- James Barry is Head of Customer Business at Rolls-Royce, based in Derby. He currently leads a team of 12 customer business professionals to manage the largest customer base of the Rolls-Royce overhaul shops. He graduated with a BEng in Aeronautical Engineering in 1994 from the University of Glasgow.
- 1990 -1994
Rolls-Royce Sponsored Undergraduate
1994
Graduated from Glasgow University
1994 -1996
Rolls-Royce Sponsored Graduate Trainee – UK
1995 –1997
Engine Performance Analyst – UK
1997
Green Belt Process Excellence
1997-2000
Customer Analyst / Forecasting – Airline Business
1998
University of Oxford, Oxford Air Transport Course
2000 -2003
Sales & Marketing Manager – Toulouse
2003 - 2005
Head of Service Development – AR&O Corporate
2005-present
Head of Customer Business – Derby AR&O
Career paths
Head of Customer Business - Rolls-Royce
Starting Out
I always had a leaning towards engineering and more specifically planes and so wanted to join the aviation industry in some capacity. I was therefore extremely fortunate to be offered a sponsorship from Rolls-Royce whilst studying Aeronautical Engineering at the University of Glasgow. Over each summer I went onto their placement scheme and through this gained at an early stage a real insight into the way the business worked. In 1994, I joined their graduate training scheme and, after two years, became an Engine Performance Analyst.
A Change in Direction
Although I started my career in a specialist position, the opportunity arose to move into a more business-orientated role. I had started to see myself as a generalist rather than a specialist and felt this was the right move for me. It was where I felt my talents lay and where I could fulfil my capability.
At Rolls-Royce career opportunities within the business are posted internally and you have the option to put yourself forward. This was how my move into Customer Business arose, and in 1997/8 I started as a customer analyst.
After spending two or three years in customer business, as a Customer Analyst, I was very pleased to get the opportunity to move abroad to Toulouse. This was an exciting, and ultimately successful career move. At this time I was Sales & Marketing Manager and the main project I was involved in was working with Airbus.
I was the key interface between Airbus and Rolls-Royce in terms of ‘on-the-ground’ sales and marketing. My role involved collecting intelligence to help those in senior positions with their sales tactics and competitive positioning. I was developing relationships and trust with the key influencers in Airbus and making sure the right people on both sides were talking to each other. The aim of which was to win the business and get Airbus to put Roll-Royce at the front of all their marketing.
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