CEO of the Year 2023 Finalist: John Barry

Colorado is full of devoted entrepreneurs, business leaders and tech-savvy visionaries who are constantly taking the business world to new heights. It’s no secret that here, at ColoradoBiz, we love the Colorado business community. That’s why, every year, we spotlight the most impressive CEOs throughout our Centennial state and give credit where credit is due — to the forward-thinking minds constantly chasing the next great idea and upholding their business practices to the most purposeful ideals. We’re proud to introduce our finalists for CoBiz’s prestigious 2022 CEO of the Year award.


John Barry

President and CEO

Wings Over the Rockies

Denver, Colorado

Website: www.wingsmuseum.org

Managing, inspiring and leading large groups of people during challenging times is John Barry’s superpower. That made him the perfect person for the job when he took over as president and CEO of Wings Over the Rockies in January 2017 and was tasked with opening a second site at Centennial Airport, now known as Exploration of Flight (EOF). 

Barry, a retired U.S. Air Force major general with a long list of career accomplishments, quickly assembled a team from the Wings board and staff that worked to negotiate a zero percent loan from the Walton Family Foundation for $3.3 million that allowed the first building to be completed within 18 months. This second Wings site also houses a charter middle school for more than 200 students that opened in 2020. In the works and slated to open in 2024 are a Food Hall and additional hangar. 

Other notable accomplishments of the past year under Barry’s watch include: welcoming more than 135,000 visitors representing 50 states and 31 countries to Wings; continuing the “Behind the Wings” video series on PBS, with airings in 100 markets and in 39 states and more than 9 million YouTube views; completing and updating two new Wings exhibits; developing new and innovative educational pathways that are at the core of Wings’ mission to help prepare and inspire Colorado’s youth for careers in aerospace; facilitating students building 80 percent of Wings’ RV–12iS aircraft with support and help from Wings staff and volunteers (Barry flew all the test flights for certification); awarding 22 Colorado students the James C. Ray Foundation Flight Training Scholarships in 2023, bringing the total to more  than 125 flight training scholarships worth more than $1 million since 2019. 

Barry, who grew up in a one-bedroom apartment in the Bronx, served in the U.S. Air Force for more than 30 years before retiring in 2004. He was a fighter pilot, logging 270 hours of combat time. He served as president and CEO of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Denver (BGCMD) from 2014 to 2016 and was superintendent of Aurora Public Schools for seven years, from 2006 to 2013.  

 

Mike TaylorMike Taylor is the editor of ColoradoBiz.

The Colorado Aerospace Industry is Combating an Alarming Pilot Shortage — Here’s How

With the nation’s second-largest aerospace economy, Colorado is home to more than 400 aerospace and aviation companies. To keep Colorado at the forefront of aerospace innovation, we must have a strong talent pipeline. Yet, our workforce is at a crisis point. There are millions of open jobs but people lack the skills needed to fill them. The aerospace industry faces an aging workforce and a limited pipeline of skilled talent, resulting in a lack of pilots and aviation and aerospace engineers.

READ: The Stars Are Aligning for Colorado Aerospace

Oliver Wyman estimates the aviation industry is facing a deficit of about 8,000 pilots, or 11% of the total workforce, and says the shortfall could reach 30,000 pilots by 2025. In 2021, Boeing forecasted the global industry’s need for 626,000 new maintenance technicians over the next two decades compared with 612,000 pilots. The average age of an aerospace engineer is 45.

As an industry, we must invest in educating, training and mentoring the next generation of talent. Wings Over the Rockies™ Museum launched Wings Aerospace Pathways (WAP) in 2019 to address these workforce challenges. WAP focuses on building aerospace skills and facilitating experiences that prepare middle and high school students for careers in aerospace and beyond. As an enrichment program, students come from a diverse array of school environments – online, homeschool, hybrid and traditional in-person schools. Each student spends one day per week at WAP participating in hands-on, experiential learning in a real-world context.

Students take a wide range of courses focused on project-based learning in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM). The skills learned, such as teamwork, problem-solving, design thinking and applied technology reach beyond aerospace and are skills needed in many fields. In addition, students have the ability to earn industry certifications and concurrent enrollment credits through Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology.

READ: Top Company 2022 — Aerospace

A unique component of Wing’s WAP is its mentoring program which pairs students up with professionals from Lockheed Martin, a longstanding industry partner, to help shape the next generation of aerospace industry professionals. Through a generous grant from Lockheed Martin for the 2021-22 school year, this program gives students the prerequisite skills needed to succeed, whether they go directly into the workforce or continue their studies in college. Building off technical skills learned in the middle school program, high schoolers hone their experience to attain certificates such as the FAA Part 107 Unmanned Aerial (Drone) Pilot, or participate in general avionics classes in conjunction with Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology.

Educating and preparing the next generation of aerospace professionals requires companies in the aviation industry to invest in mentorship and education programs. During the 2021-22 school year, Lockheed Martin volunteers helped provide guidance and mentorship to WAP classes in StellarXplorers and Rocketry. During the initial year, 12 mentors rotated becoming “regulars” to support the rocketry class and four of them were dedicated to the StellarXplorers class. The mentors showed students the Ansys Systems Took Kit which is software for digital mission engineering and systems analysis that Lockheed Martin uses to control satellites. The students had the opportunity to work on real-life applications and see how they operate within a nationwide competition of over 300 teams.

READ: Sarah Tiedeken O’Brien Leads With Mentorship in Mind

WAP mentors not only help guide students in the classroom but also practice for competitions and help secure internships. The Rocketry Program at Wings, now in its second year, continues to have mentors help students build the standard rockets kits, as well as student-designed and 3D-printed fins, nose cones, stabilizers and parachutes. The real-life experience that mentors bring to the students is vital to the student’s development as it allows them to understand more about what day-to-day life is like in the industry. The program has been such a success that WAP students are now returning as mentors.

A collaborative effort between non-profits, educators and aerospace industry companies is necessary to address the labor shortage our industry is facing. This is only the beginning of the challenges the industry may face, and it’s crucial that we all band together to address these growing concerns. Keeping Colorado’s economy thriving requires us to continue investing in the aerospace industry by feeding its talent pipeline. The next generation of aerospace industry professionals are bright, passionate and excited about their futures. Let’s continue to provide them with the skills and opportunities to thrive in this ever-changing industry that is shaping the future of our world.

 

John Barry 1Michelle Mcmahon No TextJohn Barry is president and CEO and Michelle McMahon is Director of Education/WAP for Wings Over the Rockies Museum. For more information visit, https://wingsmuseum.org/.