Roark moves to Chairman of the Board and Watson promoted to CEO
John Watson
HUNTSVILLE, Ala., April 3, 2024 – Starfish Holdings (Starfish), the parent company of Torch Technologies (Torch), Freedom Real Estate & Capital, LLC (Freedom), and SIMVANA today announced that Co-Founder and CEO Bill Roark has stepped down as CEO and has assumed the role of Chairman of the Board. Starfish President John Watson has been promoted to CEO.
Bill Roark
Roark’s move to Chairman of the Board will enable him to dedicate more time to the operations of Freedom, a wholly owned subsidiary of Starfish. Freedom is experiencing rapid growth and has recently announced two new development projects. These include a 54,000 square-foot, Class A office building at Hays Farm, the first of its kind in south Huntsville in the last three decades, and a 105,000 square-foot facility, the first of five buildings, in the Freedom Industrial Park in north Huntsville.
“Long-term succession planning is critical for companies to maintain their growth trajectory, “said Starfish Co-Founder and CEO Bill Roark. “Growth from within is critical to maintaining the special culture we have created across our portfolio of companies. John has done an exceptional job of leading Torch while serving as president of both Starfish and SIMVANA. He is the perfect choice for CEO and will continue the success of Starfish and our portfolio of companies moving forward.”
As CEO of Starfish, Watson will provide strategic leadership and assume day-to-day operations of the company. A key element of his position will be balancing the opportunities and risks for the Employee Stock Ownership Program which serves all the Starfish portfolio companies.
“I am excited to assume the role of CEO for Starfish Holdings,” said Starfish President John Watson. “I look forward to seeking more opportunities where our portfolio companies can work together to provide our customers with even greater value.”
In addition to his new role as CEO of Starfish, Watson will continue to serve as President of SIMVANA. The role of Torch President Brad Walker will remain unchanged. Watson was named President of Starfish in 2023. He has also served as both President and CEO of Torch Technologies since 2018. Prior to this appointment, he held a number of senior leadership roles within the company including President, Vice President of business development, and program manager for the Scalable Simulation Program with the USA AMRDEC.
Watson has nearly four decades of experience in the defense industry spanning many roles in project engineering support, line and program management, and corporate management. He holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Auburn University and a M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Florida.