My 2024 Review

2024 proved to be more eventful than expected, so here's a review

I began 2024 with quite an open mind concerning my career and having worked for Broder Metals Group since February 2020 and setting up a new division, Broder Aerospace, I felt it was time for a new challenge more suited to my interests and passion.

My last duty at Broder Aerospace in February was attending the North West Aerospace Alliance Conference 2024 at the Concorde Conference Centre , Manchester Airport .

The event proved to be hugely enjoyable and I even got to meet Alastair Campbell of all people who proved to be a very entertaining speaker.

After period on 'Garden Leave' I joined Oxley Developments Co Ltd , taking up the position of Business Development Manager - Air on April 15th.

"Spoiler alert", I'm as excited now as the day I received my official offer :)

Since my very first day at Oxley, I have been made to feel welcome by all and this has confirmed my belief as I head into early 2025 that I made the correct decision, as will be seen throughout this article. (With a big thank you to Gary Cox )

The following month, May, was tinged with great sadness as my Mother-in-Law passed away after an ongoing illness and was quite a tough time for my wife and family as they are still coming to terms with our loss.

I took the opportunity for the first time to view the iconic CH-47 Chinook 'Bravo November' one Friday and it proved to be a great chance to visit 'Rotary Royalty'.

It was very quiet that day and whilst walking around the aircraft, I noticed a slightly older couple (Than yours truly) standing nearby and the gentleman uttered the words "Hello old girl"

I gave them a few minutes and walked over, introduced myself and it came about that this guy was aboard the Atlantic Conveyer as a Royal Navy Observer when it went down and was rescued by Bravo November, which by chance was airborne at the time of the sinking.

I felt quite honored to have spent a few minutes listening to his experience in the Falklands War and will not be forgotten.

In June, I attended my first official event as an Oxley employee at the Aerospace Wales Forum Ltd Members Meeting.

It was great to get out for the first time as an Oxley employee and good to meet up again with people I hadn't seen for a while in the industry along with making new connections.

Early July, I attended the ADS Group Ltd Summer BBQ at The Oval.

Although my interest in Cricket does not compare with my love for Aston Villa Football Club , the venue this year was superb. I really enjoyed the day, meeting up with many I've known for years and a few new ones. The icing on the cake was being interviewed by Jonty Egginton for a short video segment of the event with Oxley mentioned as seen here:

https://www.dhirubhai.net/posts/activity-7216477004836024321-F-bb?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

Having been connected on LinkedIn for a fair few years now, it was great to meet Helen Webb FCIM again at RIAT. Helen's experience in the marketing & growth areas in the aerospace industry is up there with the very best, with years of proven experience.

The Saab JAS39 Gripen, is close to my heart, both as a superb aircraft platform, but also as a key customer of ours and meeting 'Yeti' was a bonus on the day at the The Royal International Air Tattoo

'Yeti' invited me over the barrier for a walkaround and he was genuinely interested in how we work with the Saab Gripen team as a supplier.

Farnborough International Air Show 2024 was my 'Debut' for Oxley at a major event and it goes without saying that I thoroughly enjoyed it. I covered around 35 miles walking all over the place that week and it was 100% worthwhile. Splitting my time between Hall 1 and the BAE Systems hall, where we featured was a great experience and a great opportunity in between to meet industry leaders from the global industry primes that I've got to know over the years.

Attending the ATI Conference 2024 was a great experience with Oxley exhibiting on the North West Aerospace Alliance cluster stand.

Day 2 ended really well with a chance meeting with Shaun Harris CBE who kindly visited our stand after his Closing Speech at the event.

After signing up as a Civilian Instructor at the Royal Air Force Air Cadets earlier in the year, I was kindly presented with my certificate and a squadron 'Beanie' by my CO at the Annual Dining Out event.

Toward the end of the year, I played my part in getting our Lockheed Martin UK SMEUNITE approval over the line, with this boding well for future business opportunities.

Original post:

https://www.dhirubhai.net/posts/activity-7260293807638736896-0sGy?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

It was a day well spent speaking with the students at Aldridge School and helping to garner their interest in our beloved industry. For some time in the afternoon, I was over run with questions, interest in our STEM competition to win Haribos, and my well known 'Magic' tricks that ended up with a couple of teachers coming over to see what all the fuss was about :)

https://www.dhirubhai.net/posts/activity-7262054590768988160-L4Hv?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

November marked my first visit to Standard Aero at Fleetlands, Gosport to attend the ADS Group Ltd MRO Special Interest Groupn event.

A really worthwhile day spent with my fellow industry professionals discussing how we can make a difference in the MRO marketplace.

With a fair amount of time spent supporting CH-47 Chinook material requirements previously with Vector Aerospace, it was great to be back there and see how Standard Aero are investing in the site ands it must be said, the future looks bright for Fleetlands.

I ended the year, visit wise with a trip to Sweden, along with my colleagues. This was the first time I had ever travelled this far North and my first visit to Scandinavia.

Visiting our customer Saab was a great experience, meeting all our customer contacts face to face for the first time and spending time with my colleagues for a few days was both valuable and rewarding and I look forward to my next visit.

This was a mix of long walks, spin bike and running, which I thoroughly enjoyed taking part in and raising a little for the Cumbria Community Foundation

Best wishes to all my LinkedIn connections far and wide and thank you for taking the time to go through this slightly 'L o n g' article ??