Engineer Finds Success in Embracing Change
09/01/2023
By Jill Gambon
In Richard Danforth’s career, which has progressed from Raytheon engineer to chief executive of a fast-growing publicly traded company, there has been a through line: a willingness to embrace change. Danforth ’81 is CEO of Genasys Inc., a San Diego-based provider of communication platforms used by local governments, businesses, sports stadiums, entertainment venues and other entities to keep people safe during natural disasters and other emergencies. Since Danforth took the helm in 2016, the company, which had carved out a niche providing long-range acoustic systems mostly for military and public safety clients, has developed a software-as-a-service solution, acquired several firms, added new customers and seen steady revenue growth.
“You always have to be changing,” Danforth says. “You can’t be a one-trick company. Companies have to continually evolve.”
Creating a Path for Growth
When he took the CEO job, the company, then known as LRAD (for long range acoustic devices), had $16 million in annual revenue. Two years later, the company acquired Genasys, a 16-person software firm based in Madrid, Spain, that had developed advanced location-based mass messaging solutions for emergency warning systems and workforce management.
“It was a sophisticated system for a small company to have,” Danforth says.
After that acquisition, the company developed a cloud-based emergency management and communications option, which is now in use in dozens of counties and municipalities around the country as well as at large enterprise accounts around the world. The platform, which includes modeling capabilities, allows users to send critical communications through text, voice, email and other channels. Clients range from Aramco, the largest producer of oil and gas in the world, to the Boston Red Sox (for use at Fenway Park). Revenue for the company reached $54 million last year.
With weather-related disasters on the rise, the need for tools to help first responders is greater than ever, Danforth says.
In Northern California last winter, several counties used the Genasys system to notify residents about flooding caused by atmospheric rivers that hammered the region with intense winds and heavy rains, causing extensive damage to roads, homes and buildings. Using Genasys’ graphical user interface, public safety officials were able to access maps and other information to notify residents about evacuation routes, hazardous areas and other critical information through multiple channels. The availability of data and instantaneous messaging via Genasys’ platform speeds up response time, Danforth says.
“What took hours now takes minutes. And that saves lives,” he says. “That’s the mission, to get people out of harm’s way.”
From Raytheon Engineer to the C-Suite
Danforth started his career as an engineer with Raytheon’s equipment division in 1982. He had just graduated from the Francis College of Engineering with a degree in industrial technology and was excited to join the company. Defense spending was on the rise, and business was booming.
“It was an eye-opening, thrilling experience,” he says. There were plenty of opportunities for advancement, and most people viewed a job with the company as a lifetime career.
“There was an unwritten expectation that you’d have a job for life,” he says.
“UMass Lowell provided a great technical education. The leadership, the labs, the teachers and support were great.” -Richard Danforth ’81Danforth stayed at Raytheon (now known as Raytheon Technologies Corp.) for 20 years, holding various manufacturing, quality assurance and program manager positions until 1996, when he was appointed vice president of operations for Raytheon Aircraft Co. Four years later, he was named senior vice president of the company’s commercial aircraft business division.
In 2002, he joined the defense contractor DRS Technologies, where he held various executive positions, including CEO of DRS Defense Solutions. He left in 2014 and established his own aerospace and defense consulting firm, before joining Genasys in 2016.
Danforth grew up in Winchester, Massachusetts, and came to UMass Lowell because it was affordable and he could commute from home. Although he never visited the campus before enrolling, he had an older cousin who attended Lowell State College to become a teacher, so he was familiar with the university. He paid his own way through college, working nights and weekends during the school year and full time during the summer for a company that installed burglar alarms in and around Boston.
Unsure of his career goals, he enrolled at UML as a biology major. Before long, he realized it wasn’t the right fit. In his sophomore year, he switched into engineering. “UMass Lowell provided a great technical education. The leadership, the labs, the teachers and support were great,” he says. Danforth and his wife, whom he met at Raytheon, reside in San Diego and have two grown sons.
Reflecting on his own career, Danforth has straightforward advice for others: Keep learning. If employers offer professional development and training opportunities, take advantage of them, he says.
“Education is the key,” advises Danforth, who earned a master’s degree in engineering management at Western New England University. “Whether you are a manager or an engineer, you need to keep up your skill set.”