30 Questions with Isaac Armstead
We spoke with Commerce Catalyst Isaac Armstead on what inspires him on a daily basis, and how USD has influenced his work as a commercial spare account manager.
USD Foundation & Alumni Association: What sparked your interest in aerospace?
Isaac Armstead: My interest in aerospace was sparked during my junior-year internship at GE Aviation. Being immersed in the products, the underlying technology and the customer interface brought the field to life. it helped me connect what I was learning in Beacom to real-world aerospace challenges and showed me how engineering, business and customer impact come together. Since then, I've been all in.
U: What fuels your drive to propel innovation?
IA: Competition! My background in sports drives me to push the envelope, personally and with my team, in a health, data-driven way. It keeps me focused on raising the bar on safety, quality, delivery and cost while collaborating to reinvent the future of flight at GE Aerospace.
U: What's one project or idea you've worked on that you're especially proud of?
IA: In my prior role in Boston as the Fulfillment Leader for the F414 program, I led a plant-wide Lean initiative to overhaul our Quality Control Cage. We had a backlog of aged, idle nonconforming material. We built a month-long plan to map the flow, set standard work for review and disposition, and create repair/scrap pathways with clear ownership and daily metrics. The effort reduced nonconforming inventory by $18.5M, freed 826 square feet of manufacturing footprint and improved material flow back to production.
U: What part of aerospace excites you most right now?
IA: The new technology that is going to hit the market! Our CFM R.I.S.E. Program is an open fan platform that is moving from test campaigns toward entry-into-service. It's exciting because this directly translates into lower operating cost for fuel while reducing environmental impact. Further, with it being equipped with carbon-fiber composite blades to reduce the weight and providing increased durability it will compete immediately within the marketplace.
U: What USD experience prepared you most for the aerospace field?
IA: At USD, a combination of courses prepared me most for Aerospace, especially in a customer-facing, cross-functional role. BLAW with Professor Huckabee sharpened my understanding of contracts, and learning what's "in-bounds," which helps me navigate complex customer terms. Marketing/Sales with Professor Wergin taught me to frame value propositions and see issues from a customer's POV. Lastly, Org Behavior with Professor Barney strengthened my influence and stakeholder management. Together, they help me flex to diverse customer needs, both domestic and international, while staying aligned to what's operationally possible.
U: One USD professor or mentor who helped spark your aerospace or business mindset?
IA: Professor Carr's ECON courses sparked it. The logic was clear in class; the challenge was applying it—reading incentives, trade-offs and market signals in the real world. That muscle of turning theory into decisions is core to how I think about customers, costs and value in aerospace.
In one word: what does being a Coyote in aerospace mean to you?
Grit. It's the blend of learn-in-all mindset and follow-through.
U: What's one value you bring to every challenge in your industry?
IA: Staying curious. I believe this skill has allowed me to be a continuous learner no matter the industry or role I've taken on.
U: What' USD lesson or value still guides how you innovate today?
IA: The more you invest in each person’s growth and advocate on their behalf, it will undoubtedly build trust, yield higher performance, and in-turn taught me how to be the leader I want to be.
U: Biggest early-career lesson you've learned in aerospace or commerce?
IA: I was a supervisor for an assembly line building cockpit electrical components during COVID. At age 23, I supervised a 40-person assembly team through COVID, ranging from ages 21 to 75. It was during that role that I truly became a servant leader, I learned to lead with empathy and kindness knowing that people are always at the core of what we do.
U: In one word: the toughest part of working in aerospace.
IA: Castings... if you know, you know!
U: In one word: the most thrilling part.
IA: Complete. Hearing a test engineer say the aircraft build is "complete" is the thrilling payoff to hear that our team's hard work has been finished.
U: What's one misconception people often have about the aerospace industry?
IA: That aerospace products are "just like" other industrial or transportation goods. In reality, the safety parameters and quality gates are extraordinarily RIGOROUS, from material requirements and special processes to component, module and full-engine testing. The smallest washer or bolt component to a complete engine is integral. Flying is the future, and emphasizing the level of care and safety that goes into building/selling an engine is paramount.
U: Early-morning launch energy or late-night problem solver?
IA: Give me the early morning launch energy! You can thank USD football for creating that routine.
U: What's your go-to drink or snack during long stretches of focus?
IA: I typically keep any flavor of Waterloo at my desk with some SkinnyPop popcorn on my side.
What's one word your teammates would use to describe your approach?
Candid, yet casual. I'm easy to approach but want to ensure we're aligned.
U: How do you reset when tackling complex problems?
IA: The best way to reset for myself is to go for a walk/hit the gym. I think after doing so, it can help reset my body mentally to possibly attack a problem from a new angle.
U: What's one skill every aerospace innovator or commerce catalyst should master?
IA: The power of LEAN. It's dawned a few names over the years, but anything Six Sigma or LEAN related principles will inherently help provide the tools to solve problems.
U: What's your "commerce catalyst" superpower?
IA: I think my superpower is my ability to bring people and processes together. Having the soft skills and technical acumen to be a "bridge" in a highly technical space has provided many opportunities to help bring ideas to life or solve systemic problems..
U: Favorite season for big thinking, planning or recharging?
IA: The weeks just before spring. I treat it like the end of hibernation: reset, reflect and lay out the next season's big goals.
U: What's one goal you're excited to pursue next in aerospace?
IA: Build a team to help tackle customer problems or lease/sell aircraft engines. I think this would be a fun and challenging goal to undertake over the next few years.
U: What's an aerospace issues, challenge or opportunity you'll always advocate for?
IA: I'll always advocate for two things: the best idea wins and supply chain linearity. We should prioritize data-backed ideas regardless of where they come from, and build stable, repeatable processes end-to-end.
U: In one word: the future you hope to help build.
IA: Balance. My aim is a future where ambition and stewardship coexist.
U: Favorite study spot on campus where your big ideas took flight?
IA: The infamous 3rd floor of the library. As a certified yapper, it gave me the right amount of isolation and quiet space to lock in for a final or study session.