Zen and the Art of F-16 Maintenance: Interview with Laurans A. Mendelson, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of HEICO Corporation

February 10, 2018

Laurans A. Mendelson is the Chairman of the board and Chief Executive Officer of HEICO Corporation. He is also a member of the board of governors of the Aerospace Industries Association in Washington, D.C.; immediate past Chairman of the board of trustees, and a member of the executive committee and the Society of Mount Sinai Founders of Mt. Sinai Medical Center, Miami Beach; and Trustee Emeritus of Columbia University in the city of New York. Mr. Mendelson was awarded the John Jay Award for Distinguished Professional Achievement by Columbia College, is a recipient of Florida’s Greater Hollywood Chamber of Commerce 1998 Private Sector Community Service Award, and was a recipient of the 1999 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award and the Greater Miami Aviation Association’s Highest Award, the Wright Brothers Award. He has also been a distinguished guest lecturer in The Executive Forum of the MBA program at Florida Atlantic University, College of Business since February 2000. Mr. Mendelson received his B.A. degree from Columbia College in the city of New York in 1960 and his MBA degree from Columbia University Graduate School of Business in 1961.

In this exclusive October 7, 2016 interview with the Wall Street Transcript, Mr. Mendelson explained how his company services the F-16 aircraft for global military defense.

 

“ACT is the largest Lockheed Martin F-16 licensed repair and distribution company, and has a very good reputation. We also own a company called Blue Aerospace, which supplies the foreign market and is also licensed by Lockheed. In some cases, they can work together. Blue will be able to broaden ACT’s reach. It’s a win-win for both companies and also for our customers. We can provide them with a larger base, with faster turnaround service, with more products. And it really was a very natural fit for these two companies to work together.”

Laurans Mendelson explains the upside to this business unit:   “…the F-16 is a workhorse of many, many nations throughout the world. F-16s or any aircraft, particularly military, burn parts, as they are under very high pressure and stress. They need constant repair, constant overhaul. We think that this is a very strong business.”

You can read the complete interview with Laurans Mendelson in the Wall Street Transcript.