Worldwide Customer Service & Service Center Network
Dassault Aviation
Here’s a question: You build a 250,000 square foot, ultra-modern service center for Falcons. What’s the most important thing in it?
The people, of course!
To recruit top talent—more than 100 professionals–we turned to one of our most experienced technicians and maintenance managers, Melbourne Ops Manager Arnaud Garrouste.
Arnaud has supported Dassault aircraft his entire career, including Mirages fighters and Falcons. He says he’s been working on them since he was a baby. He began technical training at age 16, then spent 24 years in the French Air Force. He was in Saudi Arabia for two years supporting Desert Storm operations, in Africa for two years, and all over the world on GoTeams and other assignments supporting Falcons—often up to eight months a year.
He joined Dassault Falcon Service in 2009 and rose from technician to supervisor. The Ops Manager was a crucial hire for Melbourne, and I knew Arnaud would attract the passionate, experienced team we would need. He is steeped in the Dassault culture of quality, safety and customer focus. And I knew he would seek likeminded people.
From what I am seeing, that is exactly what we’ve got. The Melbourne team is working harmoniously and with efficiency on aircraft from Brazil, Mexico, and the U.S. They’re conducting C-checks, installing winglets on Falcon 2000 aircraft, upgrading three aircraft with Starlink, and cabins with new display technology from Collins, among more routine tasks.
For all that activity, we are ramping up in a measured way to full capacity to ensure all new hires have time to absorb Falcon expertise with proper training and with a good mix of experienced Dassault technicians who can share decades of knowledge.
Arnaud, who arrived in October 2024 has recruited tirelessly. “I’ve attended dozens of recruiting events and done hundreds of interviews,” he reports with a slight note of exhaustion. They’ve paid off with a great team. Many experience technicians came from across the Dassault MRO network, including Little Rock, Reno, and DFS in Paris. That accounts for about 30 percent of the staff. One key player from the network is Caroline Wood, customer project manager, who speaks English, Spanish, and Portuguese. The team is quite multilingual, with French, also, of course. This is a comfort factor for customers scheduling from outside the U.S.
The remainder of the team came from leading U.S. service centers, many with extensive Falcon experience. Arnaud also recruited retiring U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine veterans. Needless to say, they were “mission driven,” but everywhere, he looked for (and found) expertise and passion. Even in a competitive hiring environment, he had no problem attracting top talent who saw Dassault as a prestige employer.
To make sure everyone is doing well Arnaud is constantly walking the floor—classic “management by walking around,” a concept popularized by Tom Peters in his book In Search of Excellence.
Randy Corey, a senior manager within the DFJ Customer Service group, has been another secret weapon for Arnaud. Randy used to play a key role in planning our Operator Advisory Board meetings. For Melbourne, he created and runs a two-week program to acquaint employees with the world of Dassault, with its processes and resources. And also so they quickly feel a part of the Dassault family.
I’m personally very proud of this team, and I’m pleased that we can offer this new level of capacity and support to our customers in the Americas.
Senior Vice President, Worldwide Falcon Customer Service & Service Center Network
Dassault Aviation
