.

As Secretary, Mr. Melissaratos directs the work of DBED in its mission to stimulate and strengthen Maryland's economy, and promote Maryland as a prime location for tourism, film production and advancement of the arts. His priorities include technology, manufacturing, and minority business development.

With nearly 40 years experience in business leadership, Mr. Melissaratos has earned the reputation as a well-respected national business visionary and corporate executive.

Mr. Melissaratos is a former Westinghouse Electronics Systems Executive. For 32 years, Mr. Melissaratos held a variety of positions at Westinghouse, the last of which was Vice President of Science and Technology, and Chief Technology Officer at the corporate headquarters in Pittsburgh. Mr. Melissaratos capped his 25 years at the Baltimore Electronics Systems Group (now Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems) as the Vice President and General Manager of the Design Engineering and Manufacturing Operations Divisions. He was responsible for facilities in the United States, Puerto Rico, Mexico and Barbados, with a total of 16,000 employees and $3.2 billion in annual revenues. Melissaratos positioned Westinghouse as the national leader in defense electronics manufacturing.

Upon retirement from Westinghouse, he served as Corporate Vice President for Thermo Electron Corporation, managing its New Product and Research & Development group and serving as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Coleman Research Corporation and Thermo Coleman Corporation, as well as CEO of its subsidiary, Thermo Information Solutions.

Mr. Melissaratos founded Armel Private Equity Investments, to provide funding and strategic direction to a group of high technology start-up companies in various fields including information technology, biosciences, sensor systems and environmental infrastructure technologies.

Mr. Melissaratos is a founding co-chair of the Greater Baltimore Technology Council, former Vice-President of the Maryland Chamber of Commerce and former Chair of the Maryland Manufacturing Association. He is a member of the National Advisory Council of the Whiting School of Engineering at the Johns Hopkins University, the Board of Directors of the Technology Council of Maryland, and the Emerging Technology Centers, and served on the Board of Visitors of the University of Maryland.

Mr. Melissaratos holds a Bachelor of Engineering Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the Johns Hopkins University, and a Master's Degree in Engineering Management from George Washington University. In addition, he has completed the Harvard Business School Program for Management Development (PMD-40). He also has completed the course work for a Doctorate (A.B.D.) in International Politics at the Catholic University of America.

Born in 1943 in Romania, Mr. Melissaratos immigrated to the United States from Greece at the age of 13. Since then, he has been a resident of Maryland and makes his home in Linthicum.

Education

B.S. - Electrical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
M.S. - Engineering Management, George Washington University, Washington, D.C.