Jim Kovanda is a Senior Consultant with the American Business Development Group, an internationally respected, full-spectrum business development consulting firm, now representing a diverse list of over fifty prominent U.S. and international businesses. American Business Development Group enjoys a reputation as the largest business development firm in the United States which specializes in the re-equipping and modernization of the United States Armed Forces. The firm has facilitated more than $680,000,000 in “new found sales” for client companies in the last year and historically each year for the last four years.
Mr. Kovanda has extensive experience in ground vehicle acquisitions and technology assessment. Prior to joining American Business Development Group, Mr. Kovanda had 32 years of service to the Army as an Acquisition and Technology executive.
His most recent position was Associate Director of the Engineering Business Group in the Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) in Warren, Michigan. While in that position Mr. Kovanda supervised a staff of engineers and technicians who provided primary technical support to tracked and wheeled vehicle programs during acquisition and sustainment.
Mr. Kovanda also had responsibility for quality assurance policy, procedures, staffing, and workforce development within TARDEC. He was the TARDEC representative to the Army Quality Federation, the organization which establishes and implements quality assurance requirements as applied to Army acquisitions.
Before assuming the position of Associate Director in TARDEC, Mr. Kovanda served a Division Chief in the TARDEC Product Assurance Directorate responsible for providing quality assurance oversight to tactical vehicle systems such as the HMMWV, HEMTT, PLS, and FMTV.
Jim holds a BA from the University of Wisconsin and an MBA from Florida Institute of Technology. He is a graduate of the Army's Quality Assurance and Reliability program and a Senior Member of the American Society for Quality.
He is a resident of Shelby Township, Michigan, where he lives with his wife Pat.