2026 Howard Hughes Memorial Award Gala

Wahid Nawabi

to be honored with the

47th Annual Howard Hughes Memorial Award

Wahid Nawabi is Chairman, President, and CEO of AeroVironment, Inc. (AV), a publicly traded global defense and aerospace technology leader delivering capabilities across air, land, sea, space, and cyber. Since its founding in 1971 by HHMA recipient Paul MacCready, AV has pioneered aviation and aerospace innovation. AV produces over 10,000 unmanned aircraft systems each year for 55 allied nations around the globe and is rapidly scaling production as autonomous aircraft reshape modern warfare. The company is headquartered in Arlington, VA and has 4,000 employees. 

Nawabi joined AV in 2011 after nearly two decades in the industrial, energy, and technology sectors and was named CEO in 2016. Since his appointment to CEO, the company's revenue has grown nearly sevenfold, from roughly $300 million to $2 billion, and its market capitalization has grown twentyfold, from about $500 million to $10 billion. In May 2025, he led AV's $4.1 billion acquisition of BlueHalo, a deal that nearly doubled the company's scale and added capabilities in space communications, counter-drone directed energy and RF jamming, and cyber. Under Nawabi's leadership, AV's Ingenuity helicopter became the first aircraft to achieve powered flight on another planet through NASA's Mars mission in April 2021, AV's Switchblade lethal drone played a decisive role in Ukraine's defense against Russia, and AV launched several new category-defining products.

Born in Afghanistan, Nawabi was 14 years old when he led his three younger sisters across the border to Pakistan and then to India during the Soviet-Afghan war. The family reunited in New Delhi and flew to the United States as refugees. He earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Maryland, College Park, in 1992 and joined American Power Conversion (APC) that same year. At APC, Nawabi launched and built the Enterprise data center business and grew APC into a Fortune 1000 company, culminating in its acquisition by Schneider Electric for $6.1 billion. 

Nawabi received the 2026 Wash100 Award, which recognizes influential leaders in U.S. government contracting. He is a frequent speaker on topics including autonomous systems and the role of technology in national security, and serves as chairman of LiquidStack, a sustainable liquid-cooling firm focused on data centers.

Nawabi leads AV with a singular mission: to advance the technologies that protect the United States and its allies.