Alumnus advises undergrads to take on new challenges

Alumnus Bill Profilet is a quintessential example of the limitless opportunities a MechSE graduate can take thanks to their Illinois education. 

 

Profilet (BSME ’84), recently returned to campus to share his experience in the field of engineering with MechSE students during an ME 390 seminar.  

 

Upon his graduation from Illinois, Profilet joined the U.S. Navy where he worked as a submarine officer. After about six years of driving submarines for the Navy, he enrolled in Washington University in St. Louis, where he earned his MBA in international business in 1995. He has also remained in the Navy Reserve ever since. 

 

In 1989, Profilet began at Boeing as the director of business development, a position that he held for 27 years, and four months ago he started working at BAE Systems as their director of business development. BAE is a multinational defense, security, and aerospace company headquartered in London and with operations worldwide.

 

After working his way through a variety of technical positions and up the corporate ladder, Profilet found that there are a few major way points to which he accredits his success. He explained that forming the groundwork for a future career, which he did during his time in the Navy, is one of the most important steps in this process. 

 

“You’ve got to develop a foundation and build the skill set a bit,” Profilet said. “Then you need to ‘sharpen the saw,’ or learn how you can turn it into a skill where you can be as effective as you can.”

 

Profilet explained that he “sharpened his saw” during his years at Boeing, where he was able to combine his communication, business, and engineering skills to advance his knowledge in the field of business direction in the mechanical engineering industry. 

 

While commitment is important to employers, Profilet believes it is still important to take on new positions and challenges, as they will help reiterate old skills as well as learn new ones. He believes that his recent switch to BAE Systems has been a great way to keep his skill set sharp. 

 

Profilet said that having a foundation at the University of Illinois is one of the most beneficial aspects of young engineering student’s path to success. 

 

“Frankly, one of the things that I’ve thought the most on was that we all come from different places and we all have different values, ethics and morals, that’s something that comes with you as a package when you come from the University of Illinois,” he said. “And I’ve always valued that greatly.”