WICHITA, Kan., Aug. 4, 2009 – Cessna Aircraft Company, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, has named Brad Thress vice president, Customer Service, reporting to Mark Paolucci, senior vice president, Customer Service. In his new role, Thress will be in charge of marketing, sales and customer change management for Cessna's support organization and will be based in Wichita.
"Cessna has always enjoyed an advantage over other companies through our attention to customer support," said Paolucci. "The industry is changing and Brad is the person we want to make sure our focus remains on customers through our marketing and through our one-on-one relationships, and that the voice of the customer is transmitted to the rest of the company."
Prior to this assignment, Thress served as vice president, Component Operation under the Integrated Supply Chain group for the past three years. He joined Cessna in 1992 as a demonstration pilot. He became product marketing manager for the Citation X business jet in 1996 and was promoted to program manager in 1999 for development and certification of the Citation Sovereign. In 2002 he advanced to senior product director, responsible for the production line start-up for the Sovereign. Thress assumed the position of vice president, Quality in 2003, responsible for FAA compliance, process control and variation reduction initiatives.
He served as a pilot in the U.S. Air Force prior to joining Cessna and holds a bachelor's degree in engineering from the University of Tennessee and a Master of Business Administration degree from Baker University. He is a certified Textron Six Sigma Green Belt and holds several Citation type ratings.
