Story ID: 
Groom named to head Beechcraft
By: Gordon Gilbert
Caption: Raytheon Aircraft has appointed Randy Groom president of its Beechcraft division, which consists of the Bonanza, Baron and Premier lines.
Word Count: 168
Raytheon Aircraft has appointed Randy Groom president of its Beechcraft division, which consists of the Bonanza, Baron and Premier lines. The Beechcraft and Hawker brands were separated last year to focus and strengthen the level of quality and product-support efforts for the respective lines. Groom was formerly senior vice president at Piedmont Hawthorne Aviation in Winston-Salem, N.C., a Beechcraft authorized service center and dealer. He was also instrumental in the management-led purchase of Piedmont Aviation from the USAir Group in 1992 and became an investor in that transaction, as well as a co-investor along with the Carlyle Group in 1998 in the merger with Hawthorne Aviation. An active pilot with more than 9,000 flight hours, Groom has 30-plus years of experience in the aviation industry ranging from U.S. Air Force contract flight instructor to charter pilot to a marketing instructor position at Cessna and marketing management position at Beech. Brad Hatt, who had been serving as “acting” president of the Beechcraft division, continues as president of the Hawker division.