JA Moody’s Senior Advisory Board
Why the Senior Advisory Board was Established
JA Moody established its Senior Advisory Board as an investment in the company’s future and a reflection of its commitment to supporting the U.S. Navy and the broader maritime community.
The Board brings together respected leaders with deep experience in naval operations, logistics, technology, sustainment, and executive leadership. Their perspective will help JA Moody continue delivering reliable, mission-critical solutions that strengthen fleet readiness and operational effectiveness.
How the Senior Advisory Board supports JA Moody’s Leadership
The Senior Advisory Board provides strategic counsel as JA Moody expands its capabilities and responds to the evolving needs of its customers.
Drawing on decades of military, government, and industry experience, Board members will help guide the company’s long-term vision, strengthen its approach to complex sustainment challenges, and identify new opportunities to support the fleet.
Their collective insight will help JA Moody remain a trusted maritime partner while preparing for the mission requirements of tomorrow.
Meet the Senior Advisory Board Members
Peter Stamatopoulos
Rear Admiral (Ret) Stamatopoulos, with 35 years in the Navy Supply Corps, culminated his distinguished career as the 49th Chief of Supply Corps and Commander of Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP), a premier global logistics and supply chain organization. He steered a workforce of 25,000, managing operations in the U.S., Indo-Pacific, Europe, and Middle East, with 2023 sales nearing $12 billion.
Throughout his tenure, Stamatopoulos championed extensive roles from tactical to global levels, including deployments on various naval vessels and leadership across regional, and global supply chain entities. His strategic direction of NAVSUP involved leading eleven subordinate commands, enriching the Navy’s business and LOG-IT solutions, field contracting, foreign military sales, and Navy Exchange Command’s retail and lodging.
His profound impact was marked by leading the Naval Sustainment System (NSS) Supply, designing a $41B initiative that drove end-to-end supply chain integration efficiencies reversing $1.2B cash deficit, resulting in $2.2B in benefits and $816M in annual savings. These efficiencies yielded over $7B in improved mission readiness. He also fostered collaborations across military and civilian sectors, ensuring optimal performance.
Preceding his command at NAVSUP, Stamatopoulos significantly influenced logistics serving as the NAVCENT/C5F Sea/Air Replenishment Operations Officer exercising tactical control of U.S. and Coalition Logistics Ships and Aircraft during OEF. He also served as the Director of Logistics (J4) for the U.S. European Command (EUCOM), overseeing logistics for the U.S. military and NATO including serving as the elected Board Chairman of the Central European Pipeline System. His strategic roles also included heading the Navy’s global Supply Chain Policy and Resource Allocation Strategy and chairing the Navy Exchange Audit Committee.
Stamatopoulos is an alumnus of the University of San Diego with a bachelor's in business administration, holds an MBA from the Naval Postgraduate School, and has completed the Senior Executive Program at Columbia University. Stamatopoulos serves multiple board and advisory positions across leading Aerospace & Defense, Critical Mineral, and Artificial Intelligence companies, helping shape strategic innovation and industry transformation.
Steven C. Cade
Steve Cade, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate and former Surface Warfare Officer, retired in 2025 after 15 years as a senior DoD and Navy executive. As Executive Director of Military Sealift Command, he led 10,000 personnel, 120 ships, and a $5.5 billion budget supporting global Navy logistics and fleet sustainment.
Steve Cade is Founder and President of FoxRed LLC, advising corporate, small business, and government clients at the intersection of national security strategy, operational logistics, maritime industrial-base readiness, technology adoption, and workforce development. He brings senior level expertise in military capabilities planning and budgeting, fleet sustainment, defense innovation, and public-private collaboration. In addition to serving on JA Moody’s Senior Advisory Board, Steve is a Senior Advisor for The Roosevelt Group, Renaissance Strategic Advisors, and Whitestone IAG. He also serves as President of the United States Naval Academy Alumni Association, Hampton Roads Chapter, and was recently appointed to the City of Virginia Beach Military Economic Development Advisory Committee.
Prior to retiring from federal service in 2025, Steve served for fifteen years as a senior executive with the Department of Defense and the United States Navy. His most recent position was as Executive Director of Military Sealift Command, the DoD’s primary maritime logistics enterprise, where he led a workforce of over 10,000 personnel and managed a $5.5 billion annual budget supporting global operations and sustainment of 140 ships. At MSC he championed collaboration and innovation among partners within Navy, other military services, government agencies, and industry to deliver combat logistics, strategic heavy lift, expeditionary operations, oceanographic survey, and other specialized missions at sea. Steve previously served as Director, Fleet Capabilities and Force Development for the Navy’s Fleet Forces Command, where he and his team were responsible for operational capabilities assessment and budgeting, concept development, and transition of new ships, systems and technologies into the fleet.
A United States Naval Academy graduate and former Navy Surface Warfare Officer, Steve’s active-duty career spanned operational tours in the Atlantic, Pacific, the Middle East, South Asia, and the Caribbean. He completed the Executive Leadership Program at Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina, and holds master’s degrees in national security strategy from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and in mechanical engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School. His Senior Executive Service career was recognized with the Presidential Rank Awards of Distinguished Executive and Meritorious Executive, the Distinguished Civilian Service Award, and the Superior Civilian Service Award.
A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Steve and his wife, Leigh-Anne of Annapolis, Maryland have enjoyed living in over a dozen locations across the United States and overseas. They have been especially fortunate to call Virginia Beach, Virginia home.
Fernandez “Frank” Ponds
Admiral Ponds served 33 years in the U.S. Navy in senior executive, operational, and managerial positions within DoD and the Interagency, developing people, creating high-performing organizations, and driving transformation through continuous process improvement.
He is currently Principal and Owner of FPONDS LLC Independent Consulting, providing consulting services to the public, private, and government sectors in global defense and national security, strategic planning, maritime safety and security, and disaster preparedness and response. As a Senior Consultant with Knowledge Point International Consulting Firm, reporting directly to UAE government leaders, he led a team of senior U.S. military analysts and Emirati senior officers in conducting a Capabilities Based Assessment of their military academies and a Capability Development Review --- QDR equivalent --- of their Armed Forces.
He currently serves as a member of the Jackie Robinson Family YMCA Board of Advisors, and previously served on the University of San Diego, Joan B. Kroc School Institute of Peace and Justice Board of Advisors and the 2021 San Diego County Independent Redistricting Commission.
A native of Alabama and a 1982 graduate of the University of Alabama, he was commissioned from Officer Candidate School in 1983 and retired from the United States Navy in 2015. He holds a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences from the University of Alabama, a Master of Science in Information Systems Technology from George Washington University, a Master of Military Studies from the Marine Corps Command and Staff College, a Master of National Security Strategy from the National War College at the National Defense University, and certificates of completion from UVA Darden Corporate Business School Leadership & Management; and The National Association for Corporate Directors Executive Leadership.
Admiral Ponds held five Command positions afloat and ashore, leading joint, multinational, and interagency organizations across the spectrum of military operations in complex global security environments.
His Flag assignments include Commander, Expeditionary Strike Group Three (CESG-3), and he served Dual-Hatted as Commander, Navy Region Hawaii / Commander, Naval Surface Group Middle Pacific (Commander, Task Group 30.5). As Commander, ESG-3, he led the Navy's largest Amphibious Expeditionary Strike Group, comprised of 3 Amphibious Squadrons, 8 Naval Support Elements, and 15 Amphibious Warships, consisting of more than 15,000 active duty and reserve Sailors, Marines, and civilians, while executing a $700M annual training, maintenance, and modernization budget.
Dual-hatted as Commander Navy Region Hawaii and Naval Surface Group Middle Pacific (CTG 30.5), he oversaw $8.6B in providing Base Operating Support of equipment, supplies, real property, facilities and infrastructure for the U.S. Navy’s largest and strategic island base in the Pacific and the Pacific Missile Range Facility — the world’s largest instrumented, multi-dimensional test and training range while ensuring the operational readiness of eleven Hawaii-based combatants, including 6 BMD ships and supporting the Navy's SM-6 Ballistic Missile Defense Flight Test Mission Program.
His additional afloat commands included USS Fife (DD-991) and Commander, Amphibious Squadron Eight, conducting operations during OEF, OIF, Counter-piracy Operations off the coast of Somalia, and leading HADR operations in Bangladesh in 2007 and Haiti in 2008, and served as Mission Commander for Operation Continuing Promise, conducting multilateral security missions to seven partner nations in the Caribbean and South and Central America.
His additional afloat assignments included: Damage Control Assistant and Assistant First Lieutenant onboard USS Mauna Kea (AE-22); Boilers Material Officer onboard USS Midway (CV-41) (CVRIP); Flag Secretary, Commander Task Force Seven Six; Engineer Officer onboard USS Berkeley (DDG-15); and Executive Officer onboard USS Paul F. Foster (DD-964). He commanded USS Fife (DD-991). As Commander, Amphibious Squadron Eight, he led an expeditionary amphibious squadron during Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Counter-piracy Operations off the coast of Somalia, Humanitarian Assistance Disaster Response operations in Bangladesh in 2007, and Haiti in 2008. He served as Mission Commander for Operation Continuing Promise, conducting multilateral security missions to seven partner nations in the Caribbean and South and Central America.
His shore tours included Certified Gas Turbine, Diesel, and Boiler Inspector on the Pacific Fleet's Propulsion Examination Board; as Senior Inspector in the Office of the Naval Inspector General; Chief of Naval Operations Staffs for Resources, Requirements, Warfare Integration Assessment and Analysis (N81/N00X), and Operations, Plans, and Strategy (N3/N5/NSP). He served as a Senior Fellow on the Chief of Naval Operations Strategic Studies Group (SSG XXIX). As Senior Navy Advisor to the Department of State, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, International Security Operations, he was the lead delegate in US/UK Pol-Mil Talks and State Department lead representative to the NSPD-41/HSPD-13 Interagency Maritime National Security Council Task Force in developing the U.S. 2006 National Strategy for Maritime Security and Eight Supporting Plans.
Admiral Ponds is authorized to wear various service, campaign, personal awards, and citations, including Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit (4), Meritorious Service Medal (5), Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (3), Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, and Department of State Superior Honor Award (2). He holds the distinction of an Honorary Chief Petty Officer.
Since retiring, RDML Ponds has remained active in the community and around the waterfront as a member of the National Naval Officers Association and the Surface Navy Association, mentoring officers and enlisted of the Sea Services organizations, and supporting various Armed Forces organizations.
