Kurt F. Hempe

***** ***** ** * *** Juan Capistrano, CA 92675

Phone: 714-***-**** – Email: adu4dw@r.postjobfree.com

PROFESSIONAL PROFILE

Experienced hands on General Manager with an MBA from Pepperdine University, an active secret security clearance, and 38-years of work experience. Areas of expertise include Business Development, Sales & Marketing, Program/Project Management, Financial Planning & Control (EVMS), and Contract/Subcontract Management; Start-up experience with a track record of increasing sales and improving profit margins.

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACHIEVEMENTS

Started new business unit for Airborne Systems that is now generating annual sales of $30M and Gross Margins of 40%.

Developed capture strategies and proposals that resulted in Airborne Systems winning multiple competitive procurements that have generated $200M in development contracts that will be followed by on-going production orders worth $8M-$10M per year.

Designed and implemented proposal development and pricing and estimating policies, procedures, and tools that resulted in contract awards in excess of $500M.

Designed and implemented financial planning and control systems, policies, procedures, and tools to satisfy internal and external financial reporting requirements and enabling the award of multiple large government contract awards while improving the company’s ability to manage them.

Launched a profitable and ongoing start-up company (www.affairalacarte.com) with a solid business model generating Net Profits of 50%.

Developed the vision and strategy for developing new products and services to keep the company at the forefront of the industry; specifics include Lightweight Flexible Composite Materials, Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerators, and Mid-Air Retrieval Techniques.

Restructured a business unit of Kent Electronics and increased Gross Margins from 14% to 42%.

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

Developing the vision and strategic direction for the business unit.

Developing strategic business plans & annual operating budgets

Marketing & Business Development including the developing capture strategies and writing proposals

Design and implementation of Financial Planning & Control systems that are compliant with Earned Value Management System (EVMS) principles

Program Management

Building teams and developing Teaming Agreements

Managing cross functional teams

Creating a collaborative working environment

Managing programs from inception through design, development, qualification, production, and delivery

Developing performance metrics and analyzing performance

Contract & Subcontract negotiation & management.

P&L responsibility

Monitoring and pro-actively manage out of scope work issues.

Reviewing and responding to customer requests for proposals.

Pricing & estimating competitive proposals that include NRE and Recurring costs.

Preparing and negotiating contracts including Terms & Conditions.

Preparing and negotiating contract escalation requirements and Long Term Pricing Agreements.

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

AIRBORNE SYSTEMS – Director, Space Business Unit 09/06 – Present

Was recruited to start a new business unit of Airborne Systems focused on serving the emerging commercial space industry. Am responsible for the leadership and day-to-day management of a $30M per year business unit that performs design, development, manufacturing and test activities and generates gross margins of 40%. Responsible for strategic planning, business development, engineering, test, manufacturing, contract & subcontract management, financial analysis and reporting, etc. Responsible for evaluating and preparing proposals in response to Requests for Proposals (RFP’s). Responsible for financial modeling, pricing & estimating, program planning & scheduling, and performance measurement activities for multiple small and large long term multi-million dollar programs. Responsible for customer service and meeting program requirements through subordinate Program Managers and functional staff members. Responsible for developing project cost estimates and budgets for all phases of the program from the conceptual design stage through contract closeout. Responsible for the development of specifications and Statements of Work (SOW). Responsible for verifying that all project information related to the project, including contract requirements, clauses, scope, budgets, resource requirements, key dates, etc., are accurately disseminated to the team and reported to the corporate officers. Responsible for performing due diligence on prospective opportunities and developing capture strategies for securing new business. Responsible for building the teams needed to meet the business unit objectives, including hiring staff and consultants and developing teaming agreements. Responsible for defining scope and negotiating terms and conditions. Responsible for managing the planning, organization, and controls for major projects and the functional departments. Responsible for a mix of direct staff members (30) and matrix reports. Responsible for staff recruitment, selection, promotion, advancement, corrective action, and termination. Responsible for maintaining appropriate staffing levels and reporting on labor utilization and the deployment of human resources. Responsible for analyzing complex business/financial data and developing innovative solutions to a variety of issues that impact our performance. A partial list of contracts won and managed is shown below:

The NASA Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) Parachute Assembly System (CPAS) program.

The NASA CEV Airbag Landing & Attenuation System program.

The NASA Langley Max Launch Abort System (MLAS) program.

The SpaceX Falcon 1, Falcon 9, and Dragon Capsule Recovery Systems programs.

The Blue Origin New Shepard Crew Module Recovery System program.

The NASA Langley Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (HIAD) program.

The NASA JPL Low Density Supersonic Decelerator System program.

NASA JPL Mars 2020 program.

The NASA Langley Inflatable Reentry Vehicle Experiment (IRVE) program.

The Boeing CST-100 spacecraft recovery system program.

The Lockheed Martin Mid-Air Retrieval (MAR) demonstration test program.

AFFAIR ALA CARTE (www.affairalacarte.com) - President/Owner 10/02 – 12/18

Responsible for the start-up and strategic leadership of this ongoing, highly profitable (50% Net) business concern with a 14-year track record.

UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX - Instructor Master of Arts in Org. Mgmt. 06/01 - 10/02

Taught Master Degree level classes in Organizational Management. Designed and developed course content, the syllabus, class lectures, writing assignments, tests, and team building exercises.

KENT ELECTRONICS - General Manager, Western Region 10/00 – 06/01

Assumed P&L responsibility for the $20 million Media Distribution Services (MDS) business unit of Kent Electronics and managed 7 branch offices in 5 states throughout the Western region. Restructured the business and improved gross margins from 14% to 42%. The company was acquired and my division shut down when the when the Dot Com bubble burst.

SPACE VECTOR CORP. 08/87 - 10/00

Vice President, Business Operations - 04/94 – 10/00

Director, Business Operations - 04/91 – 04/94

Manager, Financial Planning & Control - 08/87 – 04/91

Reported to the President and had leadership responsibility for Program Management, Business Development, Contract and Subcontract Management, Pricing & Estimating, Financial Planning & Control, and Industrial Security. Responsible for strategic planning, business development, contract & subcontract management, financial analysis and reporting. Responsible for evaluating and preparing proposals in response to Requests for Proposals (RFP’s). Responsible for financial modeling, pricing & estimating, program planning & scheduling, and performance measurement activities for multiple small and large long term multi-million dollar programs. Responsible for customer service and meeting program requirements through subordinate Program Managers and functional staff members. Responsible for developing project cost estimates and budgets for all phases of the program from the conceptual design stage through contract closeout. Responsible for the development of specifications and Statements of Work (SOW). Responsible for verifying that all project information related to the project, including contract requirements, clauses, scope, budgets, resource requirements, key dates, etc., are accurately disseminated to the team and reported to the corporate officers. Responsible for performing due diligence on prospective opportunities and developing capture strategies for securing new business. Responsible for building the teams needed to meet the business unit objectives, including hiring staff and consultants and developing teaming agreements. Responsible for defining scope and negotiating terms and conditions. Responsible for managing the planning, organization, and controls for major projects and the functional departments. Responsible for staff recruitment, selection, promotion, advancement, corrective action, and termination. Responsible for maintaining appropriate staffing levels and reporting on labor utilization and the deployment of human resources. Responsible for analyzing complex business/financial data and developing innovative solutions to a variety of issues that impact our performance. A partial list of contracts won and managed is shown below:

The NASA Sounding Rocket Operations Contract (NSROC) program.

US Army High Endoatmospheric Defense Interceptor (HEDI) program.

US Army Consolidated Theater Targets (HERA) program.

US Air Force Atmospheric Interceptor Technology 2 (AIT-2) program.

US Air Force Alternate Interceptor Technology (ALTAIR) program.

US Army Payload Launch Vehicle (PLV) program.

US Air Force Beam Experiment Aboard Rocket (BEAR) program.

ROCKWELL INT’L 04/82 - 08/87

Supervisor, Budget/Cost Analysis - 04/84 – 08/87

Budget/Cost Analyst - 04/83 – 04/84

Computer Operator - 04/82 – 04/83

Performed financial planning and control activities, i.e., budgeting, forecasting, performance measurement and reporting activities using Earned Value Management System (EVMS) processes and procedures for the B-1B Bomber and Minuteman Missile programs.

US NAVY – Operations Specialist, USS Forrestal 07/78 - 08/81

Naval Tactical Data System (NTDS) operations in Combat Information Center (CIC) onboard the USS Forrestal.

EDUCATION

1993 Pepperdine University - MBA, Master of Business Administration

1988 Defense Industrial Security Institute - Certificate in Industrial Security

1987 University of California Irvine - Business Major, Certificate in Contract Management

1982 Computer Learning Center - Certificate in Computer Operations Management

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