Mr. Keating, 56, was elected President and Chief Operating Officer as well as a Director of the company in September 2007. In January 2008, he became President and Chief Executive Officer and in March 2008 he was appointed to the additional position of Chairman. Prior to joining the company, Mr. Keating served as Chief Operating Officer at Hughes Supply, a $5.4 billion wholesale distributor that was acquired by Home Depot in 2006. Prior to that, he held senior positions at GKN Aerospace, an aerospace subsidiary of GKN, plc, and Rockwell Collins, Commercial Systems, and was a board member for GKN, plc Augusta-Westland. He is a director of Hubbell Incorporated. These positions demonstrate Mr. Keating's extensive history of senior executive leadership and board participation in both of the company's business segments (Aerospace and Industrial Distribution) with emphasis on international operations and acquisitions experience. The Board believes that Mr. Keating's combined role of CEO and Chairman provides the company's shareholders with the benefits of board leadership by an executive with extensive professional background as well as day-to-day knowledge of the company's businesses and markets, strategic plan execution, and future needs.

Ms. Kraus, 73, has been a Director since 1995 and currently serves as the board's Lead Independent Director. She is the retired Chairman of Fleet Bank Connecticut and is a director of Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. and Rogers Corporation.

Ms. Kraus provides the Board with broad financial and operational management experience in the banking industry, having served in several positions at Fleet Bank, N.A. and its predecessors over approximately a twenty-year period. Her industry experience provides the Board with additional perspective on the banking and financial industries, marketing and acquisitions. She also has significant board organizational leadership experience with manufacturing companies, including membership on the Corporate Governance Committee of the boards of Stanley Black & Decker and Rogers Corporation; at Rogers Corporation she is Chairman of that committee. She is also chairman of the Stanley Black & Decker board audit committee.

Mr. Swift, 67, has been a Director since 2002. He is former Chairman of the Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Council and retired Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Foster Wheeler Ltd., a provider of design, engineering, construction, and other services. He is a director of Ingersoll-Rand Company, Ltd., Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated, Hubbell Incorporated and CVS Caremark Corporation. Mr. Swift brings to the Board broad operations management experience in a career with Foster Wheeler, Ltd. that spanned almost thirty years and involved increasingly senior executive leadership positions culminating in his role as Chairman and CEO for seven years. Mr. Swift also has finance experience with a Masters of Business Administration from Fairleigh Dickinson University and service in the role of Chairman of the Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Council for about five years. He is also a Licensed Professional Engineer. In addition, he has audit committee and/or compensation committee membership experience on the boards of Ingersoll-Rand Company, Ltd. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated, Hubbell Incorporated, and CVS Caremark Corporation. This type of experience is important to the Board as a means to provide additional depth of capability to the Audit and Personnel & Compensation Committees. Mr. Swift's background also provides the Board with additional perspective on international operations, financial management, investments, acquisitions, and other finance-related matters.

Mr. Barents, 68, has been a director since 1996. He is the retired President and Chief Executive Officer of Galaxy Aerospace Corp. Prior to that, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of Learjet, Inc. He is also a director of CAE, Inc., and during the past five years was a director at Hawker Beechcraft, Nordam Corp. and Aerion Corp. These positions demonstrate Mr. Barents' extensive history of senior executive leadership and board participation in the aerospace industry. His professional background provides the Board with additional perspectives about the aerospace industry from both commercial and defense-related standpoints as well as regarding marketing and sales trends, acquisitions and international markets.

Mr. Minnich, 62, has been a director since 2009. He served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of ITT Corporation, then a $9 billion commercial and defense business, from 2005 until his retirement in 2007. Prior to that, he served for twelve years in several senior finance positions at United Technologies Corporation, including Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Otis Elevator Company and of Carrier Corporation. As a Certified Public Accountant, he also held various increasingly senior positions with Pricewaterhouse Coopers (then Price Waterhouse) from 1971 to 1993, culminating in Audit Partner from 1984 to 1993. He is a director of AGCO Corporation and Belden Corporation. Mr. Minnich also possesses a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Albright College.

As described above, Mr. Minnich provides the Board with extensive financial and accounting experience gained over a more than thirty-five year career. This experience was important to the Board in connection with his initial election as a means to provide additional depth of capability to the board's Finance and/or Audit Committees. As a current member of the Audit Committee, he is designated an "audit committee financial expert" as defined by SEC regulations. Mr. Minnich has also served on the boards and audit committees of other organizations during the past five years, including AGCO Corporation, a manufacturer and distributor of agricultural equipment and Belden Corporation, a manufacturer of high-speed electronic cables, connectivity and networking products. Mr. Minnich's senior-level operational background also provides the Board with additional perspectives regarding the aerospace industry, defense contracting, international sales and acquisitions.

Mr. Rabaut, 63, has been a director since 2008. Mr. Rabaut has served as a Senior Advisor to The Carlyle Group, a global private equity firm, since January 2007. From June 2005 to January 2007, he was President of the Land & Armaments Operating Group of BAE Systems, a global leader in the design, development and production of military systems. From January 1994 to June 2005, he served as President and Chief Executive Officer of United Defense Industries, Inc., which was acquired by BAE Systems in 2005. He is a director of Cytec Industries, Inc., a premier supplier of advanced composite products. These positions demonstrate Mr. Rabaut's extensive history of senior executive leadership in the defense and aerospace industries. At Carlyle, Mr. Rabaut also serves in the chairman role at Radio Holdings, the owner of ARINC, a Carlyle portfolio company that provides communication and information technology products and services to government and industry. Early in his career, Mr. Rabaut was also associated with FMC Corporation, a predecessor of United Defense Industries in a variety of increasingly senior operations roles. His professional and board experience provide the Board with additional perspectives about the aerospace industry, defense markets, international markets, acquisitions from both commercial and defense-related standpoints, as well as market and sales trends.