-Cessna Expands Sales Leadership to Market Its Family of Products Around the World

ENP Newswire - 01 March 2012 Release date- 28022012 - WICHITA, Kan. - Cessna Aircraft Company, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, today announced it is expanding the structure of its sales leadership team to better position the company to serve the needs of customers in emerging and established markets.

'As the worldwide financial and economic markets recover, companies and businesses need to be nimble and responsive. Our full range of business and general aviation solutions provide the ability to meet their travel needs quickly and efficiently,' said Scott Ernest, Cessna president and CEO. 'In addition, specific emerging markets such as China, have tremendous potential for our family of light and midsize jets and propeller products. We are positioning our sales team to be more agile and responsive to the demands of our customers in every market around the world.' Tim White, based in Wichita, has been appointed senior vice president-the Americas. A 19-year veteran of the business aviation industry, White has spent the past 14 years in with Cessna in progressively more responsible positions with the sales organization. White will oversee sales activity in North, Central and South America. Kriya Shortt has been promoted to vice president, sales for EMA (Europe, Middle East and Africa). With 15 years experience with Cessna's sales and customer service groups, Shortt will be based in a new sales office located in Geneva. Bill Harris has been named vice president, sales for Asia and Asia Pacific. In his 14 years with Cessna, Harris has held several key roles at Cessna, including beginning his Cessna career as manager of single-engine sales in Asia, Middle East and Africa. Harris, who is based in Singapore, is a retired officer and F-16 instructor pilot with the U.S. Air Force. White, Shortt and Harris will report directly to Ernest. Cessna is the world's leading general aviation company. Since its inception in 1927, Cessna has designed, produced and delivered more than 192,500 airplanes around the globe. This includes more than 6,100 Citation business jets, making it the largest fleet of business jets in the world. Today, Cessna has two principal lines of business: aircraft sales and aftermarket services. Aircraft sales include Citation business jets, Caravan single-engine utility turboprops, single-engine piston aircraft and lift solutions by CitationAir. Aftermarket services include parts, maintenance, inspection and repair services. In 2010, Cessna delivered 535 aircraft, including 179 Citation business jets, and reported revenues of $ 2.6 billion. More information about Cessna Aircraft Company is available at cessna.com. Textron Inc. is a multi-industry company that leverages its global network of aircraft, defense, industrial and finance businesses to provide customers with innovative solutions and services. Textron is known around the world for its powerful brands such as Bell Helicopter, Cessna Aircraft Company, Jacobsen, Kautex, Lycoming, E-Z-GO, Greenlee, and Textron Systems. More information is available at textron.com. [Editorial queries for this story should be sent to [email protected] ]