Webb City native named to top NASA post

Webb City native Brandon Brown has been named deputy chief financial officer at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.:

Brown, who joined NASA and the Marshall Center this month, will assist the chief financial officer in overseeing implementation and administration of all integrated Marshall and NASA financial management systems tied to the NASA field center's annual budget of approximately $2.6 billion. "Mr. Brown's professional skills and abilities extend beyond the scope of traditional financial management," said Pam Cucarola, chief financial officer at Marshall. "His skills and experience make him uniquely qualified to serve in this position in the Marshall Center's high-tech science and engineering environment."

Previously, Brown was executive director of finance operations for ConAgra Food Ingredients of Omaha, Neb., a $1 billion specialty food ingredients business. He was responsible for managing finance, information technology and supply chain initiatives for 34 ConAgra plants nationwide.

During this period, he also served as an adjunct professor of accounting at the College of Saint Mary in Omaha, Neb. From 1999 to 2005, Mr. Brown was a director and officer of the Kerry Group of Kerry, Ireland, an international food ingredient manufacturing corporation.

Brown is a graduate of Missouri Southern State University.