One of Huntsville’s highly successful government contractors headquartered in Cummings Research Park, A-P-T Research, has elevated its former executive vice president George Gafka to chief executive officer.

He has also been APT’s chief innovation and development officer, and the SEAC and Aerospace Sector general manager.

Gafka has received numerous awards for his leadership and is an avid believer in continuous learning having walked the walk with three master’s degrees in business administration from the Naval Postgraduate School; space systems engineering from Delft University of Technology; and mechanical engineering from the University of Houston.

He also holds a professional certificate aircraft accident investigation and bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.

Prior to joining APT Research, Gafka had a distinguished 30-year career at NASA holding several diverse leadership positions in their human spaceflight programs.