Havoc is the leader in all-domain collaborative autonomy, powering military- and commercial-grade autonomous systems across sea, air, and land to sense, decide, and act together in complex and contested environments.
You have something to protect. We exist to defend it—the sea, the air, the land, and your way of life. In a world that is unstable and contested, a secure future depends on intelligent, autonomous, and collaborative systems that can sense, decide, and act together to optimize mission success and minimize human risk.
OUR STORY
In 2023, Navy veterans and longtime friends Paul Lwin and Joe Turner spent their weekends building and coding autonomous boats from canoes, dinghies, and off-the-shelf parts.
After hearing the Pentagon lay out its vision for thousands of autonomous systems operating together as a swarm, they realized they had been building exactly that. Havoc was born from that vision in January 2024.
The founding insight was simple: Warfighters don’t need more complex hardware. They need software intuitive enough to command a fleet—something as simple as playing a video game. That philosophy still shapes every decision we make.
If the software isn't this simple, it’s a science experiment. Operators—especially warfighters who don’t have PhDs in robotics or search algorithms—will never use it if it’s more difficult than this.”
Paul Lwin
Havoc Co-Founder and CEO
Autonomy is a software problem, and data is the solution. Havoc takes a software-defined hardware approach, installing autonomy software on platforms built by trusted manufacturers, unifying two systems that operate as one. A single operator can supervise and control thousands of assets across sea, air, and land through one intuitive interface. Our models run daily and collect billions of real-world data points, so the system constantly learns and improves. Interoperable, intuitive, and scalable, Havoc isn’t prototyping a vision of autonomy. We're operating it in the real world today.
Havoc Leadership
Havoc is led by Navy veterans who pair deep operational experience with a software-first approach. Our leadership brings the technical credentials and mission focus to give warfighters an asymmetric edge while keeping them out of harm’s way.
CO-FOUNDER & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Paul Lwin is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy, a decorated Naval Flight Officer with combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan as the weapons systems officer on the EA-6B Prowler, and a political refugee rescued by the United States at 10 years old.
Paul holds a B.S. and M.S. in Aerospace Engineering and an M.S. in Computer Science. He also earned an MBA from the Yale School of Management.
CO-FOUNDER & CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
Joe Turner is a former Nuclear Propulsion Officer in the Navy. A serial entrepreneur, he's founded four tech and manufacturing companies, including autonomous underwater vehicle maker Exocetus Autonomous Systems.
Joe holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame and a dual Master of Business Administration and Master of Science in Information Systems with High Honors from Boston University.
CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER
Ben Cipperley's 26-year Navy career culminated as director of the Chief of Naval Operations' Strategic Actions Group, where he led the development of the CNO's core strategic guidance to the Navy, including her first vision for the adoption of robotic and autonomous systems and enabling the advanced warfighting networks and capabilities to fight from Maritime Operations Centers.
Ben holds a B.S. degree in Ocean Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy, and a M.S. in Operations Research from the Naval Postgraduate School.
SVP, MULTI-DOMAIN GROWTH
Shawn Driver is the Senior Vice President of Multi-Domain Growth at Havoc, where he leads the company’s growth across its air, ground, and maritime portfolios, working closely with customers, operators, and internal teams to develop and transition mission-ready capabilities into funded defense programs.
A former U.S. Army aviator, Shawn served in the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, deploying multiple times as an MH-60L DAP pilot. He was awarded the Air Medal with Valor for actions in combat. Prior to joining Havoc, Shawn held leadership roles at Dell Technologies and Salesforce, and most recently served with Army Futures Command. Shawn is a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute and earned his MBA from Cornell University.
SVP, COMMERCIAL STRATEGY & PARTNERSHIPS
Cleo Haynal is the Senior Vice President of Commercial Strategy and Partnerships at Havoc, driving the company’s commercial growth and strategic partnership ecosystem. Her career spans leadership roles in high-growth technology companies, nearly a decade of strategic advisory work at McChrystal Group, and academic research in asymmetric warfare.
Before joining Havoc, Cleo played a key role in scaling Alation into a unicorn and later a centaur within the data intelligence sector. Cleo holds a master’s degree in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies.
CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER
Sherry Lowe brings more than 20 years of experience leading marketing teams at high-growth technology companies. Prior to joining Havoc, she served as the Chief Marketing Officer at leading cybersecurity and software companies including Exabeam, Expanse, Druva, and Splunk.
Sherry holds a B.S. degree in Journalism from Arizona State University and a master's degree in English from Indiana State University.
GENERAL COUNSEL
Matt Stark most recently served as Chief Legal and Compliance Officer/Corporate Secretary for Open Lending Corporation, a Nasdaq-listed financial technology company. Prior to that, he served as General Counsel and Senior Vice President of Forestar Group, Inc.
Matt holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Utah and a J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law.
CHIEF AUTONOMY OFFICER
Dr. Zachary Serlin brings tenured expertise in robotics, machine learning, and formal methods for autonomous systems development. Before joining Havoc, he served as a researcher at MIT Lincoln Laboratory, where he gained experience developing advanced AI and autonomy solutions for national security applications.
Zack earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Boston University. He also holds bachelor's and master's degrees in mechanical engineering from Tufts University.
SVP, HARDWARE ENGINEERING
Dan Cottrell has worked in aerospace or maritime domains for nearly two decades. At Aurora Flight Sciences/Boeing, he helped pioneer electrification for aircraft and advanced composite and additive manufacturing, after which he led hardware development at REGENT Craft as the VP of Engineering.
Dan holds a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Maryland.