Kyle McGillivray, Chief Human Resources Officer – Precision Aviation Group
Kyle grew up in Hutchinson, Kansas, the youngest of six children. Not knowing what he wanted to do after high school; he went to junior college, left school and worked full-time for a year, then decided to earn a BA in Business at Fort Hays State University. After graduation, he worked for a small insurance company in Kansas City. It went bankrupt nine months later. Fortunately, for over five years in high school and college, Kyle had worked for Kroger Supermarket in various roles. Thanks to that retail experience, he was hired by Toys-R-Us in their Management Training program as a Front-End Manager responsible for holiday hiring.
“In four months, I learned retail management and gained extensive recruiting experience hiring over one hundred and twenty employees. In January, I managed the winding down of seasonal staff. It was an interesting way to start my career in Human Resources. I learned a lot on my feet,” said Kyle.
“As an HR Generalist for over 25 years, I was fortunate to have worked with and for some great people, learning best practices along the way while increasing my scope and responsibilities. My experience in a range of different types of industries and with international companies gave me a broad perspective,” explained Kyle. “However, pursuing career opportunities across seven states is never easy. I’m thankful that my wife Heather and two children are very supportive. We try to enjoy wherever we live — mountains, desert, plains, and the ocean. We like hiking, rafting, fishing, golfing, watching sports or whatever people in the area do for outdoor fun.”
Kyle joined PAG in December 2023. He was living in Arizona and not looking to leave the state. “The only company I ever seriously considered moving for was PAG because of its tremendous growth over the previous few years and would continue to grow. Having been on both ends of growth and struggle, it’s more interesting and fun to grow. It is an exciting thing to be a part of and I am glad I chose to join Precision Aviation Group.”
“I met PAG’s and GenXx360’s leadership teams during my interviews. In every discussion they were remarkably passionate about the business, how they wanted it to expand, what’s been accomplished, and opportunities for the future. My experience with large international and retail corporations, not just in aviation, aligned with what they needed,” Kyle continued. “I felt it was a perfect match and that I could contribute to PAG’s future growth.”
Kyle was very encouraged by leadership’s directive to grow the company in ways strategically significant to PAG’s core business. They also were looking to do things differently in HR, most importantly developing consistency across all locations to support PAG’s growth as a global business.
“In a way, we are rebranding PAG’s HR function,” said Kyle. “Initially by focusing on the HR structure, vision, and strategy to get a new foundation set and then we will establish the right policies and procedures in place, while staying compliant with laws and regulatory updates. It’s a lot to pay attention to. Our team is working on the U.S. now and will focus more on our international businesses in the future as we gain momentum.”
To be an effective functional leader, Kyle believes the HR team must be future oriented, with an understanding of PAG financial assets and operational strategies. “Our role is to partner with PAG’s company leaders and employees to help move their businesses forward. HR can be a trusted advisor or coach to help get them through challenging situations. First, we need to fully understand each business to gain that trust. Then working together, we can create opportunities for people development, talent acquisition, change management, and culture.”
“The greatest asset PAG has are its employees,” Kyle concluded. “The HR team loves being in the aviation industry and are proud of what we do. Every location contributes in helping aviation operators, law enforcement, defense, and first responders around the world to keep flying. Each of us has a part to play in that.”
— PAG Insider
