Vertex promotes Beard to SVP

Bill Beard, former interim senior VP of corporate business operations and development at Vertex Aerospace, has been promoted to SVP of corporate operations and strategy. The four-decade industry veteran will be responsible for the Madison, Miss.-based company's growth strategy and business operations in his new role. Beard initially joined Vertex as VP of operations in 2007, then became a consultant between 2016-19. He returned to the firm's leadership team in September 2019. He had previously served VP and general manager of GKN Aerospace, where he directed flight-critical parts manufacturing operations. The retired Navy master chief gained more than two decades of naval aviation experience and logged over 4K flight hours with aircraft platforms for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and special missions. (Source: Executive Business 09/25/20)