VERO BEACH, Fla., Jan. 15, 2013 – Piper Aircraft Inc. has appointed James W. Funk as Vice President of Operations, reporting to President and CEO Simon Caldecott. In his new role, Funk is responsible for aircraft manufacturing operations, production engineering, logistics and quality.

“Jim brings nearly 30 years of operations management, manufacturing engineering and program leadership experience to Piper’s senior leadership team,” said Caldecott. “He has held many leadership positions in electronics and the aerospace industry that will be a direct benefit to Piper’s manufacturing, supply chain and quality functions.”

Before joining Piper, Funk was Bombardier Learjet’s General Manager of Operations for the Learjet 85 program. Prior to that, he was Vice President of Operations for Hawker Beechcraft Corp. and its predecessor, Raytheon Aircraft Co. He was responsible for the company’s turboprop and piston programs. He joined Raytheon in 1984.

Funk has a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from Trenton State College in Trenton, N.J., and has completed numerous advanced courses in leadership, quality and manufacturing disciplines. He will be relocating to Vero Beach.