Bob Baron

President and Chief Executive Officer

Robert “Bob” Baron is founder of and retired CEO of Baron Weather, Inc.   Baron Weather, Inc., a weather technology company based in Huntsville, Alabama, develops weather systems that aid in the detection and dissemination of weather information to customers in the broadcast, government, aviation, and marine and automotive industries across the globe. 

After a tornado devastated Huntsville in 1989, Bob founded the company with the mission to develop better tornado detection technology that would save lives. Bob credits the company’s success to great employees; their hard work and innovation that paved the way for the development of a wide array of life saving weather innovations.

Over the company’s 30-year history, its suite of products has expanded to include radar, storm tracking, weather displays, alerting technology, and other critical weather intelligence.  Baron Weather, Inc. has brought weather to the cockpit, to the helms of boats, to mobile EMA applications and to millions of automobiles through partnership with XM Satellite Radio.

Continuing his legacy of dedication and innovation in weather, Bob started the Baron Critical Weather Institute.  Founded in 2018, the non-profit is focused on implementing a statewide weather observation network that provides real-time data in support of public safety, educational outreach, and economic development - protecting and enriching the lives of the citizens of Alabama.

In 2012 the State of Alabama accepted the Baron Alabama Safety-Net program as an ongoing gift. The program consists of a free alerting app to all state residents (downloaded by more than a quarter million) and a georeferenced two-way communication program provided to each of 68 state EMAs. Continuous advancements in the program will be one of the primary focuses of the Institute.

Prior to founding Baron Weather, Bob was a recognizable figure across the state thanks to a long and prominent career in broadcasting. He spent much of the 60s and 70s working in radio, transitioned to TV, earned the American Meteorological Society Seal of Approval, and became Chief Meteorologist at a station in Huntsville. The people of North Alabama welcomed Bob into their homes as their trusted weatherman with his well-known slogan “weather in motion” until 1996, when Bob left television to focus on the company full-time.

Bob is an active member of the Huntsville community. He has served terms on the board of directors for the Huntsville-Madison County Chamber of Commerce, the Huntsville Better Business Bureau, and Biztech, a local business incubator. Bob has also made many generous donations to local organizations and charities, including Burritt on the Mountain, Huntsville Botanical Gardens, Kids to Love, Boys and Girls Club of North Alabama, Huntsville Community Foundation, and many more.

Bob has received numerous awards throughout his career including being inducted into the Alabama Business Hall of Fame in 2020.

Kathi Tew

Chief Operating Officer

Kathi Tew has been with Baron Critical Weather Institute for two years and currently serves as their Chief Operating Officer. 

Understanding that STEM opportunities are vital for students at all levels, under Kathi’s leadership the Institute has partnered with STEM programs at The University of Alabama Huntsville (UAH), Cullman Area Technology Academy (CATA), and the North Alabama Boys and Girls Club. Together they are providing key technical support and meeting critical product needs to manufacture the Weather Instrumentation Systems, as the Institute moves forward to build a statewide “weather net”.

She is a graduate of Leadership Greater Huntsville, L-27, past chair of alumni education and has served as a Day Chair for the Flagship Program for 6 years. In addition, Kathi has chaired over twenty-five fundraising events in the last eleven years, benefitting many non-profits across North Alabama. She served on the local Alabama Bicentennial Committee and as chair of the Huntsville City Bicentennial, Bicentennial Village.

Kathi currently serves on the boards of:  Liberty Learning Foundation, Boys and Girls Club of North Alabama, Huntsville Botanical Garden, Foundation Boards of the Huntsville Museum of Art and the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, the Leadership Council of the Women’s Philanthropy Society, Director Emeritus of the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra and on their Foundation Board.  She is also an Ambassador to HudsonAlpha.

Kathi is honored to be selected to be in the inaugural class of Momentum’s Huntsville Executive Program 2022.