Avionics News January 2013 - 48

“You can’t design avionics products for the general
aviation market unless you know what pilots need, how they think, how to deal with air traffic control, how you plan a flight and navigate and communicate.”
►Kevin

Gould

AVIATION ACES

Continued from page 47

Gould learned a lot at Adam Aircraft: exposure to working with composites in airframe construction and all about working with the Federal Aviation Administration, taking the airplane through certification to get its type certificate. “That was a long, arduous process, but I learned a lot,” he said. But, of course, startups also have a downside. “We were constantly searching for more funding, and it wasn’t coming easily,” he added. So when a headhunter came knocking with a position as vice president of operations at Piper, Gould said yes. He stayed at Piper for the next six years, ultimately rising to the position of CEO. Then, a year and a half ago, he joined Honeywell to be president of Bendix/King. “I was attracted to Bendix/King,” he said. “It had many of the elements of a startup, since it was being broken out and treated like a separate company. We started with a staff of one – that was me. I built a management team, and we’re at 85 people now, on our way to 180.” When he started, he was based in Phoenix, Ariz., but he moved Bendix/King to Albuquerque, N.M. Progress has been quick. “We have office space, five test aircraft, leased hangar facilities, and we’re hiring and developing new products,” he said. Gould is frank as he describes his role and the challenge of taking an iconic general aviation brand whose market position has slipped and give it new life. “My job is to bring Bendix/King back to a place of prominence in the general aviation segment of the avionics industry,” he said. Two threads run through Gould’s career: his ability, with a few detours, to follow his passion and his love of learning new things. There’s another passion that shapes Gould’s life
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now – being a pilot. He learned to fly when he took the job at Adam Aircraft. “On my second day of work, I took my first flying lesson,” he said. “That was in 2003, and I’ve been flying ever since – it’s my absolute passion.” Just as Rick Adam at Adam Aircraft wanted Gould to be a pilot, Gould wants his Bendix/King staff to be pilots as well. “One of the things that was important to me in rebuilding Bendix/King is that all of our leadership and management team are either pilots or are learning to fly, including the engineering staff,” he said. He wants his team to share his passion for flying and added, “You can’t design avionics products for the general aviation market unless you know what pilots need, how they think, how to deal with air traffic control, how you plan a flight and navigate and communicate.” As for his life outside the office, Gould has been married to Dawn for 35 years. They have two children: a son, Steve, who is 27 and a production manager at a publicly-traded printing company and now applying for his MBA; and a daughter, Lauren, who is 22, just graduated from college and works in the fashion industry. His own hobbies continue to be his lifelong interests: cars and motorcycles. Gould has recently taken up sprint triathlons; he just completed his fourth, this one on Catalina Island. “In a sprint triathlon, you swim one-half mile, ride a bike 15 miles and then do a three-mile run,” he explained. “It’s hard work, but also a lot of fun and a great way to stay in shape.” Today, as he works hard to restore Bendix/King, he combines his years of experience with all he’s learned with his passion for airplanes. Whether as part of his job or as a way to relax, you will often find Gould at an airport. “I absolutely love to fly,” he said. “It’s one of the most thrilling, fulfilling things I’ve ever done.” q

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january

2013

Avionics News January 2013

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