Leadership

Growing a business takes drive, passion and determination.  Over 60 years ago, AirBorn was founded to manufacture electronic connectors for use in aircraft.  Two years later, there were 12 employees and the company occupied just 1,100 sq. ft.  Today, we are a highly-diversified manufacturing company employing roughly 1,500 people worldwide in nine plants with over 300,000 sq. ft. of manufacturing space.  

Leaders chart an effective course into the future even when industry and market uncertainty make for difficult decisions.  AirBorn is fortunate to have such expert leadership – throughout its history and into the present.

“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson  

Cindy Lewis

Cindy has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of AirBorn since 1998. She joined AirBorn in 1986 serving in multiple roles including VP of
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Cindy has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of AirBorn since 1998. She joined AirBorn in 1986 serving in multiple roles including VP of Materials Management, VP of Manufacturing, and Chief Operating Officer.  Cindy has over 30 years of industry experience including management positions with Gerber Scientific and Tobacco Sales Distribution.  She serves as President for the Southwest Chapter of the ESOP Association and advisory board member for The CEO Institute. Ms. Lewis has also served as an advisory board member for BBVA Compass Bank and Faradox Energy Storage. She holds a BBA from the University of Texas at Arlington and a Certificate of Professional Development from Wharton.

Michael Cuff

Michael joined AirBorn as a machined parts inspector in 1963. In 1992, Michael was named SVP of Engineering and CTO. He has over 50 years of industry
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Michael joined AirBorn as a machined parts inspector in 1963. In 1992, Michael was named SVP of Engineering and CTO. He has over 50 years of industry experience and has served multiple roles throughout his career at AirBorn including manufacturing management, materials/purchasing /inventory management, sales and marketing management and manufacturing/industrial engineering management, tooling and automation, product design and quality control management.  Mr. Cuff studied Mechanical Engineering and Mathematics at the University of Texas at Arlington and Studio Art at Southwestern University in Georgetown.

Michael Cole

Mike is a seasoned executive with 30+ years in the passive electronic, connectors, cable assembly market place. Most recently, Mike served as Presiden
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Mike is a seasoned executive with 30+ years in the passive electronic, connectors, cable assembly market place. Most recently, Mike served as President and Minority Owner of Meritec Inc. and Senior VP and GM of Data Communications for TE Connectivity. In October 2016, Mike came on board at AirBorn as Chief Operating Officer. Mike earned a B.S. in Business Administration & Marketing from West Virginia University.

Bill McManus

Bill joined AirBorn in 2009 and currently serves as VP of Finance and Chief Financial Officer. Bill has over 26 years of finance and accounting experi
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Bill joined AirBorn in 2009 and currently serves as VP of Finance and Chief Financial Officer. Bill has over 26 years of finance and accounting experience.  Prior to joining AirBorn, he served in a variety of technical and operational finance roles during 14 years at Dell Inc. and 4 years at IBM. Bill earned a BBA in Accounting from the University of Texas at Austin and is a Certified Public Accountant in the state of Texas.

Robert Kleinschmidt

Robert Kleinschmidt has been with AirBorn since 2014 and currently leads AirBorn’s Strategic Business Unit for the Commercial Air and Defense ma
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Robert Kleinschmidt has been with AirBorn since 2014 and currently leads AirBorn’s Strategic Business Unit for the Commercial Air and Defense markets and is responsible for global marketing.  Prior to joining AirBorn, Robert has worked in various sales, marketing, and general management roles at Panduit Corp and TE Connectivity, including extensive international experience working out of Singapore, Hong Kong, Beijing, and London. Robert holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering, an Executive MBA from London Business School, and is pursuing an MBA in Digital Business from Zigurat School of Technology and University of Barcelona.

Viki Besch

In the long run, it's people who make your company a success.  Managing that resource takes experience and strength.  Viki Besch has been at
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In the long run, it's people who make your company a success.  Managing that resource takes experience and strength.  Viki Besch has been at the helm of our HR department for over 17 years, keeping our workforce robust and cultivating loyalty. Viki is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management and holds the certification of SPHR (Senior Professional in Human Resources.) She is also a Six Sigma certified Green Belt.  Viki earned her BA and MBA from Concordia University.

Bill Pitchford

Bill is an experienced sales and marketing executive with wide experience of global markets. Joining AirBorn in 1999, Bill has driven and strengthe

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Bill is an experienced sales and marketing executive with wide experience of global markets. Joining AirBorn in 1999, Bill has driven and strengthened our global footprint, helping the company to enjoy long term worldwide growth.  Bill is also Managing Director of our rapidly expanding manufacturing location in the UK, further supporting our successful and continued coverage of our global markets.  Previously, Bill was MD of a competing connector company gaining vast experience in the manufacture of connector & cable assembly and markets.. Initially trained in mechanical engineering, Bill has brought many years of international sales and marketing experience to drive AirBorn’s continued worldwide growth.

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