Louis Vanacore named new ATA investments director

  • Published
  • By Philip Lorenz III
  • AEDC/PA
Arnold Air Force Base, Tenn. --  Aerospace Testing Alliance (ATA) General Manager Dr. David Elrod recently announced that ATA has appointed Louis Vanacore as the contractor's new Director of the Projects and Design Engineering Department, also known as Investments. 

With more than 30 years of engineering and project management experience under his belt, Vanacore will be supporting the 704th Test Support Group and the 704th Mission Support Group in delivering capital improvement projects at AEDC, as well as providing engineering design support for the test and maintenance community. 

Steve Pearson, ATA's deputy general manager, said he has a good working relationship with Vanacore that goes back more than 10 years. 

"I believe that ATA has chosen the right person for this position," he said. "With his management style and broad experience in a variety of engineering management roles on some very complex projects, Louis brings a unique perspective and skill set that will contribute to Arnold's mission, now and in the future." 

Vanacore is excited about working at AEDC and the opportunity to contribute to AEDC's mission and the range of opportunities that lie ahead. 

Ten years ago, Vanacore traveled to AEDC to learn more about the ground testing facilities. 

"It was impressive, just the sheer size of everything," he recalled. "Most of what I saw is one-of-a-kind." 

Vanacore began his career in 1970 as a facilities engineer for Busch Gardens in Tampa, Fla. Before joining Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. in 1987, he served as the manager of the facilities engineering department for E-Systems, Inc., and as the manager of operations for Aero-Engineered System Corp. 

Prior to assuming the position as ATA's director of the Projects and Design Engineering department, Vanacore was the manager of engineering for Jacobs' Cary operations [in Cary, N.C.]. His duties included expanding technical capabilities, improving operational processes and continual improvement of project execution. This involved the proper placement and mentoring of upper-level managers throughout the organization. 

"I had worked with Steve [Pearson] before, that was back probably about 2000," he recalled. "I've had opportunities to interface with the technology organization [at AEDC] quite a bit over a number of years. It's always been a top-notch organization. Having the opportunity to join ATA at AEDC is very exciting." 

Vanacore said AEDC is "a mature organization that has demonstrated its excellence time and again." 

He said the maturity of AEDC, like any organization, is an evolving process. 

"I think there is a normal progression of maturing that occurs in any organization," he said "My near-term vision is to come in and learn, listen and basically to focus on the incremental changes. I am going to do what I can to support them [the AEDC team] moving the AEDC mission forward. Usually the individuals who are closest to the activity have the best viewpoint as to what needs to occur. Continuous improvement is the heart of any good organization." 

Vanacore said one challenge he will face is helping AEDC do more with less. 

"The challenge is to be able to that and do it in a manner that is safe, that's value adding and that builds a trust with your customer," he said. "Obviously, there has to be a good strong trust to be able to work in that manner." 

Vanacore said he is not someone who has a "command and control" approach to management. 

"I believe in decentralization, with empowerment," he said. "Open communication is absolutely necessary." 

Vanacore said he will have an open door policy that will avoid blaming the messenger for bad news and aim toward a consensus and team approach to issues. 

"You can't solve problems unless you engage people and you work through them to understand what the real issues are," he said. 

Vanacore said he is looking forward to joining Team AEDC. 

"I'm looking forward to meeting them," he said. "I don't come with preconceived notions; the only thing that is preconceived is that this is an excellent organization. They've demonstrated it time and time again. I'm going to learn a lot - I'm here to help provide some guidance and have the team move forward. The fact is what we're going to be doing four or five years from now at AEDC, probably isn't all out there yet. That is how technology evolves - that will be our challenge."