By Anne Wiskerchen

At the helm – Former U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen.  Woody Hogle will oversee the new Rockwell Collins International Business organization, which is headquartered in Washington, D.C.
Photo by Michael Stewart, Herndon, Va.

In a world changing at such a rapid pace, it's perhaps more important than ever that businesses strive day in and day out to stay ahead of the curve by creating innovative products and solutions.

But success in today's highly competitive marketplace – a place that's becoming significantly smaller because of technological advancements – means companies like Rockwell Collins also must innovatively address the changing faces of our customers.

Business markets today – those once thought of as distant both geographically and culturally – are no longer the same as they once were. And, if our company is to succeed in the more than 60 locations and 27 countries in which we now operate, managing that geographically-dispersed workforce is of the utmost importance.

It's no wonder, then, that the members of our senior leadership team decided recently to make a change that would ultimately allow us to operate more effectively in today's global marketplace.

Hence, in early 2008, our company created Rockwell Collins International Business – the result of a study conducted in 2007 that evaluated how our company conducts business abroad.

According to Artur Redeker, managing director at Rockwell Collins Deutschland in Heidelberg, Germany, each of our customers, and each of our employees, in each of our locations, approaches our company with different wants, needs and expectations.

"Sometimes our needs in Germany are very different than what you'd find at one of our other locations," said Redeker. "We often face challenges that are very unique to our location or to our customer."

Stronger voice, presence – Steve Banham, managing director at Rockwell Collins United Kingdom in Reading, England, has seen our business from the United States perspective, and also from an international point of view. Steve is pictured at the Royal Horseguards Hotel in London, which is located on the banks of the Thames and is very near the Palace of Westminster.
Photo by Gary Manhine, London, England

Steve Banham agrees. The managing director at Rockwell Collins United Kingdom in Reading, England, Banham has seen our business from the United States perspective, as well as from an international point of view.

As the current leader of more than 400 employees, Banham often reflects on an early time in his 22-year career when he marketed our government avionics products at our company's headquarters in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

"Rockwell Collins has a reputation both domestically and internationally for delivering high-quality products," said Banham. "But, sometimes our international customers have needs that don't exactly match with what we're selling."

New structure

Standing at the helm of our company's new business unit is a former U.S. Air Force lieutenant general who is well-qualified to lead an organization of such size and diversity.

One year ago, Woody Hogle relocated from Cedar Rapids to Washington, D.C., to lead our Washington office. Today, he is the senior vice president for International Business and Washington Operations, and like his executive-level colleagues, he is excited about the future.

"This reorganization will bring focus to our international marketplace and our international employees," said Hogle. "Our goal is to put in place an organization that facilitates working together, so we can go to our customers as a single face and present the full range of Rockwell Collins solutions."

With an increasing population of our workforce and a portion of our sales coming from outside of the United States, senior leaders like Hogle, Redeker, and Banham realize the importance of taking steps to better address these emerging market segments and our company's reputation abroad.

"Internationally, Rockwell Collins has been seen as a domestic company with international aspirations," said Banham. "I believe we now have a chance to truly become a global company."

According to Hogle, approaching our international customers as a single enterprise instead of as three separate portfolios – Commercial Systems, Government Systems, and Rockwell Collins Services – should prove beneficial.

"I think the organizational structure we put in place will help facilitate that," he said. "And, as we look for new places to grow our business, we can't ignore the fact that a significant amount of our business is coming from outside of the U.S.

"Several of these market segments are growing at a faster pace than domestic markets," he added, "and we must make sure we can address them."

Creating significant synergy

Rockwell Collins International Business, which will be headquartered in Washington, D.C., includes all of our international business locations with the exception of North and South America.

Two regional leaders, who have yet to be announced, will assist Hogle with overseeing this new structure. One will manage Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and the other will oversee the Asia-Pacific region.

"We chose Washington, D.C., as the headquarters to establish the organization in an international city, but at the same time, we didn't want to appear as though we favored one region over the other," said Hogle.

"In fact, it's not unusual for U.S.-based companies to have international headquarters based in Washington," he added. "There's no shortage of work to do on both the International and Washington Operations fronts. But I believe there is significant synergy to be created by having both under one roof."

A place for everyone at the table

An international perspective – Artur Redeker is excited about what the future holds for the new Rockwell Collins International Business organization. Redeker is the managing director of Rockwell Collins Deutschland in Heidelberg, Germany.
Photo by Armin Goeckel, Heidelberg, Germany

While Redeker is excited about the possibilities this new organization can bring, he also understands that some of the process issues won't immediately disappear.

"Some of our current challenges won't disappear right away," he said. "There are certain business conditions we still must deal with updating, but I think these issues will become much easier to address within our new organization."

According to Banham, the response among our employees in the United Kingdom has been somewhat similar.

"The new structure will bring some new challenges as well; we have a lot of great products that we need to become experts on," said Banham. "But I think everyone here feels strongly that this will give our international employees a stronger voice about product decisions made back in the states."

As a direct report to Rockwell Collins Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Clay Jones, Hogle feels he's in a great position to share that voice with international markets and employees, and show them their equities are being considered in company decisions.

"Employees who live in the new regions will see an emphasis on our teams and market segments that they've never seen before," said Hogle. "There will be new opportunities for growth and visibility for career development. I want our employees to see that there is someone with a seat at the table representing them and their businesses."