Message from the 2009 President PDF Print E-mail
Written by INCOSE-LA   
After having spent so many rewarding hours in your service as the previous Newsletter Editor, I consider it a great honor to reach out to the members of INCOSE-LA as your newly elected President via this newsletter. As has been customary in recent years, I would like to use this opportunity to introduce myself to members whom I have not yet had the opportunity to meet and share with you some of our plans for the year to come.

Like most systems engineers, I began my technical career in a related branch after obtaining my B.S.E.E. from UCLA. Eager to see the world and apply my new-found knowledge in a handson role, I signed on with Hughes Aircraft Company as a Field Engineer. The years that followed gave me a broad exposure to the back end of the systems engineering life cycle on assignments ranging from training to test equipment design to troubleshooting and repair in the field. The range of assignments on radar sensors gave me the added opportunity of traveling the world in support of the customer, affording me the opportunity to live and work in locations such as Germany and Korea, and even to have a role in Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Storm.

A return to school enabled me to cross over to the dark side (management) by obtaining an M.B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin and a Diplom Kaufmann from the W.H.U. in Koblenz, Germany. This afforded me the opportunity to serve as a Production Manager in electronic circuit boards for a German automotive parts manufacturer in Barcelona, Spain. In my current role as a Section Manager with Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems, I have finally come full circle in the life cycle concept as I work with extremely dedicated and talented engineers who are designing and developing tomorrow’s technological wonders in our Advanced Concepts and Technologies business area. In an attempt to better understand the complexities we face in our chosen profession, I have even re-enrolled in school and am now pursuing a Master’s Degree in Systems Architecture and Engineering at USC.
My return to the United States after quitting my job in 2001 taught me a valuable lesson in the importance of having a strong network. Having worked in neither the automotive nor the electronics industry in this country, I found myself without a strong network during the lean economic times that followed the dot com bust and the Sept. 11 attacks.

After finally securing my present employment (and being served generous portions of humble pie during the long months of unemployment), I attended my first INCOSE meeting on the advice of a colleague. With the encouragement of the INCOSELA President, Dennis Schwarz, I assumed the Newsletter Editor position and have been engaged ever since. Along the way I have gained a great deal of respect for the many colleagues with whom I have had the pleasure of working, and the knowledge and experience that they have shared with me continues to serve me to this day. The dedication of the various elected and appointed members of the INCOSE-LA Board of Directors (BoD) has never ceased to impress me, and one of my goals is to continue the excellent work of David Boyd and my other predecessors in ensuring their legacies by leaving behind as strong an organization as the one that they inherited. To that extent, I appeal to all members who would like to become more involved while building up their network to contact me or any other members of the BoD to find out how you can both help INCOSE-LA and enrich your own careers.

INCOSE itself appears to be at a crossroad in terms of its overall direction. From its inception, INCOSE has long been associated with the U.S.-based Aerospace & Defense (A&D) industry, a relationship that has served both parties well. The truth of the matter is, however, that there is a vast array of industries all over the world that stand to benefit from what INCOSE has to offer, and it can be seen from trends in the International Symposiums that the organization is seeking to appeal to a broader base.

By no means, however, should this be interpreted as a sign that INCOSE is turning its back on its core constituency, A&D. This is particularly true for INCOSE-LA as our membership and base of support draws heavily from this industry. As we seek to reach out to other industries via events such as our upcoming Mini-Conference, we will continue to offer value to both our members and industry supporters in A&D. In my side role as a founding member of the still forming Defense Systems Working Group, I will strive to reach out to the industry to ensure that we continue to be viewed as a valuable partner.

Your newly elected BoD has already launched ambitious plans for 2009, starting with a speaker meeting, Mini-Conference, and tutorial in the first three months. Additional activities as a chapter that we will continue to pursue are social events and community service activities such as supporting Engineering Week and volunteering at the L.A. Regional Food Bank. We welcome suggestions by any of our members for events and topics for speaker meetings. Thank you again for your support and we look forward to a great year!
Last Updated ( Sunday, 18 January 2009 16:00 )