Kelly Mendell is president and majority owner of MIKEL, Inc., a leading undersea warfare technology small business in Middletown, RI.
Kelly honors her father’s legacy as founder of MIKEL. Brian Guimond started MIKEL and grew it early on based on his reputation and credibility in the Navy Community after serving at a high level in various Government positions.
Kelly recognized the need to change the business model in anticipation of defense budget cuts in the company’s earlier years. A shift to engineering services was initiated and based on some key decisions, the company was able to diversify sufficiently to not only stay viable but achieve significant growth. Through this growth, MIKEL invested internally in strategic initiatives, training, and new technology developments. Recently, MIKEL was awarded a sole source Navy contract related to one of these important technological developments.
Kelly is a senior member of the Board of Directors of SENEDIA, the Alliance for Defense Tech, Talent, and Innovation, where she serves as Treasurer and is an active member of its Executive Board.
Kelly graduated from UMASS Amherst with a BS in Industrial Engineering and from Babson College with a MBA. Prior to MIKEL, Kelly worked at Polaroid, Gillette, and Raytheon as an industrial engineer and manufacturing manager.
Her awards include 2021 Best of Middletown Award in the Engineering category by the Middletown Award Program; 2020 Entrepreneur of the Year Award for New England; and 2018 Rhode Island Small Business Person of the Year, Small Business Administration.