Dorith Hakim
President and
Chief Executive Officer
Robert Mannix
Chief Financial Officer
Paula Castellano
Senior Vice President, Operations
Jay Mulhall
Vice President of Business Development
April Galena
Vice President of Human Resources & Administration
Dorith Hakim
President and Chief Executive Officer
Dorith was named President and Chief Executive Officer of CPI Aero in March, 2022. Ms. Hakim has a diverse and extensive experience in the aerospace industry. Most recently, she served as Group Vice President of Parker Hannifin Aerospace where she directed global supply chain for 11 divisions, 25 manufacturing sites and two joint ventures, and was accountable for $1.9 billion of spending. Before joining Parker Hannifin, Ms. Hakim was at Triumph Group first as Vice President, Corporate Program Management and Operations Excellence where she was responsible for implementing best practices in program management, delivery, and quality performance as well as continuous improvement for four divisions and before that as Vice President, Program Management Precision Components, responsible for major programs within seven operating companies and 22 sites, overseeing delivery and quality performance, proposal estimating, and customer contract negotiations. Ms. Hakim earned an Executive Master of Business Administration from Texas Christian University and a Bachelor of Arts, Business Administration and Finance from H.E.C. at the University of Montreal. She is certified as Six Sigma Black Belt and has received several executive leadership certifications.
Robert Mannix
Chief Financial Officer
Robert was named Chief Financial Officer of CPI Aero in December 2025. He has extensive experience in all aspects of financial operations at publicly-traded companies including accounting, financial reporting, audit and compliance, treasury, tax, and financial planning and analysis.
Prior to joining CPI Aero, Mr. Mannix served as Executive VP, Chief Accounting Officer, and Head of Tax & Treasury at West Technology Group, a global leader in technology-enabled services based in Islandia, NY, where he was responsible for global financial operations. Prior to that Mr. Mannix served as SVP and Corporate Controller of Verint Systems where he directed accounting, compliance, and financial functions. Earlier in his career, he held various senior finance roles at Motorola.
Mr. Mannix began his career at Ernst & Young, leading audit and advisory engagements across multiple industries including the aerospace and defense and manufacturing. Mr. Mannix is a CPA in New York State and holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Pace University.
Paula Castellano
Senior Vice President, Operations
Paula joined as Senior Vice President of Operations at CPI Aero in March 2025. Ms. Castellano has extensive experience in aerospace manufacturing operations most recently as Site Director at GKN Aerospace Amityville overseeing a $100M operation with 300 employees in a union environment. Prior to that, Ms. Castellano served as General Manager at Air Industries Group, leading two sites with 250 employees and $65M in revenue, producing machined parts and assemblies. Earlier in her career, she held roles across the manufacturing spectrum including program management, supply chain, manufacturing engineering and operations. Ms. Castellano holds a degree in Psychology and Mathematics from Binghamton University.
Jay Mulhall
Vice President of Business Development
Jay has over 30 years of experience in the aerospace industry. He joined CPI Aero in February, 2018 as the Senior Director of Business Development and Strategy for Defense Markets, and in July, 2018, was appointed Vice President, Business Development. Prior to CPI Aero, Mr. Mulhall spent over 30 successful years at Northrop Grumman, holding key positions in Business Development, including his last position as Senior Director of Business Development with the Military Aircraft Systems (MAS) Division, a unit of Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, where he was responsible for coordination of all customer engagement and business development activities for programs which included E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, E-8C Joint STARS, Directed Energy Programs, F-18 and F-35. Mr. Mulhall holds a Masters of Business Administration in Finance and Banking from Hofstra University
April Galena
Vice President of Human Resources & Administration
April joined CPI Aero as Vice President of Human Resources and Administration in November 2021. A hands-on leader with more than 20 years of experience in Human Resources, Ms. Galena has an extensive background developing Human Resources strategies that help companies achieve their organizational goals. With a focus on fostering a high-performance culture emphasizing teamwork, accountability and transparency, Ms. Galena brings with her talent, energy and passion to deliver solutions and innovations that have a proven positive impact on the business’s bottom line. Prior to joining the Company, Ms. Galena served in various Human Resources leadership roles in Construction, Manufacturing and Professional Services. Ms. Galena holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from City University of New York, Queens College.