One On One With AOPA’s New President & CEO, Mark Baker

by Dave Weiman

I had the opportunity to interview newly appointed AOPA President Mark Baker at his request. He wanted Midwest Flyer Magazine readers to get to know him, and he sought the aviation press as a major way to do that.

I felt comfortable with Mark from the get-go. We both grew up in the Twin Cities metropolitan area and learned to fly there… we both worked in lumberyards as college students… we both took our ground school instruction in the same Aeronautical Science building on the University of Minnesota campus, and graduated from that university… and we know many of the same people in the flying community, and attended some of the same aviation events over the years. Our paths definitely crossed, and why we never met before now, I don’t know, but we certainly got better acquainted during the interview.

Mark joined the University of Minnesota Flying Club and trained under our mutual friend, Waldo Anderson. Waldo trained Mark for his seaplane rating, commercial pilot certificate – all the way up to his high-altitude endorsement flying Citations.

He has owned a number of airplanes over the years, from the J-3 Piper Cub he still owns today, to Cessna Citations he used as president and CEO of some major corporations like Home Depot and Gander Mountain. He recently purchased a gorgeous Beech 18 on floats that was owned by Al Lund of Hayward, Wisconsin – a plane I have seen and photographed at the “Minnesota Seaplane Pilots Association Annual Safety Seminar & Fly-In” on East Gull Lake in Brainerd, Minnesota. Mark has also attended that event many times.

I came away from the interview knowing that he has turned around a lot of corporations to make them more profitable. While many of the same principles in the business world can be applied to organizations such as AOPA to add value to their memberships, as a long-time member himself, Mark knows that the main job of AOPA is “advocacy,” which we would all agree with.

With advocacy being front and center on Mark Baker’s agenda, I asked him what he felt is the single biggest threat to GA?

“I think if you reflect on what happened with sequestration this past year, budget cuts are real and affect a lot of pilots. We have to make sure that the right interests are protected, and that’s AOPA’s job.

“We need to work with other aviation organizations, such as GAMA, NBAA, NATA and EAA to bring to the FAA’s attention the things that are really important to us. We realize the FAA needs to cut some areas, but we have to help the agency realize what is important to us, and what is not important to us, so officials can make cuts where it will do the least harm to general aviation.”

What is your take on the potential for more “user fees” and what should we as a pilot community be doing to avoid them?

“My first inclination is that we need to work on the cost side first – help find savings where we can. I think there is a lot of opportunity here. In a perfect world, we would have everything, but that’s not very realistic.

“For instance, do VORs need to be funded when they are seldom used for navigation? Can we eliminate redundant approaches that are seldom used? Getting amendments to Part 23 approved to lower aircraft certification costs would also help. Changes in the Third Class Medical would save the FAA $11 million without compromising safety. At the same time, it would save pilots money that could be better spent on new equipment that would enhance safety.

“I will be meeting with FAA Administrator Michael Huerta very soon and will discuss this. We cannot do what we have done in the past. We must prioritize!

“We want to work with the other national aviation organizations and hopefully come up with a cohesive list of services we want to keep, and those we can do without.”

As president of AOPA, what is your position on the fees being charged EAA AirVenture Oshkosh for air traffic control services?

“I am a big supporter of EAA and the leadership of EAA, Jack Pelton. Our elected officials have to decide what authority the FAA has in this regard, and we need to know what we can expect going forward.”

What do you feel about the “privatization” of the air traffic control system?

“My first reaction is that Congressional approval of FAA budgets and long-term public oversight of the air traffic system is critical. I am concerned with what’s going to happen in the months and years ahead.”

Do you support NextGen to the point that you are willing to accept a system of user fees above and beyond the federal excise tax on aviation fuel?

“Continual improvements in aviation navigation and communication will evolve, and we want to support that because we don’t want to be left with 20th century technology when there is much better and safer technology available. But how it gets paid for is another issue. I’m not a fan of user fees when there are costs that can come out of the system. The FAA wants a safe system as much as we do, so hopefully we can work together on this and reach a common goal.”

What did you accomplish at each of the corporations you worked for?

“I got my start in business working at Knox Lumber Company off Prior Avenue in St. Paul, which was started by a couple of World War II pilots. I started with Knox working retail in 1975 for $2.29 per hour. While at Knox, and going to school full time at the University of Minnesota, I learned to fly, and bought my first airplane – a Cessna 150. After 15 years at Knox, I ended up becoming vice president of marketing, and helped the owners sell the company.

“I first started using an airplane for business when I went to work for Scotty’s in Florida as vice president of merchandising. I was flying a Cessna Cardinal RG at the time.

“After I helped sell Scotty’s, I went to work for Home Club in Orange County, California and bought a Beechcraft Debonair to fly to stores up and down the West Coast.

“I joined Home Depot in 1994 as president of its Midwest Division and opened up all of the stores in that region flying a Beechcraft Baron from store to store. That division grew from nothing to $6 billion in sales in 5 years.

“I then moved to Atlanta as Chief Operating Officer of Home Depot and bought a Cessna Citation 500 to commute to my home in the Twin Cities.

“After that, I became President and CEO of Gander Mountain, where I initially opened up 25 new stores and then another 100 stores, increasing sales to $1 billion a year. I was traveling quite a bit then and flew the company Citation a lot.”

Was that your idea to hang bush planes from the ceilings of all of the Gander Mountain stores?

“Guilty as charged!

“After Gander Mountain, I became President and CEO of Scott’s Miracle Grow and commuted in a CJ from Minneapolis to Columbus, Ohio.

“I finally ended up at Orchard Supply – an 85-year-old hardware and garden center headquartered in California, where I worked hard to resurrect its customer service, then left that position in March of 2013.”

Do you feel that an association should be operated like a corporation, and if so, why or why not?

“There are parallels. You must have value, whether buying a product from a business or paying a membership fee to an association. The main difference is that in an association, your primary concern is what is important to the membership.

“Advocacy, protecting our freedom of flight, working hard on getting the Third Class Medical changed, and making changes in Part 23 aircraft certification seems to be important to members. What will help is that general aviation has the largest caucus in Congress today.”

What are your plans in your first 90 days at AOPA?

“Getting closer to members and to put more focus on protecting our airports.”

How did the decision to discontinue the annual AOPA Aviation Summit come about?

“I visited with the staff in my first days on the job.  After exploring our options, it was clear to me that we had to change the format from one national convention to multiple regional fly-ins. It was time for a change!

“There’s obviously a lot of good that comes from members getting together at one central location once a year – an exchange of ideas and thoughts, seeing new products – but this can be expensive for both members and the association.

“Whenever you hold an event where there is a common bond, it is good, so we want to continue that, but in a regional format. AOPA started with a fly-in in 1962, and as the industry has gone through a lot of changes over the years, we are going full circle to return to that fly-in format to reach our members.”

In your opinion, how can the industry best grow and expand itself?

“By increasing airport access. I am really bothered by tall metal fences and no trespassing signs at our airports today. We need airport ambassadors – airport tours. I want more airports to have FUN, again. We don’t want airports to be exclusive. We want them to be inviting places to go where there are picnic tables, cookout grills and it is easy for the general public to watch airplanes. We want to get our communities involved with our local airports.”

What can pilots do to protect their right to fly?

“The first thing is to join AOPA. One other thing is for members to engage with their state legislators and local elected officials. We need visibility in our state houses around the country and for members to be in close contact with their federal elected officials.”

What percentage of AOPA members do you feel are familiar with industry issues?

“A high percentage due to our communications with them.

“I am proud of what the staff does with the magazine, and the traffic we have on aopa.org. We have a devoted membership and staff.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: I solicited some questions from some of our readers. Here is what concerns them:

For many years, I have seen GA going the way of Europe in so far as there’s a light sport/pleasure market on the one end, and a turbine/jet market on the other. This is leaving a huge gap and resulting decline – and I think the eventual loss – of personal transportation aircraft that you and I fly. What does Mr. Baker see that will renew the personal transportation market in the United States?

“I understand that part because I have been flying for business and pleasure all my life. Changing Part 23 certification will help lower the cost of aircraft and avionics and make flying safer, and so hopefully more people can enjoy flying for personal transportation.”

One of the most important issues I see facing the pilot community is the lack of cooperation from the FAA to help solve pressing issues, such as helping to address the decline in student starts and controller staffing and cost issues. Instead, the FAA wastes resources in creating and enforcing annoying/meaningless regulations and unilateral mandates. It’s almost as if the FAA has become a slow moving, non-directional/adversarial force. What can we do as a pilot community and fraternal organization to regain significant influence to facilitate the concept that the FAA exists to serve its customers? I have never felt so unwelcome by the government since I became a pilot in 1969. We are NOT drones.

“I understand the rant, but the FAA is not an enemy at the end of the day. The FAA has a situation on its hands. The agency is trying to fill too much on the menu. We need to help them rearrange the deck. I think there are a lot of great people in the FAA trying to do it all with limited resources. We have to work together to make sure we protect the things that matter most to us. I look for progress, but it will certainly be a challenge.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: More on AOPA and Mark Baker https://www.midwestflyer.com/?p=6887.