Meet the team | BAE Systems

Our Brazilian team is a mixture of our Brasilia office and key personnel from our various businesses and Group Business Development

John van den Bosch - Regional Managing Director for Europe and Americas

John van den Bosch is BAE Systems’ Regional Managing Director for Europe and Americas. John joined BAE Systems in 2017, and is the company’s most senior corporate leader for the regions he covers.

Before BAE Systems, John worked at Harris Corporation as Vice President, Business Development and Corporate Regional Representative Europe and Africa. Prior to this role, John was Director of Corporate Strategic Initiatives with Exelis Inc. (which was acquired by Harris in 2015), where he was responsible for developing and driving strategic initiatives across the Exelis businesses, with a focus on portfolio management, strategic planning, and international growth strategies.

Before joining Exelis in 2011, John served as Vice President of Growth Systems with Honeywell Defense & Space, responsible for a $150 million business portfolio comprised of high growth and early stage programs. Earlier in his career, John served as the Director for Europe, Middle East, Africa and India (EMEAI) Strategy and Business Development for Honeywell Aerospace, and led the Honeywell Defense & Space strategic marketing team before that.

John holds a master’s of science in strategic and information management from Erasmus University in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, and a master’s in business administration from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. He is Six Sigma Black Belt certified, multilingual, and has lived and worked in numerous countries.

Marco Antonio Caffe - General Manager

Marco Antonio Caffe is BAE Systems’ General Manager for Brazil and leads the company’s office in Brasilia.

Marco joined BAE Systems as Director for Army & Security in 2013. He is a retired colonel and a graduate of the Military Academy of Agulhas Negras, Brazil.

He was one of the first helicopter pilots to join the Brazilian Army’s Aviation Command in Taubate, Sao Paulo, accumulating over two thousand flying hours. In 2010 and 2011 he attended France’s Ecole de Guerre military college in Paris, which trains high potential officers from the French forces and its allies. Marco also holds a post graduate degree in Public Management Law from Rio’s Castello Branco University and a Masters in Military Administration from the Brazilian Army Command and Staff College, Rio.

Marc Collins - Vice President for International Market Creation, Americas & Iberia

Marc Collins is Vice President for International Market Creation, Americas & Iberia, for the Platforms & Services sector of BAE Systems Inc., and is based in Washington DC. His markets include Canada, Latin America, Spain and Portugal. Marc develops and pursues opportunities in these markets for Platforms & Services’ entire range of combat vehicle, artillery, naval weapons, ship repair, and munitions solutions.

Marc joined BAE Systems in 2009 after serving for 10 years as a diplomat with the U.S. State Department, working on political, security assistance, political-military and economic affairs. He served in Brazil, Venezuela, Kosovo, Nicaragua, Washington DC, and at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in New York.

Marc has an MBA from the Alliance Manchester Business School, a Master’s degree from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, where he studied International Business Diplomacy, and a Bachelor’s degree in Spanish. Marc speaks Portuguese, Spanish, German and Norwegian.

Barbara Valcuende de Almada - General Manager, BAE Systems Serviços de Aviônicos

Barbara is BAE Systems Serviços de Aviônicos´s General Manager and leads the company´s operations in São José dos Campos. The new BAE Systems entity was opened in 2017 to support a series of commercial solutions for the market, with the overall goal of enhancing BAE Systems’ capability and engagement in Brazil.

In this position, she provides Embraer onsite support, manages projects with the Brazilian Airforce, works closely with the local supply chain and is the account manager for BAE Systems in Latin America, supporting avionics and engine control electronics on airplanes in the region.

Barbara joined BAE Systems in 2008, working in the UK for the company’s shared services organization, and has been in her role in Brazil since 2012. She received a bachelor´s degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Bristol and a master’s degree in management and finance from the University of Bath, and is originally from Vitoria, Brazil.