At the invitation of the Tennessee Valley Chapter of the Army Aviation Association of America (AAAA), Roger O’Dell, Director of Program Management for MD Helicopters, Inc. (MDHI) will be part of a panel discussion at the 2015 AAAA Joseph P. Cribbins 41st Annual Aviation Product Symposium in Huntsville, Alabama, November 5-6, 2014. Mr. O’Dell will address an industry and military community audience at the Program Management Panel chaired by LTG (Ret.) Anthony Jones on 6 November at the Von Braun Center, East and North Halls. This is the second consecutive year MD Helicopters, Inc. has presented at this event.

This discussion will be focused on improving Partner Nation capabilities through modernization and sustainment, with specific attention given to the importance of responsiveness, cost control, and creating the mechanisms to expedite acquisition and transfer of critical capabilities to partner forces.

As an OEM, MD Helicopters has an agility, a responsiveness to customer needs that is unique in the rotorcraft space. We have the ability to deliver solutions that meet a range of mission profiles in terms of performance, price and capability that other OEMs do not. Mr. O’Dell’s participation in this panel exemplifies MD Helicopters’ commitment to strengthen and expand capabilities for training partner aviation forces over time, and in response to emergent requirements.

“I am honored to be invited to this event, and to share our best practices for consistently delivering timely and effective training, observation and light attack rotorcraft solutions to U.S.Soldiers and partner nations worldwide,” said Roger O’Dell, Director of Program Management for MD Helicopters. “We have a product that is world-renown for safety and performance in
service of a range of mission profiles, and partners who share our commitment to innovation and responsiveness. This combination makes us uniquely qualified to expedite the delivery of customized mission critical resources to partner nations around the globe. ”

In addition to MD Helicopters’ expanding fleet with the Afghan Air Force, MDHI has also been awarded contracts for the delivery of training, scout and light attack helicopters to El Salvador, Costa Rica, Saudi Arabia, Kenya, and others. These fleets are comprised of a number of MD Helicopters’ world-renown light single engine models including the MD 530F, MD 500E and MD
600N.

Speaker Biography

Roger O’Dell is the Director of Program Management for MD Helicopters, Inc. Mr. O’Dell joined MD Helicopters, Inc. in 2013 and is responsible for overall program execution across all MDHI product lines – both military and commercial – for both domestic and international operations. He brings 20+ years of Subject Matter Expertise in Engineering, Program Management and Systems Integration within the Aerospace, Aviation and Defense Industries. He is a seasoned executive with a focus on ideation, testing and quality, sustainability, lean process management, risk assessment and mitigation to ensure successful program execution.

About MD Helicopters, Inc.

MD Helicopters, Inc. (MDHI), a Lynn Tilton company, is a leading manufacturer of commercial, military, law enforcement and air-rescue helicopters. The MDHI family of rotorcraft is world renowned for its value, versatility and performance. The MD Helicopters family includes the twin-engine MD Explorer, and single engine versions of the MD 600N, MD 520N, MD 500E MD
530F, MD 530G and MD 540A. The innovative NOTAR® system for anti-torque control with no tail rotor is used exclusively by MD Helicopters to provide safer, quieter and confined-area access capability. For more information about MDHI, visit www.mdhelicopters.com.