Former AFRL executive director lands at UTC

A Beavercreek defense contractor has hired a former executive director of the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base to be company president.

Joe Sciabica was hired for the high-level post to become president at Universal Technology Corp. on Sept. 1, according to Pat Adamson, president and chief executive officer of the employee-owned company.

Sciabica will handle day-to -day operations. He will retire as director of the Air Force Civil Engineer Center at Joint Base San Antonio, Texas in July. He was AFRL executive director between 2008 to 2012.

“He wanted to move back to Dayton, and we were lucky enough to get him,” Adamson said.

In a telephone interview, Sciabica, 56, said he explored the kind of company he wanted to work for before choosing Universal Technology.

“For me, I know the federal side of the house … now it’s going to be the business sector side that I need to learn,” he said.

The California native and his wife, Laurie, have bought a home in Washington Twp. Sciabica said he hopes to re-engage in community projects he was active in before he left, such as boosting student involvement in science technology, engineering and math, and workforce development.

“It’s pretty much a well-kept secret what the Dayton community has to offer the region at large,” he said.

United Technology has 230 employees, about 200 of whom work in the Dayton region, and had $51 million in revenue last year, Adamson said.

The company provides science, engineering and technology services, planning and management support and the management of large meetings and graphics services, according to a company website. United Technology has worked with AFRL directorates on projects, Adamson said.

Adamson, who has been with UTC 48 years, will remain CEO and a member of the board of directors.

“I’ve been thinking about stepping down for quite a while,” Adamson said. “It was just a matter of finding the right person.”

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