William H. Stender, Jr. is co-founder and retired chief executive officer of CAS, Inc., in Huntsville, a leading provider of systems engineering and technical assistance for a wide range of military applications, principally to the U.S. Department of Defense and similar or related agencies.
Stender entered the United States Army in 1964 as a Second Lieutenant at Ft. Bliss, Texas. During his 10 years in the military, he served in the Army Rangers and in Army Air Defense in Infantry units in Germany, Alabama, Texas and Vietnam.
After 10 years in the military, he joined IBM in Huntsville as an Advisory Engineer and five years later, in 1979, along with a partner, put his military background to use and formed CAS, Inc., a company specializing in weapon systems analysis, where he served as chief executive officer until 2006 when the business was sold to EDO Corp.
Services provided by CAS include system engineering and analysis support for theater missile defense, air defense, aviation, and land-combat missile systems. When the company was sold, it had 1,000 employees operating in 13 states and on military bases worldwide. CAS reported revenue for the 12 months ended March 31, 2006, of $184.3 million.
Stender, a graduate of Brown High School in Atlanta, received his Bachelor of Science degree from Georgia Tech in 1964 and his master of science from the University of Texas-El Paso in 1971.
He has been heavily involved in all aspects of missile system development, management, acquisition, and deployment,
directing studies of the sophisticated Patriot missile system, Hawk, Army TACMS, and other missile systems for the United States and its allies. He was part of the testing program for Patriot and Sgt. York and also directed the development of simulations in the areas of radar detection and airborne target intercepts.
Stender has served in many civic leadership roles throughout the Huntsville community, including serving as chairman of the March of Dimes annual drive; chairman of the Hospice Huntsville annual benefit drive, chairman of the capital fundraising campaign for the National Children’s Advocacy Center, chairman of the Huntsville Library Foundation and the Huntsville Hospital Foundation annual golf tournament.
He also served on the board of directors for the Madison County United Way, the Huntsville-Madison County Chamber of Commerce, the Huntsville Rotary Club, the Culverhouse College of Commerce, the Association of the United States Army, and president of the Huntsville Association of Old Crows.
In 2000 he served in a volunteer capacity as interim Chief Executive Officer of the United States Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville and later served as the Chairman of the Alabama Space Sciences Exhibit Commission.
Since his retirement, he has served as chairman of the Huntsville-Madison County Veterans Memorial Foundation, which raised $5 million to date to build a memorial to recognize all veterans of the United States armed forces.
Stender was selected Small Business Executive of the Year by the Huntsville-Madison County Chamber of Commerce and Small Business Person of the Year for the state of Alabama by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Stender, a native of South Carolina, also is the author of Master Switch, an espionage novel that explores the terrifying consequences of a breach of security that puts the United States forces and Israeli defenses at risk.
He has four children and 19 grandchildren.
