Arrogant French management prevents AEC from reaching its full sales potential within the U.S.
Pros
Building helicopters is an interesting industry. The company is small enough to allow access to all parts of the operation for those who are interested.
Cons
The biggest downside is the French management and their caste system mentality. If you are not a French ex pat, you can forget a senior level career with this company. Pay and benefits for equivalent title and responsibility jobs are dramatically greater for French employees than for American employees. An inordinate amount of time is spent in meetings; in 25+ years in corporate America, I have never seen so much time wasted in meetings that accomplish nothing. I also experienced more arrogance from senior management and French ex pats than I have ever encountered. The rules simply did not apply to them. Information and knowledge are not shared.