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ZEAN NIELSEN: Inspiring Great Take-offs and Landings

By Nancy Nwelati Coll

Udholdenhed! That’s the word a young Danish Zean Nielsen would have used to describe the power behind his successful take-off into the world of leadership – it means, ‘perseverance’! Today, Zean lives in the United States and is CEO of Cirrus Aircraft, inspiring a more accessible and personal experience in aviation through innovation and attention to the values of flight enthusiasts.

Here is a soundbite of a great conversation the AviNation team had with Zean at AirVenture 2022.

AviNation: How were you introduced to aviation, and how did that get you to where you are today?

Zean: I grew up in a small town in Denmark, 3,000 people, a tiny town. My father bought a small farm that bordered up to a small airport. I played semi-professional soccer in my youth, and I would go run by the airport. I would see all the 172s take off, the gliders, and so forth. Then, every year the airport authority would organize a day for all the neighbors to come out and fly. The first plane I flew was a glider. I was 9 years old. Obviously, I didn’t fly it, but I was in it. It was one of those where there was a stationary crane that pulled you up. But I never got into flying until I joined Cirrus.

AviNation: What was your first job, and do you remember anything from it that helps you today?

Zean: Yes. My first job was with Bang & Olufsen, a high-end electronics company. I started my journey there as an intern, got into the sales and marketing part of it, then the distribution/development part of it.

I moved to the US in 1999, and ended up running the North and South American aspect as the President of Bang & Olufsen. I left that company to go to work for Tesla, for Elon Musk, for four years.

I think, if I take something away, it is to persevere, and be a little humble – learning to listen more than you talk. So sometimes, I slow things down and make sure I’ve heard everybody out, and then I make decisions based on that. Then, you have to persevere through the implementation. There’s no such thing as an overnight success.

AviNation: What was your first, real, memorable hurdle as a young person? Was there something that you had to overcome? And, how did you overcome that?

Zean: A couple of things stick out as hurdles. I was 26 or 27, running Bang & Olufsen and I remember that I was getting super stressed; my blood pressure was through the roof, but I was in relatively fit condition, so I should not have had those sorts of things. I went to my CEO at the time – it was a Danish company- and I was like, “Hey, I’ve got too much on my plate, not enough hours in the day, and you need to take some stuff off my plate and give me more resources for what I need to do.” And he just looked at me, and said, “No. You’re working wrong. You’re not working smart, but you’re working super hard.” So, he basically threw a book across the desk, which read, ‘PEP: Personal Efficiency Program’. And I’m like, ‘Man, what a jerk!’ Here I come and ask for help, and this is what he tells me to do: ‘Dry your little eyes, and go read this book. Off you go.’

I went back, reluctantly read the book, and it changed how I work today. I, now, am way more careful about how I spend my time, who I surround myself with, how I delegate work, and what my priorities are. I changed how I work because of that very cold interaction, but it was the kindest thing he could have done to me. Today, I don’t get stressed anymore.

And, I think about feedback. Today, we wrap feedback in all kinds of softness so we don’t offend anybody. It actually takes the individual longer to course-correct because of that. Sometimes, the biggest kindness is actually to give direct feedback.

AviNation: Are there any subjects through the years that you’ve taken on, that have really been beneficial in your leadership roles, anything that makes you say, ‘You’d better pay attention to this kind of stuff because you will really use it’?

Zean: The schooling system is a little different in Denmark. Essentially, you go through 9th grade, and then choose which direction in life you want to go. I chose business at the time. I spent a lot of energy on Math, Finance, and International Business Law.

In a family where my father was a CEO, my mom was a CEO, and my grandfather was a CEO, they all ran companies and built something. I think what we all picked-up on, in particular, was to look for value, value-creation, and to really refine that. Make products and make services that make the world a better place or somebody’s life a better life. That’s just been my calling.

AviNation: Speaking of that, early-on, who were some of your major influences? And now, who are a few of them?

Zean: I’ve been fortunate that right from my first job at Bang & Olufsen, the CEO at the time, Tolbin Belegot came from Lego with very much this philosophy of ‘You have to play; you have to create something and build something.’ I found him when I was 19 or 20 years old. I watched and learned through mentors like him. After that, I worked for Elon for four years. I watched and observed him, had lots of interactions with him where we disagreed on certain things, and learned my place in the world order. Then I went over to James Hardie, where Louis Gries was a very skilled CEO. So, I’ve just been very fortunate to have some really talented CEOs that I’ve observed and learned from them.

I don’t think there is one mentor. My parents were both CEOs, and ran their own companies. One of my first mentors was my soccer coach.

AviNation: How is Cirrus currently reaching young people with your message of removing the barriers of exclusivity for aviation?

Zean: We have changed how we communicate. Historically, we did mostly events and advertising to get the message out. So, we started doing way more digital, meaning more social media, more website development, more videos, more content on Cirrus Approach and Embark – two platforms where we do training, essentially. Some of that content is free. We actually just gave away a very expensive Take-offs and Landings course that we developed. It took us almost a year to develop it. We gave it away. And, you don’t have to be a Cirrus owner to get some advantages of what to worry about when you take-off and land, right? So, in that sense, we’re trying to create content that has value for all ages that are into learning how to fly.

AviNation: Tell us more about Take-offs and Landings. How was that created?

Zean: We staffed-up our in-house media team. We literally have people that are experts at videography, editing, and putting it all together because we believe training content should be fun. If you can turn learning into gamification and a fun experience that you actually look forward to, and take the next chapter, we believe that’s enormously important in avoiding this plateau that a lot of students run into at all ages. I’m sure you’re already familiar with the statistics - somewhere around eighty or ninety percent of people who start their PPL never finish it. So, why is that? We think we can create an ecosystem where, if the weather is bad, there is a simulator available. You might be able to, at home, be able to game your way to learning how to talk to ATC and how to operate the avionics, so that when you are actually at the airport, paying a lot of money for the flying lesson, some of that stuff is out of the way, so you can focus on your stick and rudder skills.

AviNation: What piece of advice would you give to a young person coming up through the ranks, an aspiring aviation professional or CEO? Is there one piece of advice that they can take away and make sure that they follow?

Zean: For me, perseverance is the key. You’re going to fall a lot, so you have to believe that you can achieve whatever you put your mind to. Once you make a decision, see it through, even if it takes a little longer than you had planned. Be humble along the way; because if you’re not, it comes back to bite you. Be kind. Once you get into leadership positions, you can deliver hard messages and hard feedback, but you don’t have to be a jerk about it. You can be kind. Then, people will follow you and help you, and you can help them. It is perseverance and focus. You have to put in the hours and not be afraid of the hard work.

And then, the last bit is, not everybody has the same skill. Everybody is different at different things, but once you get into school or a business environment, you can only control your attitude and your effort. Everything else will happen. You don’t have to be the smartest person in the room, but you’d better be the most prepared. That is totally within your control - to be the most prepared for whatever is going to be discussed or decisions that have to be made. If you do that, things will be fine. If you show up and you‘re not the smartest person in the room, you’re the loudest person in the room, and you’re not prepared, you’re not going to go very far. I would give myself that advice if I were 20 years younger.

Cirrus is definitely positioned for good landings in the capable hands of Zean Nielsen, no doubt about it! Check out their website, CirrusAircraft.com, for intern programs and outreach programs - everything from Women in Aviation, to Pilots and Paws, Angel Flights, and feeder programs to schools – they are really interested in seeing youth learn how to fly, but also to work for their company.

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