American Eurocopter Names Samuel Adcock Vice President – General Manager of its Columbus, MS, Helicopter Production Plant
GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas – American Eurocopter has named Samuel Adcock to the position of Vice President – General Manager of the company’s helicopter production plant in Columbus, Miss. Adcock will assume his new role October 7. He will oversee all operations at the Mississippi plant, will be a member of the American Eurocopter Executive Committee and report directly to President and Chief Executive Marc Paganini.
“I’m pleased to have such an experienced executive like Sam available to take over leadership of our Columbus plant,” said Paganini. “Sam will guide our Columbus operation as we continue to serve our U.S. government customers and prepare to expand our production for the commercial helicopter market.”
American Eurocopter recently announced that it will install a full assembly line in Columbus for production of the AS350 commercial helicopter beginning in the fourth quarter of 2014. AS350 assembly will be in addition to the UH-72A Lakota, which is produced in Columbus for the U.S. Army.
Earl Walker, currently Senior Director and General Manager in Columbus, will assume the new position of Senior Director, Government Relations and will report to Adcock. “There is an increasing need for American Eurocopter to devote time and attention to enhancing relationships with government at all levels as well as local communities and I have asked Earl to focus full time on these efforts,” said Paganini.
Walker joined American Eurocopter in 2006 as Manager of Human Resources for the Columbus facility and assumed the role of Senior Director and General Manager in 2010. He is a native of Mississippi and has a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Mississippi State University.
Adcock has been EADS North America’s Senior Vice President of Strategy and Business Development. In this role, he has been accountable for business strategy, merger and acquisition activities, all business development efforts related to the U.S. government and Foreign Military Sales. He previously served as Senior Vice President for Government Affairs for EADS North America and was directly responsible for all interactions with the U.S. government for regulatory and legislative matters.
Adcock was one of the architects of the EADS industrial strategy that led to the decision by American Eurocopter to invest in development of the Columbus helicopter production facility. He played a major role in obtaining the cooperation of federal, state and local governments.
Adcock has more than 20 years of experience in Washington, D.C., having served in the Executive and Legislative Branches of the U.S. government. Prior to 1997, he served as Director of Defense and Security Policy for the Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate and for more than five years was Legislative Director for Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss.
He moved to the private industry in 1997 when he left Capitol Hill to work for Daimler-Benz as Vice President for Government and Business Relations. After the merger of Daimler-Benz and Chrysler, his responsibilities changed to focus on coordination of the legislative agenda for DaimlerChrysler and facilitating government-related business development projects.
In 1997, Adcock was appointed to serve on the Long Range Air Power Panel, a Congressionally-mandated review designed to assess the nation’s bomber capabilities and recommendations on future development activities. In 2002, he was appointed to serve one term on the Defense Science Board.
An alumnus of the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh, with a master’s degree in Public Administration, Adcock was selected to the Presidential Management Internship (PMI) program in 1987. That led to the start of his federal government career with the U.S. Navy’s Supervisor of Shipbuilding.
About American Eurocopter
American Eurocopter is the U.S. affiliate of Eurocopter, the largest helicopter manufacturer in the world, and a subsidiary of EADS North America Holdings, the North American operations of EADS, a world leader in aerospace, defense and related services. American Eurocopter is a helicopter manufacturer and markets, sells and supports the broadest range of civil and parapublic helicopters offered by any manufacturer. The product line represents the most cost-effective, technologically-advanced helicopters, ranging from light single to heavy twin aircraft, serving all markets and missions. American Eurocopter’s headquarters and main facility are in Grand Prairie, Texas with a large manufacturing and production facility in Columbus, Miss.
