Our People: Europe

I suppose my experience of joining Moog is quite a bit different from that of most people: the company I was working for was taken over by Moog. Not that the takeover was unexpected or unwanted. There were two potential buyers of my old company and our president asked us who we'd prefer. I strongly pushed for Moog because, in our market (plastics) they have a very good name and international reach, and I thought it would be good for us. I was right!

It took a little while for things to settle down after the takeover. Soon, though, the Moog culture began to take hold, and things started to get exciting: we had a new way of working, more personal responsibility and international capabilities. The Moog people themselves were also very supportive, which certainly helped to ease the transition. Indeed, there's a real sense of openness here. I doubt whether there'd be the same kind of opportunity to talk to the bosses at many other companies.

I'm a Software Engineering Manager, which basically means I coordinate all activities related to software development. I still develop software myself, too. It's been my vocation since I left school. Software development's my second skin, as it were. The real beauty of this job is having access to the latest technologies and seeing your ideas come to fruition. After months and months of hard work, you get to see machines running thanks to your code. It's strange, but it's almost as if we put the software "soul" into these pieces of iron that brings them to life.