Cadence Aerospace, a provider of highly complex aerospace components and assemblies to commercial and defense customers, has named Nick Guerra as the Company’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO). With Centers of Excellence based in the U.S. and Mexico, Cadence Aerospace serves the world’s leading manufacturers of aircraft, aerostructures, aeroequipment and other defense platforms.
Reporting to Thomas C. Hutton, Chief Executive Officer of Cadence Aerospace, Mr. Guerra will be responsible for developing and implementing transformational technologies that will enable step change improvements in productivity, quality and process standardization. As a member of the Cadence Executive Leadership Team, he also will work to develop a technology vision as well as support recruiting of technical talent across the organization. In his new role, Nick will play an important part in the Cadence Aerospace capital equipment planning.
Mr. Guerra brings 20 years of experience to his new position as Cadence Aerospace CTO. He most recently served Perfekta Inc., the Cadence Center of Excellence in Wichita, Kansas that specializes in multi-axis machining of complex aerostructures, complex machined forgings, hard metals and structural assembly.
“I am thrilled to welcome Nick to a new role at Cadence Aerospace. Through his technical leadership, hard work and dedication, the Perfekta operation has evolved and cultivated deeply entrenched working relationships with key customers through quality improvement, design for manufacturability, and cost reduction projects—specifically on new aircraft development programs,” said Mr. Hutton. “Nick’s deep knowledge and expertise in complex aerostructures machining will serve Cadence well as we work to harness knowledge of existing and emerging technology, infusing our business strategy with the best solutions possible for continued growth, profitability and the success of our customers.”
Mr. Guerra joined Perfekta Inc. in 1999 and held a number of positions of increasing responsibility during his tenure with the organization. From entry level roles in machining and numerical control programming, he worked his way into leadership positions in engineering, operations management, and business development and was instrumental in developing the vision and transformation of Perfekta from a small machined parts and sheet metal supplier to a world-class complex structural machining and assembly operation. Most recently, as Vice President, Engineering and Manufacturing Technology, Mr. Guerra led the development of Perfekta’s strategic manufacturing capabilities, new product introductions, engineering disciplines, and technical business development. He also championed and led the implementation of Perfekta’s Product Lifecycle Management system (Dassault Systems), which enabled accelerated growth through the leverage of intellectual property reuse and standardization of engineering processes. Further, Mr. Guerra led the design and implementation of all lean manufacturing cells across the organization, an initiative which contributed to Perfekta’s ability to achieve world-class performance in profitability, throughput, inventory turns, quality performance and growth scalability. He served as a Perfekta Board of Directors member from 2011-2018.
Mr. Guerra studied Manufacturing Engineering at Kansas State University during 1995-1998.
