Keith Flail is Executive Vice President, Advanced Vertical Lift Systems for Bell. He leads all program execution and business development efforts to design, produce, and field Bell’s next-generation military aircraft for DoD and US allies, which include the Bell V-280 Valor tiltrotor, and the Bell 360 Invictus. During his eight-year career at Bell, Keith has served in several leadership roles, including Vice President, Global Military Business Development where he was responsible for the customer interface, global strategy, market development, and major fleet sales of V-22, AH-1Z, UH- 1Y, V-280, and OH-58D aircraft worldwide.
Flail earned a BS in Mechanical Engineering at the famed West Point Military Academy before embarking on a 21-year career with the US Army, where he served in a variety of aviation operational assignments, both stateside and overseas, retiring as a lieutenant colonel.
WHY BELL?
After the Army, Flail worked with Lockheed Martin before coming to Bell in July of 2012. It was a friend he’d made at Bell who inspired Flail to make the move. Flail says he saw tremendous opportunity in the early days of the development of the V-280.
“Lockheed is a great company, but it is larger and less personal and different. When I came to Bell, I interviewed with Mitch when he was in a different role, and I got to see his energy, enthusiasm and where he wanted to go with the company,” he says, “and I just thought ‘I want to be part of this.’ The trajectory of where he was trying to go with this, and understanding what the company was trying to do, was very exciting to me.”
“I am fortunate and humbled daily to be part of this incredible team,” Flail says today. “It’s very rare that someone gets their dream job, and I know that.”
When asked what is most exciting about his job currently, Flail points to the military’s Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) program, tasked with replacing the Blackhawk helicopter, as well as the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) program, meant to fill the Army capability gap for a scout aircraft. Bell is creating next-gen aircraft for both programs, which Flail calls “a journey.”
“We now have over two hundred flight hours and have reached every milestone (speed, range, agility) that the Army has requested for FLRAA,” he says. “And the Bell 360 Invictus prototype [for FARA] is being built now with a planned 2022 first flight.”
“We are competing against Lockheed Martin and Boeing, so you have that David and Goliath element, and that excites people. “Being the underdog, that’s something people love. Do they think they’re going to beat us? Okay, watch this. We want to be that trusted company, and we are bringing revolutionary and affordable solutions to our customers.”
Being a smaller size company enables Bell to have increased agility – and that’s a key difference here.
WORK CULTURE
Flail says soon after the company’s 2018 rebranding when they changed their name from Bell Helicopter to simply Bell, the executive team felt it was time to take a hard look at the company’s mission and values. They came up with a hard-forged five:
1. Thrill Our Customers.
2. Act Swiftly and Decisively.
3. Make the Impossible Possible.
4. Find a Better Way.
5. Lift Each Other Up.
“Like several folks that work for Bell, I have a military background,” he says. “And that feeds the passion we have here to be part of this organization because of its mission to save lives and to help our nation and assist with national security.”
“As one of my direct reports told an interested candidate at a trade show, ‘Here’s our proposition: Do you want a job or do you want to be part of a cause? If you want to be part of a cause, come to Bell,’” Flail remembers. “There’s a selflessness here at Bell. A sense of calling, a sense of purpose, a desire to be a part of something special to make a difference in the world.”
Flail says his own memories of soldiers he knew in the service who lost their lives in aircraft in combat, fuel his own commitment to the fact that Bell creates amazing flying machines that save lives. Bell’s mission is to make a difference in the world, and the accompanying camaraderie makes the company’s culture special.
“It’s contagious,” he says. “It’s the small, selfless acts that folks do to show people that they are in and part of the team that differentiates us from our competition as well. Folks are excelling and folks are promoted because of the way they are reaching across boundaries to make others successful at Bell.”
As for diversity, Flail says that element is essential for the nature of work Bell does. And the communication between Bell employees needs to lean heavily on cross-functional relationships.
“We are learning organisms. We need people of all kinds, all age groups, all tenures to make this work,” he says. “The shared knowledge and respect within this team through our diversity is key to our success.”
ADAPTING TO THE PANDEMIC
It’s unsurprising that Flail has had some challenges navigating COVID-19. But he adds that the company continues swift and decisive action in the evolving US landscape under the limitations of the pandemic.
“I’m very proud of the team. To be able to keep things on track throughout COVID, has been remarkable. You still have to get parts made and visit suppliers, so to be able to stay on track is so incredible.”
“We’re an essential business for the Department of Defense and for first responders, so it goes without saying that safety is always our priority,” Flail says. “But it’s not an option for us to just shut down. It’s been a learning process.”
Bell has relied on a system of alternating schedules for those that are able, in order to maintain proper social distancing.
“We’ve been using Microsoft Teams and other virtual means to continue to collaborate and overcome,” he says. “It’s very cross-functional and collaborative and very critical but the team has risen to the challenge. We’ve minimized people in conference rooms, and of course, everyone in the office is wearing masks. I’d say we have done well to continue to support our nation while keeping our workforce safe.”
THE FUTURE OF BELL
“The sky is literally the limit,” Flail says of Bell’s future. “We’ve got many great opportunities on the horizon with commercial, innovation, and other development aircraft that are coming through the Marine Corps and Navy, outside of FLRAA and FARA.”
“The immediate future for us is all about, ‘what kinds of tasks and skills do we need to be filled to create these next-gen aircraft?’”
As far as the FLRAA and FARA programs, over 600 Bell workers are currently focused on those efforts, with a crew of more than 2000 expected over the next few years. And that brings us to talent, and the kinds Bell needs to help with their impassioned mission.
“We need top talent that also aligns with our mission and values. Do they have the right training and education? Do they have the right level of experience?” Flail asks. “We’re also looking for people with important soft skills, like collaboration, and a real ability to understand and embrace our values.”
The company is currently prioritizing the recruitment and development of engineering talent. Those engineers looking to join in Bell’s mission need to be mindful of cost and collaboration, and they need to have a real pride in working on aircraft needed for the defense of the country and our allies, as well as first responders.
“Engineers are sometimes stereotyped as introverts, but all these interactions are what is exciting for these folks. Working with others, collaborating, learning, and talking about these interfaces, working on these different components that are building blocks of a revolutionary aircraft- that’s what an engineer wants,” Flail says.
The company’s growth will also extend to a need for all other functions, including HR, finance, contract, and manufacturing employees.
“We need to secure the best talent in order to be able to continue to thrill our customers” he adds.
“We are really trying to create that environment for our employees where they love coming to work. We look for ways that people can migrate throughout the organization,” Flail says. “At the end of the day, it’s about the people, culture, and the environment you create and nurture.’”
