Bell Helicopter makes leadership changes

Bell 407GX

Bell Helicopter has made a number of leadership changes, naming Matt Hasik as executive vice president of commercial business and Barry Kohler as executive vice president of customer service and support, replacing Eric Cardinali who has been selected to lead global operations for Textron’s Kautex business unit.

Hasik will lead the combined commercial sales and marketing and commercial programmes organisation, suceeded Danny Maldonado who has been selected to be president and CEO of Textron Financial.

John Garrison, president and CEO of Bell Helicopter, says: “We have seen tremendous success with our commercial programs under [Haski]’s leadership, including the launch of the Bell 429WLG and Bell 412EPI, the first flight of the Bell 505 Jet Ranger X and continued progress with the Bell 525 Relentless.”

“[Hasik] has an intimate knowledge of our products and will play a key role as we continue to expand global sales and achieve certification for our new products,” adds Garrison.

Elsewhere, John Klopfer returns to Bell Helicopter as vice president, commercial business finance, reporting to Al Vetere; Raymond Leduc will succeed Kohler as president, Bell Helicopter Textron Canada, reporting to Gunnar Kleveland; Patrick Moulay has been promoted to vice president, global sales and marketing, reporting to Matt Hasik; and Larry Roberts has been appointed vice president, sales and marketing for the Bell 525 Relentless programme reporting to John Garrison.

Garrison says: “During his time in Canada, [Kohler] drove tremendous operational improvements in all areas of safety, quality, delivery and cost – and he has strengthened our relationship with the Canadian government. Barry’s extensive program, engineering and manufacturing experience, his knowledge of Bell Helicopter’s products and his ability to build trust and confidence with the customer are exceptional and position him for success in this role.”

All leadership changes are effective from January 2015.