Altaire jet placed under review as Piper appoints new president

Briton Simon Caldecott has been appointed the new interim president and CEO of Piper.  In a statement today the company said the move will take effect immediately.

Caldecott joined Piper in 2009 and is the former vice president of operations responsible for manufacturing operations, engineering, quality and supply chain.  He replaces Geoff Berger, who joined as the previous interim CEO in mid-2010.  Caldecott  subsequently announced that former executive vice president Randy Groom has also left the company.

In his first speech as president Caldecott spoke about Piper's current position. "Our team is dedicated to moving Piper forward. We will increase focus on the company's vertical integration manufacturing model along with continuous product improvements and thoughtful investments in our business and training aircraft to further recent growth gains,"  he said.

Deliveries of Piper's piston and turboprop powered aircraft have increased quarter over quarter and year over year as the company's business and training aircraft continue to outperform the marketplace in their aircraft categories.

"While the company continues to achieve internal financial and delivery targets for the existing turboprop and piston product lines, we have initiated a review of the Altaire business jet development program. This is being undertaken to ensure the company is properly aligning business goals and light jet market forecasts with investment strategies and economic forecasts," Caldecott said. The company will announce the conclusion of this review to employees and the industry as soon as possible.