Oshkosh Defense, a division of Oshkosh Corporation, announced that Ron Ziebell, the Head of International Programs for the Defense division will be retiring after a successful 40-year tenure with the organization. Taking his place will be Serge Buchakjian, who recently joined the organization to lead its International Business Unit.
“It’s difficult to fully express our gratitude to Ron,” said Andy Hove, Oshkosh Corporation Executive Vice President and President, Oshkosh Defense. “Oshkosh has benefited immensely from his years of dedicated service and the integral role he played in the strategic growth of our international business. Ron has graciously committed to stay with the company through the new year to help with the transition as Serge takes over international leadership. Serge has a truly unique set of skills to bring to our international business. With a career that has stretched across the U.S., Europe and the Middle East, Serge’s experiences make him the ideal leader for this growing segment.”
Buchakjian comes to Oshkosh Defense after spending the last 14 years as Honeywell International Inc.’s Vice President of International Business Development, responsible for all aspects of international growth for the company’s defense and aerospace portfolio. Prior to that, he worked with defense technology manufacturers in the U.S. and Europe. Buchakjian has a master’s of business administration from Northeastern University and a bachelor of business degree from Haigaizian University. He has also completed executive programs at Harvard, Oxford and Northwestern Universities, and is Six Sigma Green Belt and Black Belt trained/certified.
Buchakjian will be based at the company’s Washington, D.C. office, where he will lead the development, production and sustainment for all international programs.
Oshkosh Defense has produced more than 3,200 vehicles for 9 countries around the world through government Foreign Military Sales (FMS) to meet the logistical and operational needs of allies around the world. The company has operations in more than 20 countries outside of the United States, including the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan and Brazil.