ATM’s Gina DeSimone sees a big task ahead. That’s what makes it so appealing.

BY ELLEN WHITFORD

The task ahead for Gina DeSimone is huge and complex, and to hear her tell it, that is precisely the appeal.

DeSimone, vice president of Engineering and Programs for Boeing Air Traffic Management, is responsible for developing the next-generation air traffic management system. Current practices have evolved from a system established in the 1950s. Boeing is developing the architecture to modernize that system, and her job is to lead the effort.

"It's a long-range project, but when we're finished, the system will be completely transformed," said DeSimone, who joined ATM in February. "It's a big undertaking, and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

Boeing ATM is taking a top-down, systems-engineering approach and applying network-enabled operations to the next-generation system. In that system, a common network will link ground information to information on board airplanes, either directly or via satellites. The system will reduce passenger delays, improve safety and security, and allow more aircraft to fly at any given time. The ultimate goal is to have transformed the system by 2025.

"It's a shape-the-market business, a new pursuit for Boeing," said Tim Peters, DeSimone's former deputy at ATM and now a senior program director with Future Combat Systems at Integrated Defense Systems. And DeSimone has the dynamic range to handle it, he said. "She's energetic and passionate. She's very fact-oriented, but unlike a lot of engineers, she can handle situations that are not well-structured. She's able to distill things to their essence and talk knowledgeably about them."

DeSimone said she thinks of herself as someone who can see the path to take, and who enjoys bringing everyone along.

That was the kind of challenge she confronted in her previous position as senior site executive in Huntsville, Ala., where she helped merge three corporate cultures into one.

"When I arrived in 2000, we had three heritage companies," DeSimone said. "And my biggest challenge was to turn it into one company. It was a huge job—and a great job—and I poured my soul into it.

"I held roundtables with people and listened to their concerns. But I wouldn't let anyone talk about 'heritage' anything. I banned the 'H' word," she said with a small laugh. "My job was to get everyone to see that we had one, shared destiny."

When she arrived, the site's employee satisfaction score was the lowest in the business unit, then known as Space and Communications. Two years later, the score had climbed 24 percent, from 49 to 61, and ranked with those of other premier companies. To date, that is DeSimone's proudest achievement.

Currently, her task at ATM is translating concepts into reality. "Obviously, there are lots of things that have to happen between now and 2025," she said.

The first step is establishing a multi-agency program office led by the Federal Aviation Administration. And the biggest short-term challenge that DeSimone and her team face is developing a realistic and affordable plan for the transition.

"Everything we're doing now is geared to providing the technical backup for marketing our concepts, such as developing sophisticated modeling and simulation tools," she said. "It's a very big change, because it's political and social and cultural, as well as technical. But it's just the kind of job that Boeing is good at, and we've got a great team. And it's incredibly exciting, which is what keeps me coming in day after day."