Avionics News June 2012 - 66

— I N T E R V I E W

B Y

P A T R I C I A

L U E B K E

A
» » »
Tell me about your job at DPI Labs. I am vice president of sales and marketing. We’re a small company, so we all wear a lot of hats to bring our message to market. I do customer visits, driving strategy for product development. If I see a need, I’ll bring it to the attention of the company. One day I’ll do a quote, the next day I’ll work on a piece of literature. I do have a staff in the office – the headquarters is in La Verne, Calif., but I live in Jacksonville, Ark., which is a suburb of Little Rock. We have a central regional office where I work. It’s a great location, and I can travel east or west with equal ease.

Kevin Hayes of DPI Labs
ing for Audio International, now a Goodrich company. When I graduated with an engineering degree, I was an engineering assistant for Audio International. When I started, I was employee No. 11. When I left, there were 230 people, so I got to see how a company grows. During that time, I got promoted to engineer, then to engineering manager and then to a vice president position in my 10th year. As a senior manager, I noticed that I could not speak the language of business. I had a great technical background, but very little business background. For the first time, I felt I didn’t have the competency I needed. I could sell, but I couldn’t speak to the strategies. I left Audio International and went to work for SYAIR Designs, which did LED lighting, mood lighting for aircraft. I came on board as vice president of business development, so I stayed in the aviation industry and had many of the same customers. When I started at SYAIR, they let me pursue my MBA at the University of Arkansas in Little Rock. It was an 18-month executive program where I could continue to work full time. I have to say it was brutal, very difficult. Yet, the program really opened my mind to business strategies, and I learned how to construct business models. It was a wonderful experience for me. Now I can temper my engineering by what the market needs. My balance of technical expertise and business expertise has helped me be an asset to the company – even though I have had ideas, I am now aware that the market won’t always support what I want to do.

With...

dren: e two chil , 15. elley, hav n is wife, K r, 11, and Kately es and h Kyle evin Hay K

PI Labs Inc. has become a leading global provider of integrated and component cabin management solutions for all types of aircraft. DPI was one of the originators of the “membrane” type switches specifically engineered for executive aircraft, and the company’s advanced SmartLink-III closed loop control and interface system is wellknown for its reliability and durability. Aircraft manufacturers and operators rely on DPI to develop, manufacture and support the highest quality switches and switch panels, lighting and air distribution systems, entertainment systems and complete cabin management solutions. Recently, Patricia Luebke, Avionics News contributor, spoke with Kevin Hayes to learn more about his work at DPI Labs.
66
avionics news

How long have you worked there?

It will be five years in October.

Do you have an aviation background?

I am an engineer with a bachelor’s degree in electronics engineering, and I also have an MBA.

That’s an interesting combination.

My engineering friends do not think I’m an engineer anymore. I began my career in 1990, work-

•

june

2012

Avionics News June 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News June 2012