TO DISCUSS A POTENTIAL PROJECT
781-245-6376
Boston, MA
Custom Market Research and Strategy Projects Since 1999
Our Group
Our offices are just north of Boston, Massachusetts. We are an experienced team of market researchers with extensive technology experience and broad industry contacts in these markets.
STS Research Group is a member of leading Aviation, Defense, and Space organizations which serves purposely as an opportunity to stay closely connected with key industry players.
Our clients are vice presidents, directors and managers of business development, corporate strategy, marketing, product management, program management and market research. They are responsible for planning, recommending, and implementing decisions on product and service offerings, program pursuits, competitive analysis and response, strategic partnering, licensing, acquisitions and mergers.
Steve Shea, Senior Partner
After graduating from Fordham University School of Economics in New York City, Steve enlisted in the U.S. Military Reserves, serving initial active duty followed by monthly drills, annual training over the next five years. This ultimately led to flying ASW anti-submarine warfare aircraft at Lakehurst, NJ NAS.
He also continued private flying small Cessna aircraft as a member of the West Point Flying Club based at Stewart Airfield in Hudson, NY on weekends.
His first business career position following reserve active duty was Marketing Manager-Financial Services with American Express Corporation in New York; followed by Marketing Director, American Cyanamid (a Fortune 100 industrial process company in Wayne NJ); then moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts as New Product Director-Advanced Imaging Solutions with Polaroid Corporation.
After five years with Polaroid, Steve moved to his final corporate position at Duncan Industries, a leading Boston-area metals component and finishing company. As VP Strategic Planning, Marketing and Sales, Steve had responsibility for growing the business with major primes such as General Electric, Raytheon, Textron and others in Aviation, Space, and Defense sectors.
An entrepreneur with unique business strategy, diversified corporate, military and technical experience in several industries, he decided in 1999 to launch STS Research Group with exclusive focus on aerospace-defense. Step by step he assembled a research and strategy team to assist U.S. and global technology clients achieve successful new growth and diversification in global Aviation, Space, and Defense markets.
Nurturing an extensive network of key subject matter experts in these core aerospace-defense markets, STS Research Group today still retains its original unique B2B market research focus, uniquely emphasizing extensive in-depth input from a wide variety of key SMEs (Subject Matter Experts) as a key guidance component to all client work projects.
Steve is an active member of the Air Force Association (AFA), Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA), Association of the United States Army (AUSA), Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA), National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), National Space Society (NSS), and Navy League of the U.S.
He is also a long-term member of Hanscom AFB Rep Association based in Bedford, Massachusetts.
Sam Ximenes, Associate
Sam has over 30 years’ experience in the aerospace industry with NASA, DoD, international space programs, spaceports, and space exploration initiatives.
He has held executive management positions at Lockheed Martin, L-3, and Futron Corporation with responsibility for business-growth strategies in advanced programs and technology insertion for space systems. He has also been a business consultant for The Aerospace Corporation, and Space Architecture consultant for both Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT).
In 2007, he founded XArc Exploration Architecture Corporation, a Space Architecture consulting services firm, providing multi-disciplinary architectural systems consulting in concept development, visualization, programming and planning of infrastructure and facilities associated with transportation systems ranging from ground transport to air and space modalities.
He led systems’ integration and habitation efforts of international partner laboratory modules for the NASA Space Station program. He also led concept design, analysis and trades for NASA exploration initiatives and program studies for lunar outpost build-up sequencing, habitation systems and site planning for planetary surface systems, including mission planning, operations & utilization, and has developed Lunar Lander reusability assessments for lunar outpost systems. He has also supported NASA Science Mission Directorate with technical, management, and cost evaluation of space-science mission proposals.
This includes projects in commercial spaceport design and space systems development to service the commercial spaceflight industry and development of space exploration initiatives for planetary surface systems for habitation and human settlement.
He was also a member of the design team for Spaceport America, United Kingdom spaceport site assessments, and led the effort developing the economic and business case for viability of the Houston Spaceport for the City of Houston.
Jim Henry, Associate
Jim has extensive engineering, sales and operational experience in the aerospace, gas turbine and turbomachinery fields.
His areas of expertise include: Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO), engine performance and testing, predictive maintenance, reliability engineering, root cause analysis, Lean and Six Sigma methodologies, market assessments, conceptual selling and competitive analysis.
Some of the key positions Jim has held include: President of Concepts NREC; VP Sales and Aftermarket, VP Engineering and Chief Engineer at Vericor Power Systems; VP Strategy, VP Services and VP Engineering at StandardAero.
He served as an aerospace engineer in the Royal Canadian Air Force and held the position of Aircraft Engineering Officer for Canada’s CF-18 aircraft fleet.
Jim holds an MBA from The University of Tennessee as well as Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Mechanical Engineering from The Royal Military College of Canada. He is a graduate of the Canadian Forces Command and Staff College.
In addition, he has attended formal training in: aircraft accident investigation, project management, conceptual selling, engine health monitoring and process redesign.
Peter T. Mahal, Associate
Peter has wide ranging experience in various aviation and aerospace market technologies, market strategy, and new market development for both commercial and military applications. This includes extensive work with FAA, R&D initiatives, intellectual property, and related areas.
After graduating from Pennsylvania State University, he joined Gulf+Western Advanced Development and Engineering Center as Marketing Specialist, Military Arresting Systems Group. He was then assigned Regional Sales Director for Southeast Asia and Pacific, followed by appointment to Director, Marketing and Sales for Worldwide Military Arresting System. During this time, he earned his MBA from Temple University.
In 1994, he was assigned responsibility to develop a commercial aircraft arresting system product. Under his leadership, the product was successfully tested and validated under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with the FAA.
In 1999, he was appointed President, EMAS Division which was created to commercialize this new product. In 2013 he became President & CEO of Zodiac Aerospace’s Arresting Systems Division, with responsibility for marketing, engineering, and manufacturing facilities in France and the US.
He has been named inventor on 12 patents, received multiple awards from the Air Traffic Controllers Association, the FAA Northeast Region, the Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting Working Group, and the New York Association of Consulting Engineers.
Peter was also awarded the Elmer A. Sperry Award in recognition of his seminal work and continuing contributions to aviation, and is a recipient of The Murray P. Koch Award for making significant contributions in the advancement of technology for safety and survival applications.
"My thanks to you and your team for a job well done! Your research was thorough with very insightful customer perspectives that we could not have readily obtained. Each out brief during the project answered our key questions and we are very satisfied with the quality and delivery overall. In addition, you have provided us with a sound methodology for future use as we continue to assess new opportunities. I truly enjoyed working with you on this project and would highly consider STS for future research" Corporate Director Strategy and Development, Huntington Ingalls Industries