Aircraft cabin lighting specialists, STG Aerospace, has a new chief operating officer (COO) in the shape of Richard Ilett, who joins from his recent positions with Fokker Elmo and luxury carmaker, Jaguar.
Since undertaking a mechanical engineering graduate apprenticeship with British Aircraft Corporation and Leicester University, Ilett has spent most of his career in the aerospace industry. During his 17 years with British Aerospace, he worked initially in plant engineering and site development and, as subcontract manager, was responsible for the sourcing and delivery of GB£25m p.a. worth of aircraft components in the international supply chain. This was followed by a period of three years in charge of the fitting and hydraulic operating center, managing 230 operators and 50 indirect staff involved in manufacturing engineering, production control and quality inspection.
In 1997, Ilett joined Labinal as general manager of the electrical wiring harness plant in Nottinghamshire, UK. Customers included Rolls Royce (Trent Engines), Airbus (A320) and GEC Alstom (Virgin West Coast mainline trains). In 2003 he started the Labinal (later Safran) Engineering Services subsidiary in Bristol, where he was general manager until 2012.
In the last two years, he has undertaken projects with Fokker Elmo in The Netherlands, responsible for the transition of the wiring harnesses to China, and with Jaguar Land Rover, working on the Jaguar XJ model Year Update for 2015/16.
Nigel Duncan, CEO of STG Aerospace, commented, “We are delighted Richard has joined STG Aerospace. With his aerospace background and operational experience, we believe his qualifications are ideal for the new COO position. Richard has joined us at an exciting time as we continue to drive and deliver as a key player in the aircraft lighting market.”
