Christopher Pestak Program Manager Glenn Engineering and Research Support (GEARS)

Christopher (Chris) Pestak is the Program Manager of the Glenn Engineering and Research Support (GEARS) contract for HX5, LLC. HX5 is a 1,000-plus engineering contractor headquartered in Fort Walton, FL with customer-focused locations across the US. 

The GEARS contract is a seven-year, $350M contract with the NASA Glenn Research Center. As the Program Manager for GEARS, he manages an organization of 370 contractor employees performing a wide range of research and engineering work in space and aeronautics. 

Throughout his 39-year career, Chris has worked as an engineer, group leader, project manager, program manager, and corporate executive. He holds a BS in Electrical Engineering and a MS in Industrial Engineering, both from Cleveland State University. In 2020, he was elected to the rank of AIAA Fellow.