Dec. 05--Christi Tannahill grew up loving airplanes, but it was a job she had at Delta Airlines after college that convinced her she wanted a career in aviation.
She worked at the ticket counter and at the gate in Wichita. But she liked working on the ramp best because that's where she learned about airplanes.
"It was a great learning experience," she said. "I knew this was the industry I wanted to be in."
Today, Tannahill is senior vice president of Beechcraft Corp.'s global customer support business. In her role, she leads the company's parts and distribution, service centers, and global mission support businesses. More than 1,100 people work in the division worldwide. Together, they support the more than 36,000 aircraft built by the company that are flying today.
After her time with Delta, Tannahill led the quality department for Koch Industries' aviation division. She then joined Raytheon Travel Air, Raytheon Aircraft's fractional ownership division. When it sold to Flight Options, she joined Flight Options in Cinncinati but came back to Wichita when she got an offer to run Raytheon's parts and distribution center. Raytheon is now Beechcraft.
She's been at the company nearly 15 years.
"I've got the best job in the world," Tannahill said.
In her job, Tannahill has met a long list of famous people -- such as Martha Stewart, baseball great Reggie Jackson, NASCAR driver Clint Bowyer and hockey star Wayne Gretzky.
"We're so excited to see these stars, and they're equally excited to get their airplanes and come to a factory tour," she said.
Tannahill holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from Wichita State University.
She has a 15-year-old daughter and an 8-year-old son.
In her free time, she loves to be outside.
"On the weekends, you'll find us on the lake," she said.
Q. What do you like best about your job?
A. When we deliver an airplane, we have a Welcome to the Family event when the customer comes here to the factory to pick up their airplane. It's a very personal event for them. When you pick up an airplane, you've done very well in your life. ... It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see how that impacts someone. When that happens, you create a relationship for the next 10 or 15 years. They rely on you. It's the start of a very long relationship.
Q. What's the most challenging aspect of your job?
A. We support 36,000 airplanes all over the world. Our customers expect and deserve a world-class customer experience, which is our responsibility. We're a global company. To anticipate the customers' needs before they even know what they are is what we have to do. We have airplanes flying all over the world in remote locations. So if there's a mechanical problem or a technical problem, we have to be prepared to respond immediately. (Customer service) is a differentiator that determines whether people buy our airplanes versus somebody else's.
Q. The company went through a Chapter 11 bankruptcy and emerged as the smaller Beechcraft Corp. You mentioned that your division was one of the least impacted areas, but that you closed three domestic service centers during that time. How are things positioned today?
A. We learned how to get through difficult times and come out a stronger entity. It gave us the opportunity to talk to our customers and tell them everything was going to be OK and reach out to them. ... Our suppliers did a very good job in continuing to supply us through a very difficult time. (Customers) never saw the way we serviced them change, because we had very strong supplier support, because we had very loyal customers that continue to fly our airplanes, and because we have very dedicated employees. ... Now, we continue to look at our entire product line and invest in our airplanes. ... (With the new company), this is an opportunity of a lifetime. I'm excited to be part of it.
Q. What's the best management advice you have for other managers?
A. Never look back and have regrets. Everybody makes mistakes. Just learn from them and move on. So many people make mistakes then spend so much time dwelling on them. ... We're all who we are and where we're at because of the mistakes that we made. ... I think it's important not to have regrets, both personally and professionally, but to continue to do things new and differently. It's OK to learn from it and move forward. Focus on what's next and not what happened. No regrets.
Q. What's one thing few people know about you?
A. I'm an adrenalin junkie. I love roller coasters and amusement parks. With my team, anytime we travel anywhere, we look for the closest amusement park, and I make them ride on roller coasters or bungee jumps or whatever it is.
Reach Molly McMillin at 316-269-6708 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter: @mmcmillin.
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