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Advisors

Alex Krutz

Alex Krutz is the Managing Director of Patriot Industrial Partners, an Aerospace and Defense advisory firm that specializes in Value Creation, Operational Excellence and Supply Chain Optimization. Alex is a leader that quickly transforms operational, quality and financial performance in under-performing companies. His success having improved the health of aerospace factories has earned him the name of the Factory Doctor from industry executives, analysts and media. Alex has over 20 years of A&D experience, including being a Veteran of the U.S. Army having started his career serving overseas as a front-line leader. He has held leadership positions at companies such as Pratt & Whitney and GKN Aerospace as well as consulted for airframe OEMs, the supply chain and private equity groups. He has worked over a hundred projects throughout North America, Europe, South Africa and Southeast Asia spanning engines, structures and large complex assemblies. Alex’s insights can be found in Forbes, Aviation Week, and Flight Global publications where he is a contributing columnist. Alex has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Bloomberg and the London News Times as well as haven spoken at A&D industry conferences. He is a frequent speaker for investment groups at Bank of America, JP Morgan, UBS and Morgan Stanley. He has spoken at company’s management meetings on the industry and strategic planning. Alex serves as an advisory board member for the Axius Group, LLC.

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Patriot Advisor Experience

45+ advisors in various areas of

operational, quality, supply chain and technical disciplines.

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Value Creators

John Pilla

John Pilla

Technical Advisor

John brings 40+ years of deep experience in engineering, technology leadership, new product development, manufacturing and research and development. In 2021, he retired as the Senior Vice President of Engineering and Chief Technology Officer at Spirit Aerosystems. He led all of engineering, research and technology and IT functions with oversight of a $300M budget and a global technology group of 1,800 team members. He reported to the CEO and was a member of Spirit’s Executive Leadership Team. Previous to this, he held roles of Senior Vice President of Airbus Programs and Senior Vice President of Propulsion. Additional experiences previously include production definition, operations, liaison and stress engineering. John holds an Active Department of Defense Secret Security Clearance.

Charlie Johnston

Charlie Johnston

Strategy Implementation

Charlie brings extensive international senior executive experience with 40+ years working in the Aerospace & Defense sector. Work experience includes roles in advisory services, business start-up, transformation, integration & restructuring, continuous improvement, general management, operations, aftermarket and program management. He has a proven track record in the areas of strategy, operations and business unit management at companies such as Airbus, Goodrich, GKN Aerospace and Esterline.

Todd Wood

Todd Wood

Quality Leader

Todd is an accomplished executive with 30+ years of industry experience with a proven track record of product implementation from engineering release through detail and assembly manufacturing. He is a multi-faceted change agent with expertise in Quality assurance, compliance, risk management, manufacturing engineering, operations management, and supply chain quality. He has extensive experience analyzing business needs and leading implementation of innovative solutions that grow the bottom line, expand company footprint, and increase efficiency using strategic policy deployment, project management, and Lean Six Sigma continuous improvement tools while ensuring compliance to customer and regulatory requirements. He has extensive experience in AS9100 (Lead auditor) and NADCAP certification. Todd is a Veteran of the U.S. Navy.

Manufacturing Leaders

Jim Folmar

Jim Folmar

Operations Expert

Jim is a proven executive with 34 years of experience in aerospace operations. An accomplished professional with extensive and progressive experience in functional, manufacturing, and operations-based management and multifunctional team leadership. Disciplined change agent with a proven track record of driving bottom-line improvements and motivating and developing individuals and teams to achieve business goals. Known as a driven leader with results-based execution within operational excellence, leadership, workplace safety, and cost efficiencies. Jim is a recently retired Operations executive, having spent 34 years working for The Boeing Company in Defense, Space, and Security. His career has largely been focused on driving operational excellence on major military defense platforms including H47, V-22, F/A-18, F-15, P-8 and VC-25. An industrial engineer by trade, he cultivated his career through a vast network, having worked in Philadelphia, Phoenix, and St Louis.

Randy Kesterson

Randy Kesterson

Business Transformation

Randy is an accomplished executive and trusted senior advisor with a proven track record of operations execution and customer satisfaction. He has 25+ years of industry experience and possesses a deep vertical knowledge in Aerospace, Defense & Industrial sectors. Randy focuses on improving business performance through the use of proven, practical approaches. He has been a leader and a consultant for Tier 1’s and Tier 2’s on operational turnarounds and a leader of a privately-held aerospace firms in the roles of EVP & COO, SVP Ops & Supply Chain, VP of Global Operations, and General Manager. His experience in aerospace spans across component manufacturing (precision machining), composite radomes, hydraulic valves & actuators, mechanical actuation systems (high lift), and he has personally managed OEM and third-party repair and overhaul stations. Randy is a private pilot.

Steve Loye

Steven Loye

Business Unit Leader

Steven has over 40+ years of experience within the aerospace and defense sector. He is an experienced General Manager and CEO with proven leadership skills and an ability to deliver significant change and growth. He is a seasoned operations leader that can drive change and redesign business processes and deliver significant stakeholder benefits. He is a talented program management leader with experience in both new product development and business redesign. Additional areas of expertise are in strategic planning, execution and Sales & Operations Planning. He has had experience in business acquisitions, divestitures and business integrations with international experience in the UK, France and USA.

Supply Chain Specialists

Norman Hardie

Norman Hardie

Supply Chain Strategy

Norman has senior executive leadership expertise gained over 40+ years of global experience in the aerospace and defence industry. Work experience includes working extensively helping clients in both commercial, military and adjacent industrial sectors to gain market penetration, diversification, supply chain competency and relationship management. Norman has an accomplished and proven track record with European OEMs and Tier 1s.

Gus Bateas

Gus Bateas

Strategic Sourcing

Gus has held positions in Supply Chain, Operations, General Management, Business Development, Engineering and Program Management over his 35+ year career in Aerospace and Defense. His successful consulting experience focused on business development, mergers, acquisitions, operations and supply chain areas. Gus serves on several industry and company advisory boards in the technology, aerospace, defense, and maritime market segments. He was previously the vice president of Enterprise Global Strategic Site & Supply Chain for the Triumph Group Inc., and executive director of supply chain at Collins Aerospace. He has held positions design engineering, program management and business development for Boeing, Northrop-Grumman, and The Ensign-Bickford Company. He has been recognized for his engineering and management achievements as Northrop-Grumman Engineer of the Year and other engineering awards. He is a lean six-sigma leader green belt certified. Gus has served on the Aerospace Industry Association (AIA) Supply Management Council (SMC) Executive Leadership Committee member and on the AIA Board of Managers. Gus has also served in the US Navy Ready Reserves.

Kevin Jones

Kevin Jones

Tactical Supply Chain

Kevin is a results-focused operations, engineering manager, manufacturing manager, six sigma green belt lean manager and supply chain manager. He is experienced in developing best practices in manufacturing, operations, engineering, supplier development, purchasing, tooling engineering and quality assurance. He has managed all aspects of a design to build machine shop and manufacturing facility. He is an astute analyst, problem solver and change agent, adept in applying lean principles and technology tools to support operations, manufacturing and inventory management for global aerospace leaders such as Boeing, Bombardier Learjet, Spirit Aerosystems, Cessna (Textron) and Triumph. He has extensive knowledge of a multitude of design, ERP and planning platforms. He is APICS CPIM and CPM trained.

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