Bill Bonwit to Succeed Carmela Keeney at SPAWAR

By Brad Graves

Wednesday, August 30, 2017

The U.S. Navy’s Point Loma lab has promoted Bill Bonwit to executive director.

The promotion coincides with the retirement of Executive Director Carmela Keeney at the end of August.

Keeney broke ground at SPAWAR Systems Center Pacific as its first female executive director. It’s a post she held for 12 years. Keeney, part of the Navy’s earliest generation of female engineers, received a distinguished civilian service award from Navy Secretary Richard Spencer during his Aug. 29 visit to San Diego.

Bonwit is a Navy veteran and a U.S. Naval Academy graduate. He was previously senior scientific and technical manager and head of the command and control department at SPAWAR Systems Center Pacific.

SPAWAR stands for Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command. The Point Loma lab has 4,700 scientists, researchers and engineers who work with advanced technology for cybersecurity, space and C4ISR — that is, command, control, communications, computers, intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance.