NAU Alumnus Returns: Stories and Insights from Bill Heibel
University is a goal for many, and once that time has passed, most look back on their experience fondly. The place where they were able to learn, fail, make meaningful relationships, grow, and otherwise shape themselves into their best self. We were lucky enough to spend some time with an alumnus from NAU, Bill Heibel, who received his Bachelor of Science in Marketing and his MBA from NAU. Moving from Southern California to Flagstaff and NAU was simply the first step in this alumnus’ traveled past. Heibel’s career in large-corporation financial planning took him across the country and abroad. His subsequent active involvement as an alumnus of NAU has enabled him to pass on the benefits of his experience and thoughts to future generations of NAU alumni.
“One thing that attracted me to NAU was the smaller class sizes — the professor-to-student ratio. What I appreciated about that wasn’t a need for personal attention, but that it allowed time for more meaningful exchanges between students and professors, as well as among the students themselves,” Heibel said.
Heibel juggled being a student with work at Babbitt’s department store in downtown Flagstaff. He worked in the men’s clothing department and learned a few out-of-the-classroom lessons, including interacting with Flagstaff residents, NAU students, and others. Heibel lived on campus until his senior year when he moved in with his Sigma Chi fraternity. Heibel notes it was quite a challenge to balance school, work, studying, and friends; he still did, however, manage to arrange his schedule to allow for skiing a couple of times a week. After graduating in 1970, Heibel spent two years of active service in the U.S. Navy before returning to NAU to pursue an MBA.
After graduating from NAU’s MBA program, Heibel joined Hughes Aircraft, a defense contractor in Southern California. Heibel recalls what a great opportunity that was for him.
“I was just twenty-four years old and working together with top-level engineers at the forefront of designing and assembling communications satellites. It was a great experience for a recent grad.”
Heibel navigated his career through various industry areas before moving to its services portion and eventually relocated to the Hughes Technical Services Company’s Headquarters in the Washington D.C. area.
In the mid-nineties, Mr. Heibel helped lead a finance team as part of privatizing a U.S. Navy facility in Indianapolis — transitioning it into Hughes Aircraft / Raytheon. The conversion was the first and, at that time, the largest project of its kind. For Bill and his colleagues, the project involved the front-end decision-support analysis and the post-acquisition integration and design of a single consolidated financial system.
“The entire privatization process was a team effort involving people from the Navy, U.S. Government auditors, employees at the facility, the City of Indianapolis, and our company. Many people from several disciplines collaborated to do something that had never been done on that scale before,” Heibel said. “What I accomplished was simply to be part of a team, along with competent members from diverse professional backgrounds; it was rewarding to have been a part of the entire effort.”
When Raytheon acquired Hughes in 1999, Mr. Heibel was part of several teams responsible for combining the two companies’ financial systems and cost structures. “Merging companies involves more than simply creating one entity where there were two,” Heibel noted. Often, this meant combining not only the two entirely different financial systems but also integrating communication methods and terminology, relationships, and cultures. “Even long after the initial merger, new challenges would come up almost daily − and thinking back, it was those non-routine experiences that were most rewarding, and the ones I most value today.” Mr. Heibel also found teaching those just entering the industry and watching them grow and succeed to be one of the most satisfying experiences. He offered some advice to those in the early stages of their career.
“Of course, you need first to understand the fundamentals, the technical aspects of your profession. But you must also learn ‘the teamwork thing’ — the value of accomplishments through collaboration. It’s not simply about getting along with others; it’s about the advantages of diversity of all types − backgrounds, thoughts, responsibilities, and more,” Heibel said. “For current students, I would advise getting outside your comfort zone on occasion − take a class or explore an opportunity that’s completely different than those within your major, or work on a project with someone or a group whose major is different than yours. I would also encourage students to continue to develop their communicative skills — both written and in-person.”
Mr. Heibel is quick to attribute the success he found during his career to the time he spent learning and growing at NAU. He recalls a comment from one professor, Wilma Stricklin, that always stuck with him, especially when moving into a new position or taking on new responsibilities. “She said, ‘When you’re new to an organization − before you start imparting your ideas and wisdom, you should first learn everything you can from those who are already there’ — I came across the need for this lesson many times,” Heibel recalled. “I also recall how insistent she was that we learn how to actively / creatively think − how to gather data, turn data into information, develop options, and arrive at an informed plan of action. As you can imagine, there were no single answers to her exams.” Throughout his career, Heibel faced the necessity to continue the learning process.
“Of course, our business needs continued to change − but so did the available information, tools, and methodologies. So, my education continued long after NAU; but I’m certain that my time there established a strong baseline,” Heibel said. Having returned to NAU and talked with finance and leadership program students, Heibel hopes that his career experiences might benefit future NAU graduates.
“First of all, I should point out that these were two-way discussions; the students are very perceptive and have some great thoughts and questions − so I listened to and learned from them. For my part, I shared that a successful career requires hard work, and continual learning, and adapting,” Heibel said. “In one of those sessions, I was asked about that ‘aha moment’ − when I knew I found the right career. In my case, that sudden moment didn’t happen; it might be better to view a career as a journey − you experience, succeed, fail, improve, and continue to do the best you can. But that’s okay; it’s all part of the fun!”
Bill serves on the NAU Foundation Board, the D.C. Alumni Area Chapter, and remains active with NAU. He is proud of what NAU has become and excited about its direction for the future. Heibel’s life has taken him to many places, but he gives the impression he knows his roots include his time with NAU.
