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Walking into iBase-t’s headquarters in Lake Forest, California, one is immediately struck by the photographs and inspirational quotes of the late founder, Amrik Singh Poonian. These mementos remind employees of the enduring love and vision that built the company—a love recently acknowledged by the Orange County Business Journal with a 2024 Large Family-Owned Business Award, celebrating iBase-t’s growth, achievements, and contributions to the community.
More importantly, these symbols reflect the deep passion, expertise, and trust that aerospace and defense manufacturers place in iBase-t. This trust is rooted in the company’s unwavering commitment to delivering exceptional software solutions tailored to the unique challenges of its customers. Whether they are getting boots on the ground, protecting US citizens, or exploring the skies above, aerospace and defense manufacturers rely on the vision and the innovation inherent in iBase-t’s rich history.
A Thrilling Journey of Leadership
Naveen Poonian, who took the reins as CEO in January 2020, has been an integral part of iBase-t since childhood. The company’s origins trace back to his playroom, where he first experienced his father’s entrepreneurial spirit. Then, as an intern at fifteen, Naveen helped lay the cabling for the company’s first building and worked in treasury and quality assurance as the business pivoted from telecommunications to software, securing partnerships with aerospace titans like McDonnell Douglas and Boeing.
“We utilize our enterprise platform to accomplish incredible feats, like assembling jet fighters with parts sourced globally. Our platform is built with our customers in mind, and their partnership over the years has made it robust and continually evolving.”
Naveen Poonian
Triumph Over Tragedy
In 1998, the unexpected death of Amrik Singh Poonian thrust the company into a crisis. Suddenly, Poonian’s wife, Ladeira Poonian, a passionate nurse with no business experience, found herself at the helm. Not only did she have a career of her own and a son to raise, but she also now had a software company looming over her head. How did she and Naveen turn things around?
As Naveen recalls, “The best thing I did for the company around that time was just helping my mother get out of bed. She had just lost her husband, and the sharks were swimming around us. There were multiple attempts at a power grab of our family business, and my mother didn’t even know how to turn her computer on.”
As aggressive venture capitalists (who had funded the company under wildly predatory terms) sought a hostile takeover, Ladeira dug in her heels to save her husband’s dream, her son’s legacy, and the iBase-t team, who had stood shoulder to shoulder with Amrik Singh Poonian.
Ladeira Poonian’s story is one of resilience and bold decisions. She used her late husband’s insurance policy to buy out the venture capital investors—regaining control of the company—and placed her faith in the experts at iBase-t. Meanwhile, Naveen balanced his college courses with preparing to lead iBase-t into the next generation of manufacturing software advancements.
Reinvention and Resilience
Despite the challenges, including the 2008 financial crisis, iBase-t remained family-owned and transformed into a global leader in software solutions for complex discrete manufacturing. The company’s growth, now exponentially greater than a decade ago, reflects the Poonians’ tenacity and strategic vision. Although Ladeira remains the chairman of the board, she has been slowly releasing the reins to Naveen for quite some time. Naveen was the company’s treasurer, director of marketing, and chief operating officer before becoming CEO in 2020.
“My mother wasn’t focused on growing the company 20 percent year over year. But she wanted good people to keep their jobs and our customers to have the best possible experience.”
Naveen Poonian
Leading the company during the COVID-19 pandemic, Naveen demonstrated exceptional strategic acumen. He positioned iBase-t as a crucial partner for businesses navigating the unprecedented challenges that were slowing manufacturing to a halt. Instead, with a legacy of solving critically complex problems, iBase-t helped usher these same manufacturers into the newest era of manufacturing transformation.
The company’s expanded revenues are, in part, a tribute to Poonian’s holistic focus on iBase-t’s capabilities. But he is quick to credit his mother. “My mother wasn’t focused on growing the company 20 percent year over year,” Naveen explains. “But she wanted good people to keep their jobs and our customers to have the best possible experience. That’s what we needed then, and I am fortunate to have the opportunity to grow those capabilities from my chair now.”
Innovation and Collaboration
Under Naveen’s leadership, iBase-t has attracted top talent from various software companies, blending fresh perspectives with veteran expertise. This strategy has driven impressive growth, reflecting the company’s commitment to innovation and collaboration. “Our growth with our customers is completely organic,” Naveen emphasizes. “We utilize our enterprise platform to accomplish incredible feats, like assembling jet fighters with parts sourced globally. Our platform is built with our customers in mind, and their partnership over the years has made it robust and continually evolving.”
The company’s future hinges on its ability to innovate while ensuring top-level security and rigorous scrutiny of every development. Naveen has empowered his team to focus on cloud-native manufacturing solutions for their customers. It’s a transformative shift in how manufacturers operate, enabling them to harness the power of cloud computing to drive efficiency, innovation, and agility.
The DNA of Manufacturing Excellence
Naveen believes that iBase-t’s strong position is a testament to the Poonian family’s persistence and dedication to Amrik Singh Poonian’s vision. As the industry transforms, so does iBase-t. The company continues to collaborate with its customers who have “grown up” using iBase-t’s solutions and expertise. And now eight of the top ten aerospace and defense manufacturers trust their mission-critical initiatives to the experts at iBase-t.
The photographs and quotes of Amrik Singh Poonian at iBase-t’s headquarters symbolize more than a legacy; they represent a living testament to transforming the industry despite its challenges. Through Naveen and Ladeira’s tireless efforts, their deep-rooted A&D focus enables both iBase-t and its customers to be resilient as the manufacturing and sustainment landscape transforms.
