Victor Manuel Chavez (born 19 January 1963) is the Chief Executive of

Thales UK Thales Group () is a French multinational company that designs, develops and manufactures electrical systems as well as devices and equipment for the aerospace, defence, transportation and security sectors. The company is headquartered in Paris' ...

, a main electronics and defence company in the UK. Thales UK employs around 7,500 people.

Early life

Born in

Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. In 2023 the ...

, Chavez was educated at Barrow Grammar School for Boys, after which he gained a degree in physics from the

University of York , mottoeng = On the threshold of wisdom , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £8.0 million , budget = £403.6 million , chancellor = Heather Melville , vice_chancellor = Charlie Jeffery , students ...

in 1984.University of York
/ref> From the

University of Surrey The University of Surrey is a public research university in Guildford, Surrey, England. The university received its royal charter in 1966, along with a number of other institutions following recommendations in the Robbins Report. The institut ...

he gained an MSc in Satellite Engineering & Telecommunications in 1993.

Career

Thales

He joined the company in 1999. He became Chief Executive of Thales UK (Thales Holdings UK) on 1 January 2011. He had been Deputy Chief Executive for three years previously. Thales UK is involved in

sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigation, navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect o ...

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...

, and

avionics Avionics (a blend word, blend of ''aviation'' and ''electronics'') are the Electronics, electronic systems used on aircraft. Avionic systems include communications, Air navigation, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems, ...

. It makes most of the UK's aircraft simulators in

Crawley Crawley () is a large town and borough in West Sussex, England. It is south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Crawley covers an area of and had a population of 106,597 at the time of th ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ar ...

Thales Air Defence Thales Air Defence Limited (TADL), formerly Shorts Missile Systems (SMS), is a defence contractor based in Belfast, Northern Ireland, producing short range air defence missiles. Shorts Missile Systems was established as a joint venture betwee ...

in Belfast makes helicopter-launched missiles. Thales has 67,000 employees in 56 countries. He is a board member of

techUK The cyber security (or information assurance) community in the United Kingdom is diverse, with many stakeholders groups contributing to support the '' UK Cyber Security Strategy''. The following is a list of some of these stakeholders. Governmen ...

(trade association) and

EngineeringUK EngineeringUK is an independent, not-for-profit organisation. Its stated purpose is to promote the contribution that engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machin ...

EngineeringUK
/ref> (previously the Engineering and Technology Board). He is a co-chairman of the Information Economy Council.

Personal life

He was appointed a

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in the

2015 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2015 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

. He grew up in

, and now lives in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

. He married in September 1992 in

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...

, and has two daughters, born June 1994 and May 1997. First UK flight of Watchkeeper UAV MOD 45151422

References

External links

Thales UK Board of Directors

UK skills presentation in April 2015
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chavez, Victor 1963 births Aerospace industry in the United Kingdom Alumni of the University of Surrey Alumni of the University of York British businesspeople in the armaments industry Businesspeople in aviation Commanders of the Order of the British Empire People from Hart District Thales Group people Living people People from Barrow-in-Furness People educated at Barrow-in-Furness Grammar School for Boys