Aviation Drives Tim Roberts’ World, But Family Comes First

TIM ROBERTS joined EMS SATCOM as the Honeywell Customer Account Manager in September based in Phoenix, Arizona. Three months into the job we are offered an overview of his career and what drives him

Tim Roberts never met his grandfather as he passed away a year before he was born but his grandfather can take credit for having a lot of influence on his life. His grandfather was a World War II Marine Corps fighter pilot, flying Corsair F4-U4 aircraft off the USS Bunker Hill and he meticulously wrote in a diary everyday from the day he left Alameda to when he returned. It was in the pages of that diary that Roberts discovered his love of aviation.

“Roberts would go on to fly DC-9B aircraft in the U.S. Navy’s Fleet Logistics Support Wing. Providing round-the-clock, global logistics support for the Navy and Marine Corps regular and reserve forces offered the opportunity to transport a broad variety of people and cargo to all corners of the world. The mission and type of cargo and passengers were extremely divergent. From transporting Navy Seals and their gear, to a mission which saw him flying specially trained dolphins to Japan, he’s seen a wide variety of cargo. The most significant, something he would call a lifetime highlight, was when he and his crew spent a week transporting then Secretary of State Colin Powell to various locations throughout Europe.

“It was such a memorable opportunity to see a person at that level be such an exquisite leader and at the same time be a very down to earth guy,” Roberts says. “He would come up to the cockpit on the longer flight legs and spend time with us asking us what was working and what was not; what we saw after our time in the Navy. He looked at the crews and mission like a CEO would—engaged and guiding. It’s a tribute to his exceptional leadership style.”

Roberts went on from the Navy to a successful career at Honeywell where he worked for more than 12 years in various roles including product support, engineering, new business development and technical sales, which is where he met and built relationships with his EMS counterparts. This, he says, was one of the things that attracted him to EMS SATCOM: “I was impressed with their [the team’s] entrepreneurial spirit and drive, their passion for the products and technology, and the customer.” His background and knowledge, both customer and technical, make a good fit.

In his position at EMS SATCOM, he is responsible for not only growing the business, but also strengthening the company’s relationship with Honeywell; ensuring it runs smoothly and efficiently, which will reduce costs and provide benefit for both organizations. Roberts appreciates that relationship, and is focused on the customer and end user. “Professionally, people who know me will say that I am always focused on the end customer,” he says. “I want to make sure that everything we do is with the end customer in mind; asking ourselves how are we making their world more productive, more efficient, or better?”

One of the experiences he enjoyed the most at Honeywell was one that he didn’t fully appreciate at the time. “I was a Customer Support Engineer in Savannah working for Honeywell as part of the GV certification program,” Roberts says. “I was there on site and if they needed Honeywell assistance they come by and I’d go out and fly with them. We were certifying the Honeywell SPZ 8500 System—Sperry Autopilots Avionics Suite. It was an awesome two years working with Gulfstream and the Gulfstream Operators.”

Roberts is happily married with two children, Erin (14) and Brandon (10) and enjoys spending his time coaching Little League and as a leader in Boy Scouts. “What I like about Boy Scouts,” he says, “is that we not only teach the boys how to enjoy the outdoors and expose them to many new things in life, but we teach them about patriotism. We teach them what it takes to become a good citizen and to be a positive contributor in life.” As the assistant Scout Master, he is actively involved in managing nearly 100 boys on camping and hiking trips. “I get an opportunity to spend quality time with my son—I know it’s a fleeting moment in life, but its great because [my kids] are still at the age where they they like to have me around.”

With a Bachelor of Science from Embry Riddle University, he also has a Masters of Business Administration from Thunderbird, Graduate School of International Management.

As to what excites him about EMS, he likens it to the early days of the Honeywell and Allied Signal merger. “EMS has had fairly rapid growth in the market. From an aero perspective, it is great to be able to use my past experiences from the Honeywell restructuring because we went through a similar process, and I have an opportunity to take an active role as EMS emerges as one of the leaders in the aerospace business.”

As a personal goal, he says he looks forward to building and flying his own aircraft. “It’s a huge time commitment, but there are fast build options available that will dramatically reduce the overall build time. It’s one thing to fly a plane, think of how awesome it would be to fly an airplane that you built!?!”