Avionics News June 2013 - 77

be unconventional but highly effective. A
good example is our North 40 sponsorship at EAA AirVenture. As you know, all
certified airplanes park in the North 40,
and yet that area never had a sponsor.
We recognized the opportunity, went
in and built a welcome center where
pilots can gather socially, get a little air
conditioning, some water and watch the
air show. The Aspen North 40 Welcome
Center has turned into a permanent fixture at EAA AirVenture.

How is working in aviation
different than working in
high tech?

Personally, I don’t think there’s much
difference. As the marketing guy, my
job is the same no matter where I am.
I’m focused on understanding customer
pain points and building a marketing
strategy that makes our company the
most relevant solution to the problem.
But the cool thing about this job is I get
to be around airplanes. And technology
and information are becoming more
prevalent in the cockpit. For instance,
the iPad has changed how people fly,
and Aspen is a part of that evolution.
Two years ago, we launched
Connected Panel, which is a wireless bridge between mobile devices and the installed avionics in
the panel. This is an exciting time
for the avionics industry, particularly with what can be accomplished with this new technology.

How about the difference
between working for a big
company versus a small
one, such as Aspen?

A lot of us at Aspen came from big
companies, including our CEO, John
Uczekaj, who came from NORDAM
and Honeywell. But we all enjoy the
small-company culture; we all came
here to do the things that are more
difficult to do in a bigger company.
For example, at Aspen, we’ve built

a customer-driven culture. We’ve
been able to create an environment
where we constantly integrate customer input into future product
development and upgrades. Not only
do we have a strong online community, but the customer events at
shows give us the opportunity to
engage and understand what they
like and don’t like about our products. We integrate that feedback into
enhancements and improvements to
our product line.

Are you a pilot?

Yes. One of my dreams was always to
become a pilot, and I made it one of my
goals after I came to Aspen.

Do you think being a pilot
has helped you in your
work?

Absolutely. When you grow up flying
in the right seat with your dad or uncle,
you tend to think you know what being
a pilot is all about. But until you’ve gone
up by yourself and landed the airplane
on your own, you really don’t know
what it means to be a pilot.

What’s the corporate
culture at Aspen?

It’s a startup culture, so it’s very lean.
We have a very active board of directors, which is a benefit because it’s great
to get an outside perspective. After six
years, we’re a team that’s been working together for a while, so we’ve been
through a lot of fires together.
I’m proud of the fact that we’ve built
a world-class brand in such a lean environment. It’s been an exciting challenge.
Everyone who sees our work assumes
we must have a big agency on call when,
in fact, Angela Anderson, our marketing
manager, leads a team of freelancers
who not only lend their expertise and an
outside voice, but have proven to be cost
effective. And that’s a savings we can
pass along to our customers.

When you’re not working,
what are you doing?

Outside of work, it’s about family.
My wife, Thea, is a marketing director
at Dell, so we both have very active
careers, including travel. Our son,
Jake, is a sixth grader and into snowboarding, comics, and playing guitar and drums. We also have twins,
Madison and Josh, who are in second
grade. Madison is into art, and Josh
is a Cub Scout. All three are in taekwondo and keep us on our toes. I
also have a son, Chaz, who works in
Salt Lake City for Discover Card and
loves to snowboard in the mountains
of Utah.

What activities do you
enjoy as a family?

We enjoy skiing, which we do quite
a bit. We recently bought a 31-foot
motor home. We’ve already gone to
Durango, spent Thanksgiving in San
Diego, and visited the Grand Canyon
and Sedona. We also use the motor
home to fit in ski weekends in Taos.

What does your crystal
ball say about the future?

For me, I see driving, flying and skiing in my future.
For Aspen, the future includes continued customer growth and innovation. As a marketing team, it’s been
rewarding to be a part of the creation
of the company, launch it, brand it and
watch it change the industry. I think
we’ll continue to do that – we’re looking at new markets and new products
for those segments. All you have to do
is look at the fact that our executive
team and investors have been together so long to see that we all recognize
the opportunity to continue building
something exciting. q

To learn more about Aspen Avionics,
visit www.aspenavionics.com.
avionics news

•

june

2013

77


http://www.aspenavionics.com

Avionics News June 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News June 2013

Point of Communication
AEA Now
The View From Washington
International News and Regulatory Updates
Electrical-System Manager
Member Profile
Let's Get to Work!
Advancing Avionics
Startup Stories
Member Profile
The History of Avionics
Avionics News Through the Years
A Conversation With...
Legal Ease
Business Basics
AEAviators
What's New
Avionics News June 2013 - Intro
Avionics News June 2013 - Cover1
Avionics News June 2013 - Cover2
Avionics News June 2013 - 1
Avionics News June 2013 - 2
Avionics News June 2013 - 3
Avionics News June 2013 - Point of Communication
Avionics News June 2013 - 5
Avionics News June 2013 - AEA Now
Avionics News June 2013 - 7
Avionics News June 2013 - 8
Avionics News June 2013 - 9
Avionics News June 2013 - 10
Avionics News June 2013 - 11
Avionics News June 2013 - 12
Avionics News June 2013 - 13
Avionics News June 2013 - The View From Washington
Avionics News June 2013 - 15
Avionics News June 2013 - International News and Regulatory Updates
Avionics News June 2013 - 17
Avionics News June 2013 - 18
Avionics News June 2013 - 19
Avionics News June 2013 - Electrical-System Manager
Avionics News June 2013 - 21
Avionics News June 2013 - 22
Avionics News June 2013 - 23
Avionics News June 2013 - Member Profile
Avionics News June 2013 - 25
Avionics News June 2013 - 26
Avionics News June 2013 - 27
Avionics News June 2013 - Let's Get to Work!
Avionics News June 2013 - 29
Avionics News June 2013 - 30
Avionics News June 2013 - 31
Avionics News June 2013 - 32
Avionics News June 2013 - 33
Avionics News June 2013 - 34
Avionics News June 2013 - 35
Avionics News June 2013 - 36
Avionics News June 2013 - 37
Avionics News June 2013 - Advancing Avionics
Avionics News June 2013 - 39
Avionics News June 2013 - 40
Avionics News June 2013 - 41
Avionics News June 2013 - 42
Avionics News June 2013 - 43
Avionics News June 2013 - 44
Avionics News June 2013 - 45
Avionics News June 2013 - 46
Avionics News June 2013 - 47
Avionics News June 2013 - 48
Avionics News June 2013 - 49
Avionics News June 2013 - 50
Avionics News June 2013 - 51
Avionics News June 2013 - 52
Avionics News June 2013 - 53
Avionics News June 2013 - 54
Avionics News June 2013 - 55
Avionics News June 2013 - 56
Avionics News June 2013 - 57
Avionics News June 2013 - Startup Stories
Avionics News June 2013 - 59
Avionics News June 2013 - 60
Avionics News June 2013 - 61
Avionics News June 2013 - 62
Avionics News June 2013 - 63
Avionics News June 2013 - Member Profile
Avionics News June 2013 - 65
Avionics News June 2013 - 66
Avionics News June 2013 - 67
Avionics News June 2013 - The History of Avionics
Avionics News June 2013 - 69
Avionics News June 2013 - 70
Avionics News June 2013 - 71
Avionics News June 2013 - 72
Avionics News June 2013 - 73
Avionics News June 2013 - Avionics News Through the Years
Avionics News June 2013 - 75
Avionics News June 2013 - A Conversation With...
Avionics News June 2013 - 77
Avionics News June 2013 - Legal Ease
Avionics News June 2013 - 79
Avionics News June 2013 - 80
Avionics News June 2013 - 81
Avionics News June 2013 - 82
Avionics News June 2013 - 83
Avionics News June 2013 - Business Basics
Avionics News June 2013 - 85
Avionics News June 2013 - 86
Avionics News June 2013 - 87
Avionics News June 2013 - AEAviators
Avionics News June 2013 - 89
Avionics News June 2013 - What's New
Avionics News June 2013 - 91
Avionics News June 2013 - 92
Avionics News June 2013 - 93
Avionics News June 2013 - 94
Avionics News June 2013 - 95
Avionics News June 2013 - 96
Avionics News June 2013 - Cover3
Avionics News June 2013 - Cover4
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