Famous name joins Hawker Beechcraft
By Dave Hirschman
Although his family name is synonymous with Cessna, Russ Meyer III, formerly program manager for the company’s Citation Mustang, will join rival Hawker Beechcraft as director of new product development, company officials said Feb. 15.
Meyer, 45, son of Russ Meyer Jr., Cessna’s legendary chairman emeritus, will start his new job at the cross-town competitor in Wichita, Kan., on March 3.
“If you would have told me six months ago that I was leaving Cessna, I would have said, ‘You're crazy,’” Meyer, a 13-year Cessna veteran, told The Wichita Eagle. “I was not looking for a change.”
Meyer said his dad was supportive.
Hawker Beechcraft officials said they are eager for Meyer to get started.
“I’m glad to be able to confirm that Russ will be joining us,” said Andrew Broom, Hawker Beechcraft’s director of media and public relations.
Broom wouldn’t say what kinds of new products Meyer is likely to develop. He’s been associated with Cessna aircraft programs ranging from Skyhawks to jets. And Broom, himself an Eclipse Aviation veteran, cautioned against reading too much into the fact that some new hires at Hawker Beechcraft have very light jets on their résumés.
“We’re hiring leadership talent in a number of areas,” Broom said.
February 15, 2008
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