Who We Are

Tom Wheeler is MITRE Australia’s Acting Managing Director. Tom boasts nearly 40 years of experience in software and systems engineering of large-scale military systems, such as US Air Force AWACS and Joint STARS, the Canadian Patrol Frigate, and the US Army Patriot System. As a senior leader, he is responsible for identifying, developing, and applying technical approaches that allow MITRE to solve the complex national security challenges. Tom’s areas of focus include System of Systems, Digital Engineering, Mission Engineering, artificial intelligence for Systems Engineering, Systems Security Engineering, and Agile Systems Engineering.

Kathryn Aitkenhead is MITRE Australia’s Deputy Managing Director and Senior Manager for Mission Integration. Kathryn provides cross-cutting leadership across MITRE Australia’s work program with a focus on strengthening national and international security by applying innovative systems engineering.

Kathryn has served in progressively challenging leadership roles across MITRE with a mission focus on national security. Over her 20 years with MITRE, she has added positive and enduring value to a diverse range of MITRE customers, achieving complex outcomes across four continents and in a total of 34 countries.

Melissa “Mel” Tipton is the Senior Manager of International Program Management and Operations at MITRE Corporation, where she also serves on the International and Australia leadership teams. She directs MITRE Australia in creating and implementing systems, controls, processes, and managing financial operations.

Mel is a Project Management Professional and PMI Agile Certified Practitioner. Prior to joining MITRE, she spent nearly two decades at Lockheed Martin in various roles, including Program Management Manager, Program Planner Staff, and Cost Engineer Staff. She is also a member of the Project Management Institute.

Jonathon Wotton leads MITRE’s first international applied research centre, the Centre for Information Integrity & Defence, located at Lot Fourteen in Adelaide, South Australia. In this role, Jonathon collaborates with government, academia, not-for-profits, and industry partners to uplift Australia’s sovereign capabilities through applied research projects.

Prior to commencing with MITRE, Jonathon was Senior Adviser to the Premier of South Australia responsible for innovation, cyber security, diplomatic relations, defence industries, and trade and investment.