J. Donn Hethcock coaches the team to innovate and find unique solutions for the development of a sustainable regional transport aircraft. Donn specializes in optimizing low-cost high-performance advanced composite structure, materials, manufacturing, automation, and processes. He is a serial inventor and has led efforts to capture, protect and reduce-to-practice intellectual property for a number of organizations and for independent inventors.
Donn has held a series of roles including Head of Structural Integrity at EVIO; Director of Engineering at Sierra Nevada Corporation; and several Program Management Level 2 roles as Integrated Product Development (IPT) Lead at Bell Helicopter, Textron, where he was certified as a Six Sigma Black Belt and Transformation Acceleration Agent. He spearheaded a technology transition process that channeled innovative solutions from the research and development (R&D) organization and into programs.
Donn set up and ran an R&D group specializing in solutions for drive, rotor, and airframe systems, and served as a Multi-Disciplined Engineer at the Triumph Group, Vought Aircraft Division. He holds his BS in Civil Engineering from North Carolina State University and focused his graduate studies on Structures and Mechanics of Materials there as well.