Rotorcraft
New MD Helicopter Head is Turning Company Around
In an interview ahead of this year's HeliExpo, new MD Helicopters chief Brad Pedersen described plans to mend bridges with the industry.
MD Helicopters president and CEO Brad Pedersen
MD Helicopters' new president and CEO, Brad Pedersen, has a long history with the company's products, having served as a flight test engineer with MD predecessor Hughes Helicopters during the 1980s. He has been tasked with getting the airframer back on track. (Photo: MD Helicopters)

It’s been an eventful year for MD Helicopters. Since the rotorcraft industry gathered for the last Heli-Expo, the Mesa, Arizona-based rotorcraft manufacturer was sold, emerged from bankruptcy, and had new leadership installed.

A year ago, the company announced that it had entered into an asset-purchase agreement with a creditor consortium led by Bardin Hill and MBIA Insurance. The consortium acquired nearly all of MD’s assets and provided tens of millions of dollars in capital to strengthen its financial position and support its ability to manufacture and service its products.