Indian American Vikram Manikonda Joins GRVTY Advisory Board

Manikonda, a professor at the University of Maryland's A. James Clark School of Engineering, brings nearly three decades of experience in defense research, autonomous systems, and space technology to his new role. He will advise GRVTY as the company accelerates advanced capabilities for the U.S. Department of War and the intelligence community.

His appointment follows recent executive changes at GRVTY, including the naming of Mark McNeely as chief administrative officer and Peter Ranks, a former CIA assistant director, as chief strategy officer. GRVTY is backed by Arlington Capital Partners.

Before joining GRVTY, Manikonda served as chief technology officer at BlueHalo, where he chaired the Science and Technology Council and oversaw research in defense, space, and counter-UAS portfolios. He previously spent 23 years at Intelligent Automation Inc., rising to president and CEO, and co-founded cybersecurity firm Cryptonite LLC and FalkonEye, a space domain awareness platform.

Manikonda earned his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from BITS Pilani in India and later completed his master's and Ph.D. at the University of Maryland. His honors include the Glenn L. Martin Medal from the Clark School and a NASA Team Achievement Award for his work on the Airspace Concept Evaluation System.

At GRVTY, he joins advisory board members retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Tom James and former Air Force leader Dave Abba to help shape next-generation solutions across cyber, space, and spectrum domains.