About
Senior partners. Certified Fractional Executives. One Pilot standard.
Founded by Andrew Bielat in 1997 and built around a handpicked group of experienced operators, advisors, and leaders.
The Pilot Bench
Six Senior Operators. One Shared Standard.
Each Pilot engagement is staffed from a senior bench. Andrew leads every engagement, supported by a senior bench engaged by assignment and matched to the work.
Rick Smith
Senior Partner
HR & Organizational Change
Rick brings over 35 years of senior HR leadership and deep organizational change expertise. He has served as a fractional leadership development partner coaching C-suite leaders, leading major transformations, and implementing change strategies that teams fully own after he steps back.
"Our approach to performance improvement is grounded in Prosci's research-based change management best practices. By working collaboratively with an organization's key leaders, we help drive meaningful results while ensuring that improvements are effectively adopted and sustained."
Mark A. Coudray
Senior Partner
Growth Strategy & Entrepreneurship
Mark brings over 50 years of entrepreneurial leadership and deep expertise in business growth strategy, innovation, and optimization. He has served in embedded advisory roles coaching CEOs, building scalable growth systems, and mentoring on pricing, digital transformation, and profitability.
"Finding a better way, and sharing it with others, for the Greater Good."
Kim McCutcheon
Senior Partner
Leadership Development & Military Discipline
Kim brings decades of leadership development expertise. A U.S. Army Chemical Corps Officer and founder of Lorica Leadership LLC, she inspires leaders through keynote speaking and training programs that drive lasting cultural and performance improvements.
"I'm a product of the product! When I was leading a struggling organization under a Cure Notice, Pilot's guidance helped us execute a turnaround to world-class performance."
Steve Manuszak
Senior Partner
HR Leadership & Global Operations
Was a Pilot client at three companies before joining the bench.
Steve brings decades of senior HR and executive leadership expertise, including CHRO roles across global food and distribution enterprises. He led people strategies through complex growth, mergers, and operational shifts.
"Andrew has built a firm that pairs disciplined operational rigor with the kind of strategic clarity most companies never manage to access on their own."
James Vera
Partner
Industrial Operations & High-Consequence Systems
James brings 40 years of industrial operations experience and deep Human & Organizational Performance expertise. Key wins include the safest startup on record for a major chemical demilitarization facility, VPP Star status at two sites, and leading over 50 root cause analyses.
"In both experiences the teams that came on site were very skillful and professional. These experiences caused me to want to be a part of this caliber of success."
Zac Fitzgerald
Partner
Commercial Growth & Operational Excellence
Owned and ran a food manufacturer before joining the bench.
Zac brings over 20 years of food manufacturing leadership across product development, commercialization, new business, and operational excellence. He launched three brands into national distribution and grew a contract manufacturing business tenfold.
"I've built the product, sold the customer, and run the plant that made it. The job is getting all three to pull in the same direction."
Meet Andrew Bielat, Founder and Managing Partner
I started my first business at 12, a handyman operation that got busy enough I recruited my friends to help. I worked full-time through college earning a mechanical engineering degree at the University of Illinois, learning early that if you understand the basic principles and you've done the work, there's no problem you can't solve.
My father, a World War II Marine sergeant, instilled in me the belief that there's a right way to do things, and the right way always matters. That principle has guided my entire career: Frito-Lay's leadership development program, Operations in Commercial Nuclear Power, COO/Director of Manufacturing at Oregon Steel Mills, operational roles in Chemical Weapons/DOE-DOD.
After a decade in corporate roles, I realized I wanted to help more companies, not just one. In 1997, I founded Pilot Advisors. My former CEO became my first client.
Four decades of hands-on executive experience later, nearly thirty of those as a fractional COO, our team has served 92+ organizations across 8 industries. Six critical industries today. Eight served since 1997. I've personally coached 355+ executives one-on-one and worked with more than 15,000 leaders through advisory, training, group coaching and speaking. I co-authored two books with Dr. Eugene Bryan: Profit Hawks and The BestPossible™ Enterprise.
Andrew BielatFounder and Managing Partner
What makes Pilot different.
Hundreds of years of combined operating experience, applied to recognize the real problem or opportunity faster and more accurately than anyone inside the building, and proven frameworks to fix it with minimal disruption. These principles haven't changed since 1997.
Fast, accurate recognition
Every Pilot partner brings Andrew's kind of depth, four decades or more of hands-on operating experience, giving Pilot hundreds of years of cumulative experience. We recognize the real problem (or the real opportunity) quickly, and get the diagnosis right the first time. Speed matters, but accuracy is what saves you a wasted quarter.
Proven frameworks, fitted to you
We arrive with a full set of trusted, proven frameworks and tools, and the judgment to fit the right ones to your company. You solve the problem and grow in the manner that suits you, with as little interruption and change as possible.
Fresh perspective
We see what insiders can't, not because they're not smart, but because they're too close. We bring pattern recognition from 92+ engagements across 8 industries. Six critical industries today. Eight served since 1997.
Decisions that get tracked
Most companies make their significant decisions on instinct and never revisit them against the result. A decision that returned less than expected looks just like a good one, so it gets repeated. We make the decision process visible: what was decided, on what assumption, and what it actually returned. That single habit stops expensive mistakes from quietly repeating.
Embed and execute
We don't advise from the sidelines. We sit in your operating rhythm, work with your people, and drive execution shoulder-to-shoulder.
Deliberate transfer
Our goal is to become unnecessary. We build capability, install systems, and deliberately hand ownership to your team so they're proud of the outcomes they produce and confident in what comes next.
Disciplined execution
No one-size-fits-all templates. No vanishing acts. Just calm, consistent execution, the same approach that has driven results for 30 years.
Partner first
We earn trust by doing the work, not by selling the work. If we're not the right fit, we'll tell you.
What we stand for.
Integrity.
Fulfill all commitments. Absolute honesty.
Accountability.
Know that your actions will positively affect the client, yourself, and your family. Never compromise the quality of your service. No excuses.
Perseverance.
Accept full responsibility for the tough part of service to others.
Fun.
If you don't enjoy what you're doing, you're either doing it wrong or involved in the wrong activity.
Extended Reach Through the Genuine Fractional Collective
Pilot Advisors is a Verified Member of the 5FT View Genuine Fractional collective: a network of 60+ credentialed fractional executives spanning every functional area and industry. When a CEO's challenge calls for a capability or sector outside Pilot's core focus in heavy and critical industry, Andrew can engage the right fractional from that network directly. One point of contact. No coverage gaps.
Explore the 5FT View CollectiveCould your company run without you for three weeks?
Twenty questions, five minutes, free. A straight read on how much of the business still runs through you.
Take the Five-Minute Leader Assessment