Avionics News February 2015 - 54

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Perri Coyne of

You are currently
director of marketing
operations for
Aspen. What is
your professional
background?

cher.
d her dog, Prea
Perri Coyne an

A

spen Avionics' flagship product
line is the Evolution Flight
Display system, one of the
most innovative and affordable glass
cockpit systems ever for certified
general aviation aircraft. The Evolution
system enables aircraft owners to
upgrade their primary flight instrument
"six pack" to glass cockpit technology
all at once, or in stages. Easy and
inexpensive software upgrades add
new features and capabilities, while
future-proofing the system and
protecting owners' investments.
Recently, Patricia Luebke, Avionics
News contributor, spoke with Perri
Coyne to learn more about her work at
Aspen and life outside the office.
54

avionics news

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february

2015

With...

Before I was in aviation, I didn't
think there was anything outside
of an airliner and a Learjet. But
then I fell into an opportunity at
Page Avjet in Orlando. Page had
narrowed its search to me and
one other candidate, and they
asked us to write an essay about
skydiving as a tiebreaker. I had
never attempted to skydive, but
I decided to be creative in my
writing. As it turned out, I got
the job based on this essay that I
titled, "It's the thrill, not the risk."
The other person wrote it from a
technical perspective.
That interview was for the
manager of marketing in Orlando.
Six months after I got hired, the
company was in negotiations
with Butler Aviation to create
Signature Flight Support, and I
was part of the team to create a
whole new company brand from
the ground up.
I left there after five years, as
I needed to get out of Orlando.
When my son, Sean, was born,
he had bad asthma, so we had
to get him to a drier climate for
his health.

Aspen Avionics

How did you find your
next position?
One year at the NBAA
Convention, I decided I was going
to find a job. I had since been
promoted to director of marketing,
so I walked into Garrett Aviation
Services and met my future boss.
The next thing I knew, I was asked
to come to Phoenix for an interview.
Within a month, we relocated and
drove cross country with a 5-yearold and a 2-year-old.

How long were you at
Garrett?
I worked there almost three
years, but I always wanted to work
at Honeywell. One day they called,
and I said yes. In fact, I signed my
offer letter on the same day that
the acquisition of Honeywell by
AlliedSignal took place. I was there
for 12 years, and it's where I met
my current boss, John Uzcekaj. I
worked for him at Honeywell. I did
marketing communications, trade
shows and media relations.

So you went from
Honeywell to Aspen?
No, I was contacted by Brian
Campbell at Beechcraft, who I knew
from Honeywell, to work for Hawker
Beechcraft Services as a sales and
marketing analyst. I created tools
to help the sales organization work
more effectively. We created a
whole series of programs working
Avionics News February 2015

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