Applied Aerospace & Defense (AADX) elevates Chris Rogers to President and CSO
Rhea-AI Filing Summary
Applied Aerospace & Defense, Inc. announced that its Board appointed Chris Rogers as President and Chief Strategy Officer, effective July 27, 2026. His prior role as Chief Growth Officer is being consolidated into this newly created position, and he will continue to report to CEO Trip Ferguson.
Rogers has served as Chief Growth Officer since December 2025 and previously spent more than 20 years at Harris Williams, most recently as Managing Director and Head of the Aerospace, Defense & Government Services Group, following earlier service as a U.S. Marine Corps officer. The company states there are no family relationships or related‑party transactions requiring disclosure and no arrangements with other persons tied to his appointment. His compensation remains under the package established in December 2025.
The company furnished a press release under a Regulation FD disclosure, noting that Rogers will oversee strategy and key growth functions as the company scales after its June 2026 IPO. An earnings call is scheduled for August 12, 2026.
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8-K Event Classification
3 items: 5.02, 7.01, 9.01
3 items
Item 5.02
Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers
Governance
Key personnel changes including departures, elections, or appointments of directors and executive officers.
Item 7.01
Regulation FD Disclosure
Disclosure
Material non-public information disclosed under Regulation Fair Disclosure, often investor presentations or guidance.
Item 9.01
Financial Statements and Exhibits
Exhibits
Financial statements, pro forma financial information, and exhibit attachments filed with this report.
Key Figures
Effective date of new role: July 27, 2026
IPO timing: June 2026
Earnings call date: August 12, 2026
+4 more
7 metrics
Effective date of new role
July 27, 2026
Date Chris Rogers became President and Chief Strategy Officer
IPO timing
June 2026
Company completed its initial public offering in June 2026
Earnings call date
August 12, 2026
Financial earnings call scheduled after the leadership change
Facilities
11 facilities
Nationwide infrastructure of 11 purpose-built facilities across six states
Production capacity
more than 1.5 million square feet
Total production capacity across Applied’s advanced manufacturing footprint
Core markets
three core markets
Space & Launch Systems; Defense Aviation & Airborne Systems; C5ISR & Precision Strike Systems
Experience at Harris Williams
more than 20 years
Chris Rogers’ tenure at Harris Williams before joining Applied
Key Terms
Regulation FD Disclosure, Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K, mission-critical, vertically integrated manufacturing, +2 more
6 terms
Regulation FD Disclosure regulatory
"Item 7.01 Regulation FD Disclosure. A copy of the Company's press release"
Regulation FD disclosure requires public companies to share important, market-moving information with everyone at the same time instead of tipping off analysts or large investors first. Think of it as making sure all players on a field hear the same announcement simultaneously; that fairness helps investors trust that stock prices reflect the same information and reduces the risk of sudden, unfair trading advantages or regulatory penalties for selective leaks.
Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K regulatory
"relationships ... that would require disclosure pursuant to Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K"
mission-critical technical
"a premier provider of advanced manufacturing for mission-critical space and defense applications"
An asset, system, product, service or process labeled mission-critical is essential to an organization’s core operations — if it fails or is interrupted, the business would suffer major financial, legal or reputational harm. Investors care because mission-critical items often drive most of a company’s revenue or regulatory standing, concentrate risk, and require extra spending on maintenance, backups and oversight; think of them as the engine in a car or the heart in a body whose performance and reliability determine the company’s health.
vertically integrated manufacturing technical
"advanced design, engineering, and vertically integrated manufacturing solutions for leading"
Vertically integrated manufacturing is when a company owns and controls multiple stages of making a product — from raw materials and parts to assembly and distribution — rather than outsourcing those steps. For investors, this matters because it can lower production costs, improve quality and delivery reliability, and reduce reliance on outside suppliers, much like a bakery that grows its own wheat, mills the flour and bakes the bread to control price and consistency.
C5ISR & Precision Strike Systems technical
"across three core markets: Space & Launch Systems, Defense Aviation & Airborne Systems, and C5ISR & Precision Strike Systems"
Inline XBRL financial
"Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document)"
Inline XBRL is a file format for financial filings that embeds machine-readable data tags directly inside the human-readable report, so the same document can be read by people and parsed by software. For investors it makes extracting, comparing and verifying financial numbers faster and more reliable—like a grocery list where each item also has a barcode—reducing manual errors and speeding up analysis.
AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
FAQ
What executive change did Applied Aerospace & Defense (AADX) disclose?
Applied Aerospace & Defense appointed Chris Rogers as President and Chief Strategy Officer, effective July 27, 2026. His prior Chief Growth Officer role is being consolidated into this new position, and he continues to report to CEO Trip Ferguson.
What is Chris Rogers’ background before becoming President at AADX?
Chris Rogers was Applied’s Chief Growth Officer since December 2025 and spent over 20 years at Harris Williams, most recently as Managing Director and Head of the Aerospace, Defense & Government Services Group, after serving as a U.S. Marine Corps officer.
Did Applied Aerospace & Defense (AADX) change Chris Rogers’ compensation?
As of this report, Applied states that Chris Rogers’ compensation has not been modified with his new role. His existing pay arrangements, set when he became Chief Growth Officer in December 2025, remain in effect.
What did Applied Aerospace & Defense (AADX) furnish under Regulation FD?
The company furnished a press release as Exhibit 99.1 under a Regulation FD Disclosure, announcing Chris Rogers’ appointment. The release is deemed “furnished” not “filed” and is not automatically incorporated into Securities Act or Exchange Act filings.
When is Applied Aerospace & Defense’s next earnings call mentioned in this filing?
The company notes that Chris Rogers’ appointment comes ahead of its financial earnings call scheduled for August 12, 2026. This timing links the leadership update to an upcoming discussion of Applied’s post‑IPO performance and strategy.
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
___________________________________
FORM 8-K
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CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report (date of earliest event reported): August 7, 2026
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(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
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(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) | (Commission File Number) | (IRS Employer Identification No.) | ||||||
(Address of principal executive offices) | (Zip Code) | |||||||
(Registrant's telephone number, including area code): ( | ||||||||
___________________________________
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:
Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425) | |||||
Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) | |||||
Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)) | |||||
Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c)) | |||||
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: | ||||||||
Title of each class | Trading Symbol | Name of each exchange on which registered | ||||||
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).
Emerging growth company ☒
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Item 5.02 Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.
Appointment of President and Chief Strategy Officer
On August 7, 2026 , the Board of Directors (the "Board") of Applied Aerospace & Defense, Inc. (the "Company") appointed Chris Rogers, the Company's Chief Growth Officer, to the role of President and Chief Strategy Officer of the Company, effective July 27, 2026. In connection with this appointment, Mr. Rogers' prior role as Chief Growth Officer has been subsumed into the President and Chief Strategy Officer position.
Mr. Rogers, age 51, has served as the Company's Chief Growth Officer since December 2025. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Rogers was an investment banker at Harris Williams from June 2005 to June 2025, where he most recently served as Managing Director and Head of the Aerospace, Defense & Government Services (ADG) Group. Earlier in his career, Mr. Rogers served as an officer in the United States Marine Corps. Mr. Rogers earned a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Science in History from the United States Naval Academy.
Mr. Rogers will continue to report to Trip Ferguson, who shall remain Chief Executive Officer of the Company. Mr. Rogers has no family relationship with any of our directors or executive officers. There are no relationships between the Company or its subsidiaries, on one hand, and Mr. Rogers on the other hand, that would require disclosure pursuant to Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K, and there are no arrangements or understanding between Mr. Rogers and any other person pursuant to which he was appointed as President and Chief Strategy Officer of the Company.
As of the date of this report, Mr. Rogers' compensation has not been modified in connection with his appointment as President and Chief Strategy Officer, and his existing compensation arrangements, which were established in connection with his appointment as Chief Growth Officer in December 2025, remain in effect.
Item 7.01 Regulation FD Disclosure.
A copy of the Company's press release announcing Mr. Rogers' appointment is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1. Exhibit 99.1 shall not be deemed to be "filed" for the purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act") or otherwise subject to the liability of that section, and shall not be incorporated by reference into any registration statement or other document filed under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act, except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in any such filing.
Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits
(d): The following exhibits are being filed herewith:
Exhibit No. | Description | |||||||
99.1 | Press Release dated August 10, 2026 | |||||||
104 | Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document) | |||||||
SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized on this 10th day of August, 2026.
Applied Aerospace & Defense, Inc. | |||||
By: | /s/ Maryann P. Surrick | ||||
Name: | Maryann P. Surrick | ||||
Title: | Chief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary | ||||
