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Why Listen

My conversation today is with two different Veterans senior in the tech industry. In addition to talking about their long and successful career including operations, program management, product management and more, we talk about the ideal team player (based on their experience hiring hundreds of people), the difference between a good boss and a bad boss, differences in leadership out of the military, and more. This interview brings over 20 years of hard earned experience that is a wealth of knowledge regardless of your desired career path.

About Mike Sedgwick

Mr. Sedgwick is Vice President of Defense and Aerospace Products for SCI Technology, Inc. (SCI), a Sanmina company, in Huntsville, Alabama. Mike is responsible for oversight of SCI’s Aircraft and Tactical product organizations including the FireComm® and TOCNET® product lines. He has extensive expertise in wide-ranging areas including Strategic Planning, Defense & Aerospace Contract Management, P&L Accountability, Business Development, Project Management, Contracts, Budgeting, Scheduling, and Logistics.

Mike previous held the titles of Senior Program Manager and Director of Aircraft Systems with SCI.

Prior to his latest move to SCI, Mr. Sedgwick served as General Manager of AAR Integrated Technologies and Business Director for the Hypersonic Design and System Integration segment at i3. Mike has managed organizations and teams that include Program Management, Engineering, Contracts, Quality, Manufacturing, HR and Supply Chain to ensure the seamless production of sophisticated defense and aerospace hardware.

Beyond his impressive business credentials, he served honorably in the U.S. Armed Forces. He currently serves in the U.S. Army Reserve as a Military Intelligence Officer. Previously, Mike served as Battalion Intelligence Officer (S-2) with 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) and as a Company Executive Officer with the 82nd Airborne Division.

Mr. Sedgwick holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Manufacturing Engineering from Brigham Young University and an MBA from the University of Phoenix.

About Peter Cianfaglione

Peter Cianfaglione is Vice President of Operations at SCI Technology, Inc., a Sanmina Company, in Huntsville, Alabama. Peter is responsible for SCI’s manufacturing operations to include production, manufacturing, quality engineering, and supply chain.

Born and raised in Ottawa, Canada, Peter completed an Electrical Engineering degree at the University of Ottawa in the Regular Officer Training Program (the Canadian equivalent to ROTC). During and upon completion of his degree, he served in the Canadian Army as a Combat Engineer and Infantry Officer (including service with the Commando in the Canadian Airborne Regiment).

In 1993, Peter joined Motorola while transitioning to reserve service. He moved to the United States in 1997 with Motorola while continuing his service as a Canadian Army Reservist including exchange postings with 82nd Abn, 36th ID (Texas National Guard) and 4th ID. In addition to these roles, he also supported the sharing of information between the Canadian and United States militaries on lessons learned in IED awareness from both the Iraq and Afghanistan campaigns.

Shortly after becoming a U.S. citizen in 2005, he was mobilized in support of recovery operations following Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. Following a move to Huntsville, Alabama, in 2006, Peter took on various capacities with Benchmark Electronics in electronics manufacturing while both continuing his role with the Canadian Army Reserves as well as completing a Masters Degree in Electrical Engineering.

Peter returned to his home town of Ottawa, Canada from 2009-2011 to work for General Dynamics while commanding a reserve Engineer Battalion. While in Ottawa, he completed his third and final deployment. Upon his return to the United States in 2011, he resumed work with Benchmark Electronics in various capacities, including General Manager and Vice President - Global Accounts.

Peter is a graduate of the Canadian Army Command and Staff Course, New Zealand Grade 2 Staff Course and Canadian Joint Command and Staff Programme. He joined SCI in 2020 and is currently working towards completion of a PHD in Engineering. He and his wife of 25 years have seven children, two of which are presently serving in the U.S. military.

Selected Resources: 

https://www.sci.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/sci-technology-inc/

https://www.sanmina.com/ (parent company)

https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-cianfaglione/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikesedgwick1/

Transcript & Time Stamps:

1:55

Joining me today from Huntsville, Alabama are Peter Cianfaglion and Mike Sedgwick. You both have extremely distinguished backgrounds. Is there anything else you’d like to add to the biography we just shared?

Peter: I also completed an MBA which I feel like really helped me during my transition into the civilian workforce. 

Mike: I started out in the Infantry and transitioned into intelligence later in my career. I completed three deployments - one in the Infantry and two as an Intelligence Officer. 

7:20

What was your transition out of the military like? 

Peter: For me, it was a time when the Canadian military was going into a slow period and was experiencing a lot of budget cuts. I decided to get out at that point. I was initially scared by the transition. There was a risk involved and I didn’t know if my skills were suitable for the civilian workforce. 

I really missed the camaraderie that I experienced in the  military. On a day-to-day perspective, my civilian work was nowhere near as exciting as what I did in the military. I think it helped that I was still serving in the Reserves so I was still able to go back to what I loved about being in the military. 

MIke: I loved my time in the Army. Going into the Reserves helped me during my transition. When I joined the Army, I never intended to do 20 years. I ended up doing almost 8. I was excited to get out and transition into the business world. I had completed my MBA when I was still in the military. 

What was difficult for me was the amount of leadership it takes to succeed in the civilian workforce. In the military, when you give an order, that’s pretty much it. But it’s not that way in the civilian workforce. It takes a little bit more of a fine tuned leadership style to succeed in that situation. 

11:45

How do you explain your current role?

Mike: I focus on program management. I knew leaving the military that this was what I wanted to do. I worked in manufacturing and am now more focused in defense electronics manufacturing. In this track, you start out as a program manager overseeing one program. As you gain experience, you take on a portfolio of several programs. 

Peter: I consider myself to be the pointy end of operations. I direct the operational function of our organization. There are a number of employees that work for me. I bring them together and align them toward the goal of successfully completing product development. 

14:50

What attracted you to manufacturing? 

Mike: I have a degree in manufacturing engineering. It’s always been something I’m interested in. The reason I got specifically interested in defense manufacturing was because of my background in the military. Even after I left the military, I wanted to continue to support the men and women that serve in the armed forces. 

Peter: When I left the military, I was in a Product Design role at Motorola. In that role, I used to interact frequently with our manufacturing department. I was really interested in what they were doing and thought that it would be a good fit for me. After that, I started to transition into roles that were more focused on manufacturing. 

I gravitated specifically to the defense industry because it gave me the ability to support the warfighter which is a passion for me. When I was deployed as a member of the military, I used various equipment that I felt was flawed in its design. I try to keep that in mind as I create and design pieces of equipment know. I think about the man or woman that will be using it on the ground and what features that product will need to serve them well. 

19:45

How are defense focused organizations different from other companies that don’t have a defense focus? 

Peter: There are a lot of challenges that are unique to the defense industry. A lot of that is needed to work within various government regulations. So there are a lot of restrictions that simply don’t exist in other industries. 

Another challenge that we deal with is that we are the defense portion of a larger company that does many other things not involved in defense. SCI Technologies is wholly owned by Sanmina. So sometimes it can be difficult to make sure the parent company understands all the nuances of creating products within the defense space. 

Mike: I agree that the regulations make the defense industry very unique. Dealing with regulations slows down the cycle of our product release. If I was creating a product for Apple, we wouldn’t be dealing with regulations and we could have the product out the door within 18 months. That cycle is much slower for product development and manufacturing within the defense industry. 

Peter: Two of my children are in the military so for me, this job is personal. My children will likely use the equipment created by SCI. 

Mike: I remember an engagement I was part of when I was deployed to Iraq. We lost communications for a period of about 30 minutes. Finally, an Apache arrived on scene and we were able to communicate with him because he had different communications equipment. That equipment was made by SCI. So I agree with Peter. This job is very personal. 

26:30

What does your day-to-day look like? 

Peter: My day here is not that much different than when I was a Battalion Commander. I start my day by checking my email and getting a situational awareness for the day. I then head into my morning meeting. We discuss the quality metrics surrounding the projects that we’re working on. Throughout the morning, I usually have several meetings regarding the strategic initiatives that we want to drive. And then I get out on the floor. Human interaction is important to me. I spend 1-2 hours during the day talking to different people on the floor. 

I try to talk to the customers everyday as well to make sure our equipment is working for them as it should be. At the end of the day, I’ll wrap up by checking my emails again to make sure I’m aware of the status of all of our projects. 

Mike: I have a similar schedule to Peter. I start out the day with planning and catching up on email and then move to more operationally focused tasking throughout the day. In the military, as a junior member, you’re doing tactical operations. As you move up the ranks, you’re more focused on strategic thinking. It’s similar here. I try to balance being on the ground with the men and women on our team with spending time thinking more strategically about a long-term vision for the company. 

33:20

What is the distinction between managing a program vs. managing a product?

Mike: Program management starts out with project management. You identify a task or project and manage it end to end. Program management is managing a collection of projects. 

Product management is more strategic. It’s thinking about what features and products our customers will want in the future and adapting our operations to meet that. 

36:00

What certification does someone need to succeed in the field?

Mike: The Project Management Professional certification is important. You’ll certainly learn more from being on the job but the PMP certification allows you to speak in the same language as other program managers. Many companies won’t even consider you for a role without the PMP certification. 

38:30

What traits allow people to succeed in this field?

Mike: I recommend the book The Ideal Team Player to anyone transitioning out of the military. The author speaks about being hungry, humble, and smart as a foundation for success in any field. 

40:00 

What’s the most difficult part of your job?

Peter: The hardest thing for me is dealing with the human element of the job. I can figure out any problem or technical issue. But dealing with motivating employees and getting people to do what you want them to do is much more difficult. In leadership roles, you need to keep your workers motivated and hungry. When you’re in the military, you give out an order and people do it. But in the civilian world, you really have to lead and inspire your people in order to motivate them. 

We’re also seeing a generational shift in how people view work. People of my generation were much more likely to stick with a job or company for a long period of time. The younger generation of workers is different. They really want to be in a role that they feel inspired by. So as a leader, you have shape your message to each person in order to keep them passionate about what they’re doing. 

When you leave the military, you leave an environment that is very structured. There is a tendency when you leave the military to be the same way in the civilian workforce. But a autocratic leadership approach probably won’t resonate with people outside the military So you’ll need to adjust your leadership style to fit that. 

46:50

If someone listening is interested in going into manufacturing, what can they do to prepare to enter the industry?

Peter: There are five things I recommend:

• Study up on the technology that is common in this field. One of the challenges I see with people wanting to enter this field is that they don’t have technical skills. 

• Do a lot of reading and studying regarding lean systems and practices. 

• Take a look at your resume. Make sure that your resume speaks to everything that you’ve accomplished in your previous roles. List things that you’re doing outside of work like extra classes or certifications. 

• You need to network. Get to know the organizations that you’re interested in working with. 

• Learn about leadership techniques that are common in the civilian workplace. It’s a different world but you can prepare yourself for it. 

50:00

Why should people consider a career at SCI?

Mike: Defense contractors are very friendly to people that have a military background. SCI is very pro-military and pro-veteran. The recruiting teams at SCI are very familiar with hiring men and women with military backgrounds. 

SCI is a fast-paced working environment where you will have the opportunity to learn a lot. So if you like that pace, this would be a great fit for you. 

Peter: There’s definitely no boredom in this job. I’ve worked in slower paced environments before coming to SCI and I find this so much more fulfilling. 

I would also echo Mike that this company is great to veterans. As a Reservist, I feel completely supported and my career progression through the organization is completely supported. 

55:00

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Peter: I always tell people to remember the attributes that made you successful in the military and bring those over to the civilian side. Also continue to grow whether your inside or outside the military. You constantly want to make sure that you’re improving yourself. And finally, remember that your leadership style will need to shift as you exit the military. I recommend the book Good Boss, Bad Boss to learn more about this. 

Mike: I was more nervous than I needed to be leaving the military. You don’t need to be overly nervous about the transition. You’ll find a job. You’ve gained a lot of skills in the military that will translate well into the civilian sector. And I would echo Peter that continuous learning is vitally important to you throughout your life.