Lunch With Alex #2 - Peter Redman

Peter Redman is a Flight Test Engineering Manager at Boeing and an MBA candidate at UCLA Anderson School of Management. He leads multidisciplinary engineering teams at Edwards Air Force Base supporting the modernization of the B-52 bomber and execution of complex flight test programs. He has over a decade of experience in aircraft flight testing, including work on the Boeing 737 MAX certification and return-to-service efforts, as well as advanced Gulfstream aircraft programs. 

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

It would work like an Uber. It would land vertically, um, allow passengers to to board and then take off vertically so you don't wouldn't need a runway or hopefully much space at all. And then um then uh like a Waymo, I guess, would fly itself to uh to the destination. So that that would will take some effort to integrate uh safely. You know, I think of power lines running across streets and fields, and um there those there's a way to do it. So uh that's my understanding and how I would envision it. But um safety has got to be at the at the forefront.

SPEAKER_00 0:40

Welcome back to Lunch with Alex, the podcast where we sit down with members of the UCLA Anderson community to talk honestly about career decisions, leadership growth, and the experiences shaping who we're becoming. Today's guest operates at the intersection of technical precision and massive leadership responsibility. Peter Redman is a flight test engineer manager at Boeing. With over a decade of experience in aircraft flight test, he currently leads teams at Edwards Air Force Base supporting the modernization of the B-52 bomber. From certifying the Boeing 737 Max to working on advanced Gulfstream business jets, Peter has spent his career in roles where accountability and teamwork are non-negotiable. But Peter isn't just managing high-stakes flight programs, he is also a private pilot and a current MBA student here at UCLA Anderson. He didn't come to business school to leave engineering behind. He came to expand how he leads and how he thinks about the organizations of the future. In today's conversation, we'll talk about what motivated an aerospace engineer to pursue an MBA, how he balances the demands of Boeing with the rigors of Anderson, and what it really means to build a career with intention. Peter, welcome to Lunch with Alex. I'm really glad that you are here.

SPEAKER_01 2:02

Thank you for having me today. I'm very excited to be part of this project at lunch with Alex and uh share more information about myself and introduce myself to the Anderson community.

SPEAKER_00 2:12

Yes, let's just get right into it. Uh Peter, where did you grow up? Where are you from? Sure.

SPEAKER_01 2:18

So I I um grew up in a town in in Indiana outside of Indianapolis. Uh it's called Zinesville. Uh went to uh public schools there, kindergarten through high school, graduated, um, then went on to Purdue University to study aeronautical engineering. Uh so I sort of I like presenting myself as a uh a guy from the Midwest and uh try to exhibit those values being uh polite, humble, hardworking, sort of mild-mannered. Uh that's kind of how I like to portray myself, but uh found home on the the West Coast here for uh the last few years.

SPEAKER_00 2:54

That's great. Um so growing up in Indiana, what what is that like?

SPEAKER_01 3:01

Yeah, so uh a good part of my family still lives in Indiana. Um parents, uh brother, uh my sister now lives in uh New York City. Um so I I go back there quite a bit. Um my family has always been very supportive of um education. I have a lot of uh teachers in my extended family and uh I guess uh educators in in other forms like coaches. Um so I've always felt felt that that encouragement to uh you know pursue education and experiences and um really identify what I want to do in my uh my life and career and and um chase down those opportunities. And that's I think that was a big factor in the the business school decision that brought me to UCLA this past year. Awesome.

SPEAKER_00 3:46

Yeah, we will definitely get into why you a CLA Anderson. Let's talk about your undergrad. Uh where did you go for your undergrad? What was your major? Why did you pick your major?

SPEAKER_01 3:56

Right. So uh yeah, undergrad at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, um pretty close to where I grew up, actually. Um both of my parents went to Purdue and aeronautical engineering. So I've always been very uh excited about um aircraft, aviation, airplanes, uh, all the above. Um and and and knew pretty early on that's that's what career, what what industry I wanted to get into. And as I progressed through school, high school and and um enjoyed and did well in in math and science classes, that steered me in the engineering direction. Um so when it came time to look for um colleges to go to, um, even though my parents are are Purdue grads, um, I had the opportunity to look around out of state, but um kept coming back to Purdue, in-state in Indiana, public school, great engineering program with strong industry ties, especially with with aerospace. There's a um you know incredible aerospace history at Purdue with astronauts and um partners with um with aerospace companies. Um so yeah, I I came back to Purdue and and started there um as an undergraduate in engineer and uh went into the aeronautical engineering program. One of the important things I did at Purdue was the uh uh cooperative education program, the the co-op program. So that's for those who might not know, that's like um participating in subsequent internships that may last a semester or a summer at a time. I um I ended up doing four of those um uh with Gulfstream Aerospace, the uh the business track company in Savannah, Georgia. And um that really solidified, I guess validated and solidified my interest in aviation.

SPEAKER_00 5:47

I think I understand why you chose aerospace engineering, but can you help me understand where your passion for planes and flying comes from? As long as I can remember, I've I've loved airplanes.

SPEAKER_01 5:57

Uh I was a kid playing with Legos and building different aircraft and spacecraft. Um I love going to um uh museums with airplanes. There was one close by uh in Dayton, Ohio, the uh National Museum of the United States Air Force. Uh many trips there as a kid, and you know, could spend the entire day, still could spend the entire day uh going through um any, almost any aircraft museum. Um so there was that that was always a passion, and and like like I said, um I steered got steered towards engineering, and then um that that passion grew into a couple different things, a strong interest in safety, um, making sure airplanes are safe, and then as the industry progresses and new technologies develop, how those are safely incorporated into um commercial military aircraft. Um I also through the the co-op um work study experience um I I kind of merged those interests in the industry and safety, efficiency uh with the um passion of working hands-on on a uh on a um actual airplane. And that um that guided me towards flight test engineering. So my um pretty much my entire career has been related to flight test engineering, and flight test engineers are involved in the uh test preparation, so writing uh very detailed procedures of how the test will be executed. That goes into the test execution phase where either on the aircraft or maybe in like a ground-based control room, um the test is carried out, um, data's collected, um, and then ultimately reported on. Uh engineers spend a lot of time reporting on um what how the test went, uh, if if it passed or failed, if things need to be fixed, um, because ultimately you need to prove that the airplane works the way it's supposed to and it's and it's safe. So uh that's done for for brand new airplanes, uh first time they're flying. Of course, that's very rigorous. Um uh making sure it can fly safely at different airspeeds, altitudes, uh through different maneuvers, but then also the systems on board uh function the way they're supposed to. So um that's for new aircraft, and then also existing aircraft that that get new uh new upgrades, new new technologies. Those are those are tested pretty thoroughly as well. That's that's a little bit more uh what I'm I'm currently working on uh with Boeing.

SPEAKER_00 8:26

Yeah. Yeah, that's that's awesome. I'll definitely get into your your current job. So what was your first job out of college and maybe how did you land it? Did the internships help?

SPEAKER_01 8:36

Um they did. So I've I've always been a big um advocate for getting uh work experience alongside the academic experience. Um so those four co-op rotations led to my um my entry-level job as a flight test engineer with Gulfstream in Savannah, Georgia, uh, working on some uh certification programs for new uh high-end business jets. Um in that role, I I did the the test preparation. Um I got to participate on board the flight tests as um onboard air crew uh flight test engineers. So we would sit in the back and and talk with the pilots and work through different maneuvers and how to operate the systems on the aircraft and complete our test plans and then gather data to show if um um if if things were working the way they're supposed to or needed to be fixed. So uh all that has to be done when when there's new aircraft that needs to be certified. And um that was a great uh great uh introduction into flight test engineering right out of school and and steered my has steered my career ever since. That's great. So you moved to Georgia, and then what happened? Um yeah, so spent a couple of years in Savannah, Georgia, um, and loved it. Um actually got married there a few years later. Um so it uh it has a special place in my heart. Um but uh from there went to Seattle, Washington. So one one uh to the southeast to the northwest. Um also loved it in Seattle, and that's when I I joined Boeing um at sort of the historic home of Boeing in Seattle. Um I worked at Boeing Field right there, downtown Seattle, um also in flight test engineering. I was more of a an instrumentation engineer at that point, um, dealing with the um instrumentation and data systems um on the test aircraft. Um first assignment there was on the 737 Max series, um, both the Max 10, which is the largest of those, um, got to participate in the factory build um those those first two um aircraft. Uh so followed them down the production line in the Renton factory. Um and then um I got I shifted over to some of the um uh efforts related to fixing the flight control software on the 737 Max. Um there were some issues with um crashes caused by the the flight control computer and and uh got to participate in the the fix to that and and testing to ensure that um it worked as intended and and has since you know been a very successful aircraft in um commercial aviation. Um so that that took me to Boeing in Seattle, and then uh identified an opportunity down here in California, Edwards Air Force Base working on uh military programs supporting the B-52 and the B-1 uh bomber, uh two two uh large uh strategic bombers in the United States Air Force. Um and those are both existing airplanes that have been in service for decades, uh many decades in some cases. Uh uh so they're undergoing a lot of um uh modernization and upgrades um to the systems, um, incorporating new electronics, avionics, um, integrating different weapon systems, uh, really touching the air aircraft nose to tail from radar to engines and upgrading those to modern standards to keep them in service uh years into the future. So that's that's the latest challenge.

SPEAKER_00 12:01

So you've grown, uh you've been at Boeing for how long? Uh seven years. Seven years. That's impressive. Thank you. Um and you've gone from being an individual contributor to now a leader. How did you do that?

SPEAKER_01 12:14

Um so that opportunity presented itself at the Edwards Air Force Base team. Uh it's a smaller organization since we're embedded with the the Air Force on base. Um so there was an opportunity to be a first line manager, um, first level manager. Um I've always I've always been interested in getting more and more leadership experience. And that's that's a common theme I and carrying through to my uh my MBA pursuit. Um I I I want to pursue higher levels of responsibility and impact on the business. Um so so I was fortunate enough to be um selected as as a manager um in my group. Um manage a multidisciplinary team of engineers supporting uh flight tests of those aircraft. And um in some ways that's that's a dream. I I wanted to um to lead a a um an enthusiastic team of engineers on complex test programs supporting uh very important aircraft in the United States military. So very happy to be there. Every day is a new challenge, and um that also that that also directed me towards uh furthering my education and UCLA Anderson. Is it um so if you yeah, you can sort of see a common thread, even going back to the passion about airplanes and where I've been, where where I'm at right now, and and where I hope to go.

SPEAKER_00 13:41

So you were the uh co-founder and vice president of the Hostess City Aviators Flying Club?

SPEAKER_01 13:48

I uh yeah, I did. I I listed that. Um we got a flying club started in back in Georgia. Um it's uh since grown to um a decent sized club, I I think. Last I checked. Um when I I moved away as soon as they were getting their first airplane, so um helped with some of the the legal side of things, setting up an LLC and some of the branding, how you know what we would call ourselves, how we would structure the bylaws. Um I uh I I yeah, I learned I learned to fly uh both at back at Purdue. Um did a lot of my flight training there as a private pilot. Um did a little bit more in uh the Savannah, Georgia area. That's where I uh ultimately got my my uh certificate there. And um did a lot of flying up and down the Georgia coast. Um I uh I have not flown for a while now. It's uh it's a lot of money, as you could can guess. But uh, you know, it's something it's there's always a passion that's gonna be there, and I'm gonna get back to it at some point. Um I think right now the plan is after after business school, might get back into flying and instrument rating, commercial pilot, things like that.

SPEAKER_00 14:57

We'll see. Oh, that's so exciting. Um thank you for for sharing that, Peter. So then it also says you were the Purdue University team lead for Goldstream Engineering co-op and interning recruiting.

SPEAKER_01 15:09

Yeah, so that um I've always I've always really enjoyed recruiting, uh college recruiting. Um had the opportunity to go back to Purdue after I graduated um for for career fairs over several years and and hire uh interns and co-ops that that came after me. So I I really enjoyed kind of paying that forward um since I was able to benefit from from those um those work experiences, and I I could um sort of help others f um follow in the same path. Um and that that's that's been the recruiting and team team building aspects of management leadership is something I've always been interested in, and to this day, um we're we're growing the team to at Edwards to um uh for for upcoming test programs. Um so I like I like we were just talking earlier about interviewing, and I I love um I do like interviewing. It takes a lot of time, but you really get to know people, and when you find someone who just clicks with what um what the team needs in terms of experience and interest, um I like that. And then bringing them on board, getting them familiar with the work that we do, and then ultimately able to contribute. That's that's something as a um early in my leadership career, that's that's something I've I like and I'd like to continue to do. Yeah. Oh, that's awesome.

SPEAKER_00 16:31

Well, thank you so much. I think we could definitely get into the MBA now. So we're part of the same class, right? Or in the Saturday section. Sorry. I think it's uh it's a great section, you know. Um we went to Phil together, we took uh managerial economics together, we took data decisions together. So um, I guess my first question for you, Peter, is how did you know it was time for you to get an MBA?

SPEAKER_01 16:58

Um, I could almost trace that to a specific moment. Um after undergrad, it for many years, if you asked me if I wanted to go back to school, I would have adamantly said no. I I'm done with school. I want to just want to work. Um But for some reason, this was like December of 24. Uh I was back in Indiana for the holiday break and went up to Purdue for a basketball game. I'm a huge college basketball fan, Purdue Boilermakers. Um, UCLA has got some great basketball history too. So um I I think I'm I'm changing I'm gaining another allegiance too. But anyway, so I was at a basketball game at Purdue. Um, and it was we were just reminiscing on what what it was like to go to school there, my brother and my my dad and I, and I and I was thinking for how hard I worked in undergrad to to get where I wanted to go as a flight test engineer. What what could I do to um develop my, I guess, business skills and leadership skills um to supplement the engineering background and and years of experience I I was able to gain since leaving Purdue. Um so the thought kind of entered my head. It was, you know, driving home from the game and I was talking to my family, and I was like, what if what about business school? Um where would where would I go? Um so mind you, this is December. I think that was coming up on like round three of applying. It was late in the game. Um so I had I had a short window of time to get my application together. I scrambled to take the GMAP, get some letters of recommendation, which I I need to add, uh got a lot of support from my management back at Boeing. Went to them and I was like, what do you guys think about getting an MBA? And they were like, do it. Um then um yeah, I was able to get my application together, get admitted in the last uh last round, and uh that led to starting in in the fall of last year. Um so so yeah, the whole the whole objective was to to combine my engineering education and industry experience with with uh sort of the academics of of business and leadership and combine those to to progress into what I hope to be the next phases of my career in uh advancing uh leadership positions. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 19:23

Uh so let's talk about academics. You said undergrad was hard. Uh what is what is MBA like? What was it like taking the core classes? We're in it now.

SPEAKER_01 19:32

We're in it right now. It's it's a different challenge. It it works my brain in different ways. Um I'm of course very numbers oriented in math, uh math and science. Um so some of the other the other topics are are you know stretching me my brain in different ways. Um and that's really that's really the goal. I wanted to learn different things. Um meet meet people who weren't also just technically minded like me, engineers, because day to day that's the majority of the the people I interact with are engineering and technician types. Um so that's yeah, that's that's kind of what I think of of the business school experience so far. It's it's what what I what I think what I needed. So how about student life and community, right?

SPEAKER_00 20:19

The NBA is a very social experience. Um have you joined any clubs? What has it been like?

SPEAKER_01 20:26

Well, I've I've really enjoyed the the study group structure that that um FEMBO program at Anderson uh promotes. Um kicking off with uh the foundations in inclusive leadership week, fill week. Um I like the collaborative environment. That's really what I was seeking out uh in in business school and different MBA programs. Um rather than doing it isolated online. Um I wanted to I wanted the on-campus component for classes and group group work. Um I knew I would be more engaged that way. Um keep me interested. And so far that's uh it has, and and I I enjoy working with not only my study group, the larger section that we've got on Saturdays. Um it's it's really oriented well towards our everyone's working, you know, it's a part-time, fully employed MBA program, so um that's that's really the structure I was looking for. And so far it's it's it's been exactly that.

SPEAKER_00 21:26

So any takeaways? You know, we've been in we've done a quarter fall quarter, spring quarter, we just took our midterm, you know, for accounting. Uh what have you learned so far?

SPEAKER_01 21:38

Um I like there's just lots of little little things that that click and get get me to thinking about things differently. I personally and professionally too. I I think of the uh you know communication uh involved in the the the group interactions, um decision making, data driven uh decision. decision making. That's already, I think, applying in my in my job how I look at data and process it and ultimately make decisions based on trends and things that can be identified. So yeah, it's it's lots, it's there's lots of little little things that are in in personally too, you know, looking at the economy and and personal finances and thinking about things differently. And um yeah, I'm I'm already learning a lot and looking forward to the electives you mentioned and and continuing the core classes uh these next few quarters.

SPEAKER_00 22:40

Awesome. Well what about like the study abroad or the global immersion? Are you interested in any of that?

SPEAKER_01 22:46

Interested I need to look look into it more. But they're awesome opportunities. So looking forward to those as well. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 22:56

And Peter, can you share a story about a profound interaction you've had maybe with an Anderson professor, an alumni, or a classmate that has significantly influenced your perspective?

SPEAKER_01 23:07

I might answer the a couple different ways. So I the study group and in our our section on Saturdays um that's been very meaningful. Like I said I I don't um at work I don't interact with uh people outside of aerospace you know pilots engineers uh technicians um and other other support roles so it's cool to to meet people from different industries that are all brought together with that that same spirit of you know advancing their career and following their their dreams uh whatever those may be um and we're and working together to to learn um so that's since Phil week um and through the core classes that's um that's something that I I value a lot is just the the um the meaningful uh camaraderie I guess um that we have um and working together to learn and and but then individually develop and and um pursue our goals so um that's that's been cool um meeting equally passionate faculty um makes the experience even better and then um you said alumni I think I think back to the phone interview I had as I was scrambling to apply before the deadline um he um he worked for Boeing at at one point too and and talked about how how relevant uh the the MBA was um back at Boeing so um again that was kind of validating that this this was going to be the right decision for me what a coincidence do you think they planned that they're like oh that's sure somebody I'm gonna have you call them yeah yeah maybe I'll do that and then they got you maybe I'll do that one day in the alumni interviews yeah wow okay how about managing intensity you know you've got a full-time job full-time student how do you balance it all um I I'm gonna admit that I'm still figuring it out um there's there's weeks that I've got it nailed down that I've I I've got the work life school balance and then there's others that one one of those legs is out of whack but um I think it's just it's a never ending effort through the program I'm I'm enjoying it every step of the way I've never not yet haven't wanted to um sacrifice any any one of those pieces but um it's it's a uh it's always a challenge to to balance all the different facets life school work um and uh haven't failed but it's it's a it's taken some effort that that's for sure that's awesome all right um so we're getting kind of towards the the end of the our time together just uh a few more questions and again I'm super grateful for your your generosity and your your time today thank you um looking forward you know five ten years ahead uh what's one major industry trend you plan to capitalize on and how is your MBA specifically equipping you to lead to that change? Mm-hmm that's a good one um well obviously you know AI pops into your your head first and how that's working its way into aviation um you know autonomous aircraft on commercially for you know the um you know like the urban air taxis that that are in work um changes to commercial aviation I think of like more automated systems that might lead to single pilot operations uh then on the military side where um uncrewed aircraft will combine with with crewed aircraft to bring in more data and and um and stuff like that so um that's not uh AI and those tools um I had not used very much at work um learning about them in an academic setting is interesting and how they can be used to look at data um synthesize larger amounts of information and then make decisions based on that I think it's kind of cool to see the academic side of that and then uh watch it show up in in industry more so um I think we'll see see that in the future and then on the business side it'll it'll take uh you know business effort to get companies and customers to adopt um those those new technologies and um having the technical information and then the business skills combined that's that's what I want to capitalize on in my my career um again achieving you know higher leadership levels with more decision making authority and an impact on the way we we do business and um deliver to our customers so I have an off script question yesterday in class we watched an a commercial I believe for Archer right it was like uh those those flying ride shares okay do you think that's gonna catch on what is your take because you're the engineer I kind of go back and forth at one time I thought no they wouldn't catch on and nobody would do that but you're seeing large companies including you mentioned Archer Boeing has is investing a lot in in uh I think they call it urban air mobility something like that the taxis uh air taxis kind of um you're starting to see that that get some momentum so um yeah that's that's another trend and the the AI autonomy side factors into that for sure so that would be a a a big change in uh in aviation to to s integrate those into the airspace uh along with general aviation airline um all those operations and and for those listening of the podcast that don't know what this is could you just explain it maybe in layman's terms the mechanics of oh um flying ride shares best way I could describe that it's it would work like an Uber it would land vertically um allow passengers to to board and then take off vertically so you don't wouldn't need a runway or hopefully much space at all and then um then uh like a Waymo I guess would fly itself to uh to the destination so that that would will take some effort to integrate um safely you know I think of power lines running across streets and fields and um there those there's a way to do it. So uh that's my understanding and how I wouldn't envision it. But um safety has got to be at the at the forefront because people need to go where they need to go safely that's for sure.

SPEAKER_00 29:36

The future is exciting.

SPEAKER_01 29:38

Yeah okay so last two questions uh in three words if you could describe your experience at Anderson thus far in just three words what would it be um motivating motivation um that's that's been consistent the whole time um I I'm gonna be like friendly um I just people people I interact with yourself uh other classmates everybody is very friendly and welcoming and um I think challenging but in a good way not an overwhelming but uh discouraging challenging it's it's it's encouraging again motivating and done in a friendly way so those kind of all go to hand in hand but it's challenging me to learn more and and um grow as a person as a a leader um than in my career so those are the three that come to mind. Thank you Peter all right uh next question what is one thing you hope to have contributed or left behind for a few future classes of Anderson students um sort of like my my point about how I I like ever how everyone's coming from different backgrounds and having holding different passions and mine is um one of my passions is aviation um so I I hope they remember that you know I was someone who was passionate about something and wanted to work really hard to to achieve my goals and progress my career. And I hope I want others to realize they can do that too. So if there are ways that I can assist you know helping out with homework eventually I I mentioned the the alumni interview you know I'd like to do something like that and and pay it forward I think that'd be cool.

SPEAKER_00 31:38

That's awesome. All right great well Peter thank you again for uh joining me today I really appreciate your openness and thoughtfulness you bring to every topic we covered what stands out to me is the sheer intentionality of your journey you've gone from managing the technical complexities of B-52 modernization and the 737 max to the classrooms of UCLA Anderson and I get to call you a colleague not just to change lanes but to expand the horizon of what you can achieve as a leader. Your story is a powerful reminder that growth doesn't always mean walking away from your roots sometimes it means going deeper and broader at the exact same thing. So you are a perfect enhancer for everyone listening who is currently balancing a demanding role, navigating a career pivot or weighing the value of an MBA I hope Peter's perspective encourages you to be patient and intentional with the opportunities right in front of you. Peter, thank you for sharing your insights and being part of the Lunch with Alex community and to our listeners uh thank you for tuning in if this conversation resonated with you please subscribe share it with a colleague and join us next time on Lunch with Alex. Thank you