MELBOURNE, FLA. — Florida Tech is pleased to announce the addition of two members to the university’s Board of Trustees.
They are:
- Frank DiBello, recently retired as president and CEO, Space Florida;
- Kelle Wendling, ’93 BS, ’97 MBA, sector president, Space Systems, L3Harris Corporation.
In addition to appointing the new members, the Board announced longtime member Joe Caruso has been named Trustee Emeritus.
The Board will now include 17 members and six emeritus members.
“The Board is critical to the success of Florida Tech, and adding members who bring decades of industry perspective on space and the business of space – a key focus across many programs here – deepens and strengthens our ability to make the right decisions for the university’s success now and into the future,” Board Chairman Travis Proctor said.
Frank DiBello’s distinguished career spans civil and government work. After graduating from Villanova with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, he began working with aerospace businesses in the mid-1970s and in 1984 became founder and managing partner of the Space & Advanced Technology Division of KPMG Peat Marwick in Washington, D.C.
He came to Brevard County in the early 2000s to serve as president and CEO of Florida Aerospace Finance Corporation, which was established to assist with the business development and financing needs of new and established companies in the space, aviation and defense markets.
In 2008, he was named president and CEO of Space Florida, a position he would hold until his retirement this year. The for-profit public corporation was established by the Florida Legislature to drive the development of a world-leading aerospace industry for the state and to serve as the state’s spaceport authority.
DiBello was responsible for strategic direction and management of the organization for fifteen years. During that time, Space Florida established the state as the leading space state in the nation and global leader in enabling space commerce. Space Florida financed over $ 3 billion of aerospace infrastructure in the state during this period.
In 2024 he became president and CEO of SOLV, Space Industry Advisors.
DiBello’s honors include receiving the Department of Defense Distinguished Service Award for Public Service, the highest award presented by the Secretary of Defense to a civilian, and a host of high-profile roles on advisory groups for NASA, the Department of Defense, the Department of Transportation and more.
Kelle Wendling came to what was then Harris Corporation in 1996, hired as program manager for Defense Programs. She was three years removed from earning her bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics/computer science from Florida Tech, and a year away from completing her Florida Tech MBA.
In 2005, heralding what would be a steady rise through the company, Wendling received a promotion to program director for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance at Harris. January 2014 saw her named vice president of government programs, Civil Business Unit, and two more vice presidencies followed: vice president and general manager, Wireless Solutions Business Unit in 2015, and vice president – business development, strategy and technology, Electronic Systems Segment, in 2016.
In March 2017, Wendling was named sector president for Mission Networks. She served as general manager and profit-and-loss lead for this $750 million, 2,000-employee business unit for FAA, air traffic and critical network-related programs for domestic and international customers.
Wendling is currently president of the $3 billion, 6,000-employee Space Systems segment located within L3Harris’ Space and Airborne Systems segment, a position she has held since January 2022. Space and Airborne Systems covers an extensive portfolio of solutions in intelligence, surveillance, small satellites, electronic warfare and avionics.
Outside of the office, Wendling she was honored with the Outstanding Alumni Award from the Bisk College of Business in 2022. She is a graduate of the Harris Leadership Directions Program at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business and completed the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management Product Design and Development program.
“Florida Tech is honored to welcome Frank and Kelle to the Board of Trustees,” President John Nicklow said. “Their insights and guidance will enhance our decision-making and expand our Board expertise in new and important ways.”
