Tray Siegfried leaves NORDAM for job with Persimmon Group

• February 15, 2011
  
  

  By D.R. STEWART, Staff Writer
  Tulsa World
  2/15/2011

  After working for 12 years in several management positions at NORDAM Group, Ray H. (Tray) Siegfried III has resigned to become director of aerospace services at The Persimmon Group, a Tulsa management consulting company.

  Siegfried, 41, the eldest son of NORDAM’s late founder, Ray Siegfried II, was NORDAM’s vice chairman before joining Persimmon. He said he remains a shareholder of the privately held company.

  “Tray brings with him a deep understanding of the strategic needs and challenges in the aerospace industry – not only in Oklahoma, but also at the national and international level,” said Persimmon President and CEO Bill Fournet. “In addition, Tray has significant expertise as a military and industry leader with years of hands-on experience.”

  A 1992 business administration graduate of the University of Notre Dame, Siegfried also holds a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Tulsa. Among management and marketing positions at NORDAM, he served as program manager on the company’s Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. G200 interior integration project.

  Siegfried holds an Airline Transport Pilot rating, and he is a lieutenant colonel in the 138th Fighter Wing of the Oklahoma Air National Guard. He has participated in multiple overseas deployments with the Oklahoma Air National Guard as well as flying at least a half dozen F-16 fighter combat missions in Iraq.

  “Flying’s a thrill. You challenge yourself in time, preparation and the flying itself, and the camaraderie of the group that flies is something,” Siegfried said. “You have a bond with them that’s very different from what you get in ordinary life. It’s definitely a change of pace.”

  Siegfried speaks highly of the F-16, General Dynamics’ elegant 1,300-mph Fighting Falcon, which he has flown for 16 years.

  “Every day and every ride is thrilling,” he said. “It’s one compact office with a lot of tools at the officer’s disposal. It’s not like anything else I’ve flown.”

  Siegfried said he is leaving NORDAM, the 42-year-old Tulsa aerospace manufacturer where his sister, Meredith Siegfried, is president, and his brother, Hastings, is an executive, because he wants to branch out from the family business.

  “You talk to people in similar positions, and I just didn’t want to reach retirement age and wonder what else I could have done,” he said. “The aerospace industry is a great industry, and I have a passion for it that my father taught me and which I hope to transfer to Persimmon.

  “I worked with great people and had great experiences at NORDAM – in operations, sales, executive relationships. NORDAM offered me the opportunity to see a real good cross-section and balance between people management and sales management in a privately held business.”

  Martin Piplits, vice president of Persimmon and leader of its business consulting practice, said Siegfried will be key in growing the firm’s aerospace business, whose clients include Boeing Co. and Spirit AeroSystems Inc.

  “Tray will be fundamental in expanding our services within aerospace and toward strengthening our reputation as the ‘go-to’ management and business consulting company in the markets we serve,” Piplits said. “Also, Tray’s experiences apply well beyond aerospace. This enables clients in other industries to leverage his knowledge to improve their organizations.”

  Siegfried said that over the years he has had a chance to meet and work with Persimmon executives and consultants.

  “I liked the people and their culture,” he said. “I’m excited.”

  The Persimmon Group
  Business: Management consulting in the private and public sectors, specializing in business strategy, project management, information technology and leadership development.

  Founded: 2004.

  Staff: Former executives and senior managers from IBM, Ernst & Young, Starbucks, EDS, J.B. Hunt, Bank of Oklahoma, AT&T, Hilti and H&R Block.

  Clients: Boeing Co., NORDAM Group, Spirit AeroSystems, BOK Financial Corp., J.P. Morgan Chase, Cherokee Nation Enterprises, QuikTrip, University of Oklahoma,
  Tulsa Community College, University of Tulsa, ONEOK, Williams Cos., city of Tulsa, state of Kansasand the Texas Workforce Commission.

  Source: The Persimmon Group

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