Leadership

Cole’s strong leadership is the key to sustaining a forward-looking and growth-oriented company. Our management team has the motivational skills and hands-on experience to keep Cole Engineering at the forefront of the defense, homeland security, and other market sectors.

Executive Team

Bryan Cole
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
BA

Mr. Cole is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Cole Engineering Services, Inc. As a former Division Manager of a Fortune 1000 company, he managed the development of ModSAF, Automated Exercise and Assessment System, Dismounted Infantry SAF (DISAF), Virtual Emergency Response Training System (VERTS), OneSAF Testbed Baseline and OneSAF. His vision for a customer centric, innovative and responsive, premier engineering company gave birth to CESI. Mr. Cole earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Southern Illinois University in 1981. After a brief stint in the Navy, he entered the Modeling and Simulation Industry; completing multiple undergraduate courses in Computer, Electrical and Systems Engineering. His industry training has focused on Program and Executive Management.

John Stevens
Executive Vice President,
Chief Technical Officer
BSCS

John has over 24 years of professional Software Development experience primarily in C and C++ languages. He holds a degree from the University of Central Florida in Computer Science with emphasis on parallel computing. He has developed a broad range of software from high level applications (Storage Management SW) to low level code (device drivers). He has OOA/OOD experience using Booch method and OOP experience using C++. He has extensive storage SW background (RAID, tape backup, optical and CD-ROM jukebox) and extensive experience in networked constructive simulation technologies including OneSAF (OTB and OOS), VSA, MATREX, including DIS and HLA. In addition he has CMMI process experience and has formal training as an evaluation team member. He has background on a variety of operating system platforms: Linux, WindowsNT, Novell NetWare to name a few.

George Nelson
Executive Vice President,
Business Development, MS BS

George brings over 37 years of valued leadership experience to Cole Engineering; 28 years as an active duty US Army officer, followed by a series of very successful years in business development positions in the defense and commercial markets. Mr. Nelson’s active duty career included three tours of duty in the Pentagon, command of the 5/62ADA Regiment during Operations Desert Storm, overseas tours of duty in Asia, Europe and the Middle East, and assignment as the Inspector General with the Ohio National Guard. Mr. Nelson also served as an Adjunct Professor (1988-90) at The University of La Verne, Naples, Italy, where he designed the curriculum and taught statistics, probability, management science, strategic business planning and operations research. He is a graduate of the Inspector General School, Washington, D.C., the United States Marine Corps War College, Quantico, Virginia, and the United States Army Command & General Staff College, Leavenworth, Kansas. Mr. Nelson holds a Master of Science degree in Operations Research Systems Analysis from the Naval Post Graduate School in Monterey, California and a Bachelor of Science in Business from The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.

Barbara Krna
Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, BA/MA; PMP

Barb brings over 25 years of experience in the Modeling and Simulation industry to Cole Engineering with solid expertise in financial, program and human resource management. Ms. Krna has extensive experience in managing large operations including division and project management, business development, financial reporting and analysis, budgeting/forecasting, performance management, and employee development. A graduate from University of Phoenix with her Masters Degree in Organizational Management and Bachelors Degree in Business Management; she also received her Project Management Professional (PMP) certification from the Project Management Institute (PMI) in September 2005.