Piper Aircraft Chief Executive Kevin Gould will assume the company’s presidency effective Dec. 1. Gould will add the president’s title and responsibilities to his current position as CEO upon Piper President John D. Becker’s resignation, also effective Dec. 1. Becker is leaving Piper to pursue other career goals.
“The expansion of Kevin’s responsibilities and the augmentation of his management team directly reflect the strategic investments we’re making in Piper’s future,” said Stephen Berger, Piper’s chairman and managing partner of Imprimis.
Imprimis, a corporate finance and investment management firm that operates from offices in Singapore and Brunei Darussalam, purchased Piper last May. Since its acquisition, Imprimis has injected considerable resources into the company, enabling Piper to move forward in several key areas, including market expansion, research and development and ramping up development of the PiperJet.
“We are at a pivotal point in Piper’s history,” said Gould. “Throughout our product line – from our entry-level aircraft to the PiperJet – we are making significant advancements and innovations. At the same time, we are aggressively expanding our markets globally to meet and exceed the wants and needs of our customers.”
Gould added: “John Becker has been a strong and valued member of the Piper team. His 20 years with the company have been marked with a dedication to innovation and technological excellence that has made Piper one of the world’s leading aircraft manufacturers. John will be missed, but his contributions and presence will live on in the excellent team he assembled to lead Piper’s engineering development and the PiperJet in particular.”
Other appointments to the executive team include:
* Jeff Barger, formerly senior director of Piper manufacturing, is Piper’s new vice president of manufacturing operations. Barger has more than 20 years of leadership experience in manufacturing, supply chain and finance roles with companies including Gulfstream, Bridgestone and Texas Instruments. Barger joined Piper in 2005 as corporate controller.
* Dr. Dennis Olcott, formerly senior director of Piper engineering, is the new vice president of engineering. He joined Piper in 2007 and has since held a number of positions of increasing responsibility, including lead development responsibility for the PiperJet and other major product innovations. Prior to completing his doctorate, Olcott worked for LTV Military Aircraft in the Composites Development Group, at AIM Aviation performing structural analysis, and at Cirrus Design, where he was responsible for the design and fabrication of the wing structure on the ST-50 turboprop aircraft. Olcott was an early employee of Adam Aircraft, and as vice president of engineering helped launch a new company that achieved FAA certification on the A500 push-pull twin-engine piston aircraft.
* Derek Zimmerman, who joined Piper as senior director of supply chain in 2006, is the company’s new vice president, supply chain and aftermarket development. His duties at Piper were expanded to include production control in 2007 and, as senior director, aftermarket part sales and information technology, in 2009. He joined Piper after more than 18 years of experience in supply chain operations with large, high-value-added manufacturing companies operating in a variety of industries. He came from the Harley-Davidson Motor Co.
* Mary Messuti, formerly Piper’s director of production engineering, is the company’s new senior director, Asia – a newly formed position with responsibility for development, implementation and management of assigned Asian aviation initiatives. She will be responsible for the distribution of aircraft and parts, ground and flight training, customer service, maintenance, and operations; Messuti will also oversee coordination with governmental authorities and ensure that Piper’s Asian aviation initiatives are in compliance with applicable civil aviation regulations and other governmental requirements in the region. Messuti, who joined Piper in 2007, has more than 10 years experience in the aviation industry and 24 years of business management experience.
For more information: Piper.com.
