Captain Eddie Kurdziel

Capt. Eddie Kurdziel is the founder and CEO of S-T-R-I-K-E. As founder, he formulated the STRIKE concept in 2005 in response to a single question from a colleague; "You consistently perform at 100% on a daily basis, is there a way to apply what you do everyday to a business environment?" The company specializes in the latest human factors concepts for procedures and checklist design for "high risk" industries ranging from aerospace to medicine. He did his undergraduate and graduate work in Mechanical Engineering at Marquette University with a specialization in Human Factors. He bought his first airplane at age 18 before he had an automobile. Commissioned as one of the youngest officers in the United States Navy, he went on to work as contract liaison between Lockheed Corporation and the Navy. He managed a total rewrite of the training syllabus for the Lockheed S-3 that was emulated by both the B-1 bomber as well as the Space Shuttle programs. This work also took him to China Lake and the Lawrence Livermore Labs doing development testing to be integrated into the S-3 training program. Capt. Eddie is a serial entrepreneur with an overwhelming passion for aviation and all of its many facets. He has in excess of 36,900 flight hours in aircraft ranging from the 747 to carrier based military fighter aircraft. He has 47 years of aviation experience to draw on - 25 years on active and reserve duty with the United States Navy as a carrier aviator, and 36 years as a pilot with Northwest and now Delta Airlines, 20 years of that time as a 747 Captain. Ed's business background is also very diverse. He was a co-founder of ATAC (Airborne Tactical Advantage Corporation), a defense services provider - unique in that it was the only business of its kind. He completed the 8 year / 45000+ man hour restoration of Fairey Firefly WB518, a WWII era fighter plane whose awards have garnered him permanent recognition by the Smithsonian. He co-wrote a 10 part series for Public Television commemorating the 50th anniversary of the end of WWII in the Pacific. He has flown in and been featured in numerous film and television projects. He currently owns and manages four separate diverse businesses. Airworld, an aviation services provider has just been completed at San Diego's Gillespie Field. He is working with Fenix Space to provide routine, reliable small satellite launch capability for customers around the world.