
Jason Cox
President
Cox Machine
Wichita, KS USA
“You don’t have to work yourself out of an industry—you just have to know where it’s going.”
Cox Machine
Wichita, KS USA
“You don’t have to work yourself out of an industry—you just have to know where it’s going.”
President
I oversee the operations and strategic direction of an aerospace company.
My main responsibilities as president are to connect with our customers and set the strategic direction of the company. I spend two to three days every two weeks traveling to the places our parts are used and talking to the people using them. I meet with the strategic decision-makers for the companies that we build parts for to make sure we all have the same goal. My days are filled with a lot of meetings with the main goal of establishing what the company's doing and where the company is going.
Here's the first step for college students
Start working on your business acumen sooner rather than later. Find trade publications online for the industry that you're interested in and use them to keep a finger on what's happening in relevant businesses. I also recommend taking any chance you get to attend an industry conference, whether that be virtual or in-person. Even as a college student, the better you understand the industry, the more prepared you'll be to find the most valuable courses for your journey.