The Department of Systems Engineering’s External Advisory Board connects the department with alumni and industry leaders working across digital transformation, systems engineering, industrial operations, financial services and enterprise consulting.
Their experience gives the department a broader view of how systems engineering is being applied in organizations today, from technology strategy and enterprise architecture to modeling and simulation, organizational leadership and large-scale operations. The board works with the department to inform its programs and priorities, helping ensure that what students learn remains connected to the challenges and opportunities they will encounter beyond Stevens.
Kevin Dice
Chief Executive Officer, The Rapid Group
Kevin Dice joined The Rapid Group as CEO in January of 2024. The Rapid Group specializes in the repair and maintenance of large mechanical and electrical systems for industrial, municipal and commercial customers. The Rapid Group is headquartered in Paterson, NJ and has 300 employees based in 7 locations throughout New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Rhode Island. The company is private equity backed and has quadrupled in size over the last four years. Kevin is a 1989 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point with a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering. He also holds a Master of Science in Engineering/Systems Engineering degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a Master of Business Administration from Long Island University.
Adam Hecht
Product Owner/Strategy Manager, Research & Statistics Group, Federal Reserve Bank of New York
Adam Hecht is a strategy and technology leader with experience spanning product and program management, strategic planning and technology transformation. At the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBNY), he has led complex technology initiatives, cloud transformation efforts, and cross-functional programs focused on improving organizational effectiveness and delivering business outcomes. Prior to the FRBNY, he held program management and strategy roles at Pershing, a BNY Mellon company, and Deutsche Bank, where he managed a global cloud services portfolio and supported a €1.9 billion infrastructure outsourcing program. Adam earned his Bachelor of Engineering and Master of Engineering degrees from Stevens Institute of Technology and his MBA from New York University Stern School of Business. His professional interests include technology innovation, digital transformation, artificial intelligence, and the intersection of technology and business strategy.
David Montgomery
Regional Vice President, PFS Investments Inc.
Prior to his current role as a Financial Coach and Advisor, David had a 35 year career as a mechanical engineer. He earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at Virginia Tech and worked at seven engineering companies in addition to university research time. His professional endeavors spanned a variety of software development, simulation and 3D graphics. In 2021, David retired from his role as the Manager of System Modeling and Simulation at Northrup Grumman Space Systems.
Allison Ponath
Managing Director, Accenture
Allison Ponath is a Managing Director at Accenture with more than 20 years of experience helping organizations navigate complex technology and business transformation. In her current role as an Enterprise Solution Architect within Accenture’s Market Maker team, she leads the shaping of large-scale opportunities spanning technology, business process outsourcing, artificial intelligence and enterprise transformation, with a focus on translating emerging technologies and business priorities into solutions that deliver measurable value. Throughout her career, Allison has worked across both strategy and execution, including more than a decade in delivery leadership where she led large, global teams through complex technology implementations and operating model change. Her experience gives her a unique perspective on how organizations adopt and scale new technologies, build the capabilities and talent required to sustain them, and translate innovation into business outcomes. Allison earned her Bachelor of Engineering in Engineering Management and Master of Engineering in Systems Engineering from Stevens in 2004.
Brandon Thompson
Director, Engineering Management Program, Department of Systems Engineering, USMA
Jeff White
Chief Architect, Office of the CTO, Ernst and Young LLP
Jeff serves as the Chief Architect for Ernst and Young. He is responsible for the product development of emerging technology solutions, platforms and products including AI, Simulation, Advance computation and others. He also sponsors the EY Enterprise Architecture Council for cross EY architectural standards development and alignment. He is the leader of EY America CTO Product Engineering including the Advance Forward Engineering team which also inc. Previously, Jeff served at Dell Technologies in a variety of executive roles including the AI Factory and AI Edge Product lead, CTO for Dell’s Edge business and Dell’s Intelligent Connected Vehicle and Edge technology research program. Jeff is a prolific inventor with has 44 granted patents in areas such as Generative and Physical AI, Computer Vision, Scheduling, Distributed Systems Management, Cybersecurity, Concurrent Computation, Edge technology and Distributed Data Management as of September 2026. In addition to the Stevens Institute School of Systems Engineering advisory Board, Jeff serves on the Advisory Board of University of North Texas school of Computer and Data Science and AI Institute, the Advisory Council of University of Delaware school of Computer and Information Science. Previously he served as the Chairman of the North Texas Technology Council (Tech Titans) and on the Steering Committee of the Digital Twin Consortium. He is a Senior Member of IEEE and a Certified Agile Product Owner.