PROFILE Continued from page 12


“Serge and Marc saw something about me that they liked,” says Pence. “I guess they saw that I worked pretty hard, that I knew what I was doing and knew how to communicate. And I think they saw some leadership ability in me. I owe the Marines for that. The Marines do a good job of teaching leadership and I guess some of that took with me.”


A LONG AND DUSTY TRAIL That doesn’t mean that going from shop technician to cowboy, to tech- nical writer, to manager, and fi nally to senior executive has been an easy road. Pence has, at times, struggled to


retain good mechanics — many of who, like him, have other interests outside helicopters and who don’t like to linger too long in any one job or place. Many of his best workers took off ers to work as government contractors maintaining military helicopters in places like Iraq and Afghanistan. (That problem now has eased with reduced U.S. involvement in those confl icts. In fact, the current availability of seasoned mechanics who gained experience in Iraq an Afghanistan is easing the impact of the retirements of nearly all of Eurocopter’s Vietnam-era mechanics.) For Pence, being the primary fi lter between mechanics and assemblers on one side and senior management both in Grand Prairie and in Europe has also been trying and stressful. Twice Pence has found himself managing American Eurocopter’s engineering department despite having never studied engineering. “Yeah, I was a mechanic overseeing engineers,” says Pence with a laugh. “Mechanics and engineers are very diff erent in how they look at problems. Let’s just say I believe in the KISS (‘keep it simple, stupid’) principle.” In 2005, Pence was promoted to vice president of commercial programs and MRO. Last year he was given additional responsibility for logistics and facilities. His broad portfolio has him traveling frequently


between Grand Prairie and Columbus, MS (site of Airbus Helicopters’ North American assembly and fl ight test center), talking on the phone or via video conference for hours with Airbus honchos in France, working on budgets and shuffl ing lots of paperwork. None of that keeps him from spending time on the shop fl oors with his mechanics and technicians.


01.02 2014


40


“For a while after I got this job, mechanics would tell me all the time that before I got the job they didn’t see their vice presidents but maybe once a year, if that,” he says. “I don’t have a set plan, but I suppose I spend an hour or two in each of my shops every week, on average. “ Pence has rejected all


opportunities to move to the company’s executive offi ces so that he can stay close to his team. “I don’t want to be distant from


my people,” he says. “I’ve always tried to treat my mechanics the way I wanted to be treated by my executives when I was a mechanic. I want to talk with my people whether it’s about their work, problems they’re having, projects we’re involved in, their families, or whatever.” Pence relies heavily on his administrative assistant and his team of direct reports, most of who, like him, began their careers on the shop fl oor. They meet briefl y each morning to deliver daily status reports and address pressing issues of the day. “I don’t micro-manage my


people,” he says. “I give all my direct reports authority to make decisions. I’m here to go over issues with them, to discuss solutions, to provide any ideas I have or guidance they want from me. But my job is to make it clear to them what the company’s goals and needs are and how we want things done so that they then can make decisions.” When it comes to hiring and promoting managers on his team, Pence says he has only one rule, but it’s inviolate: “Don’t lie to me.” He expects the same level of honesty from those who work for him. “I think my real strength is I’m honest,” he says. “If I’m


asked a question, I’ll give you a straight answer.” He adds mid-level managers too often tell senior management “what they want to hear, not what they need to hear.” “I don’t play games. I don’t have any type of agenda. I’ve


only ever had one real goal here and that’s for Eurocopter — now Airbus Helicopters — to be the best helicopter manufacturer it can be.” Now almost 61, Pence says he expects to retire in a couple of years to his 30-acre, 10-cow ranch near the tiny town of Coyote Flats, 40 miles southwest of Grand Prairie. “It’s time to let the next generation run things, to make their mark,” he says. “We’ve trained a lot of these folks. It’s about time we let them run this place.”


DOMmagazine


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64