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Helping Textron Aviation Elevate Customer Service

Greensboro’s private aviation industry continues to grow. As that growth continues, Textron Aviation wants its customer service to stand out. To support that goal, the company partnered with MBA students from UNC Greensboro’s Bryan School of Business and Economics. Together, they identified new ways to strengthen the customer experience through research and consulting.

Textron Aviation, based in Wichita, Kansas, designs, builds and services business jets, turboprops, light and high-performance piston aircraft, military trainers and defense aircraft. Its portfolio includes the Beechcraft, Cessna, Hawker and Pipistrel brands. In addition, the company operates 11 service centers across the United States and nine more internationally. Because the Greensboro Service Center maintains high-value aircraft, the team places a premium on exceptional service.

“Our team is focused on delivering the best possible experience for our customers across every interaction,” says Jeff Dowden, general manager of the Greensboro Service Center. “Collaborating with the Bryan School students brought valuable outside perspective and reinforced areas where we can continue to refine how we serve our customers.”

Turning Research into Recommendations

As part of the Bryan School’s MBA Capstone program, four students analyzed the Greensboro Service Center’s operations. They then developed recommendations to improve service consistency, communication and customer comfort.

“Our goal was to help Textron Aviation focus its resources on what matters most to the company and its customers,” says Stephen Angell, MBA candidate. He completed the project alongside Casey Rhodes, Ashley Rodriguez and Kendall Vick.

During the semester, the team interviewed customers, shadowed employees and analyzed four years of customer survey data. They also conducted market research and benchmarking studies. As a result, they delivered recommendations grounded in both customer feedback and industry best practices.

From the Classroom to the Workplace

Ken Gilgeours, technical service manager at Textron Aviation, understands the value of Capstone projects firsthand. In fact, he earned his Bryan MBA last year and completed a Capstone project before launching his career with the company.

“Working on the Capstone project really helped me build my confidence,” says Gilgeours. “The opportunities that the Bryan School offers are extremely impactful for both students and our business community.”

Ultimately, projects like this one benefit everyone involved. Students gain hands-on consulting experience, while companies receive fresh perspectives backed by research and analysis.

Featured photo courtesy of Textron

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Turning AI Into a Trusted Banking Partner

Imagine it’s 5 p.m. on a Friday, and you’re facing a giant stack of appraisal reports, credit memos and market data before your customer arrives on Monday morning. You could use a trusted colleague to sort through the details, share strategic insights and draft a meeting agenda.

Bankers at TowneBank have a powerful AI assistant that can do all of this quickly and efficiently. But while Microsoft CoPilot sits on the team’s computers, many employees rarely use it.

“We have this resource sitting right there, and we don’t always go grab it,” says Scott Baker, Triad president of TowneBank. “Using it well would allow us to be much more engaged, authentic and strategic with our customers, rather than just spending our time digesting information.”

Baker wanted to increase the team’s comfort level with CoPilot while protecting customer information. So, he turned to MBA students at UNCG’s Bryan School of Business and Economics for an assessment and recommendations. Students in the Capstone class spent a semester reviewing the bank’s operations, analyzing industry trends and interviewing leaders.

Building Confidence in AI

“When you use CoPilot in a governed, controlled way, it can almost feel like a superpower,” says Mya Logan, ’26 MBA. “There’s really no limit to what it can help you with.”

Her colleague, Ryan Clevenger, ’26 MBA, says he has heard people describe AI as a “calculator for words.”

The team emphasized that AI can support bankers, but it cannot replace their expertise or the relationships they build. “We’re not trying to automate everything or take away your judgment,” says Steven Edmonson, ’26 MBA. Instead, AI reduces time spent on routine work. That allows bankers to “focus on what matters most, which is engaging with their members.”

Practical Ways to Use CoPilot

The team recommended that CoPilot help bankers prepare for customer meetings. It can summarize industry trends, create meeting briefs, review documents, develop questions and conversation starters, analyze risks and opportunities, and generate post-meeting summaries. It can even convert photos of handwritten meeting notes into actionable to-do lists.

The students also created a prompt manual for bankers to use with CoPilot. Standardized prompts can increase confidence and produce more consistent results. Over time, bankers can refine and customize those prompts to fit their needs.

Finally, the team created a training plan to help bankers adopt CoPilot safely and responsibly within the bank’s private network.

Leading the Way

The students also recommended that company leaders use CoPilot regularly and discuss its benefits with their teams. Doing so could encourage broader adoption across the organization.

Jon Fulton, assistant vice president at TowneBank, has already seen success with the tool. Recently, he used CoPilot to transform financial statement data into an easy-to-understand graphic for customers. Creating that graphic manually would have taken an hour or two. CoPilot completed the task in less than two minutes.

“I’ve heard it said that AI allows you to be the artist, without having to be the painter,” he says.

A Real-World Learning Experience

Heather Cooper, ’26 MBA, found the project valuable for herself and her classmates.

“It has allowed us to leverage what we’re learning in the classroom with our own professional experience and apply these learnings in a different field,” she says.

Baker left impressed with the team and its recommendations.

“I think we have a light year’s jumpstart on where we’d be if we just tried to experiment with this ourselves,” he says. “The team has given us a much better place from which to start.”

Featured photo courtesy of TowneBank

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Measuring the Festival’s Economic Impact

Each fall, music from the NC Folk Festival fills downtown Greensboro. Performers entertain crowds on festival stages as well as in coffee shops, restaurants and hotel lobbies. The music delights visitors while also benefiting the local economy.

According to MBA students at the UNC Greensboro Bryan School of Business and Economics, the festival generates $9.93 million in economic impact for local businesses and the community.

As part of the Bryan School’s Capstone program, four students completed the festival’s first comprehensive economic impact study. Their work gave organizers a reliable way to measure the financial value of the annual event, which attracts about 136,000 visitors during a three-day weekend each September.

Turning Data into Opportunity

Festival leaders requested the study to strengthen applications for state funding, grants and private donations.

“If we want to continue to grow this festival and provide an amazing cultural experience in Greensboro, we need to quantify our value to secure funding,” says Jodee Ruppel, executive director of the NC Folk Festival. “The students’ work will help us make our case to keep building community, arts and culture while showing off the very best of North Carolina.”

What the Numbers Revealed

The students discovered that visitors stayed an average of 139 minutes and spent between $58 and $73 at nearby restaurants, shops and other businesses. In addition, one-quarter of attendees traveled at least 30 miles to attend the festival. Those visitors generated demand for more than 1,500 hotel rooms.

The study also compared spending during the festival with other September weekends. As a result, dining spending doubled during the event. Grocery spending increased by 1.9 times, while retail and service businesses experienced a 35% increase.

“There is a clear path to expanding state and public-sector funding by translating the festival’s impact into return on investment for investors,” says Jadyn Koranteng, ’26 MBA.

Building a Stronger Festival

Beyond measuring the festival’s impact, the team identified several ways to strengthen future events. For example, the students recommended sharing the findings with downtown business owners who have raised concerns about street closures and other disruptions.

They also encouraged festival leaders to centralize data collection through a unified point-of-sale system and a visitor registry. As a result, organizers could better measure attendance, spending and overall economic impact.

“Improving your data collection can unlock more support,” adds Kyle Carlee, ’26 MBA.

In addition, the students recommended appointing business liaisons, creating promotional packages and discounts, and publishing an annual economic impact report.

Supporting Arts and Community

Savannah Thorne, artistic director of the NC Folk Festival, believes the study will play an important role in the festival’s future.

“We can gather stories from attendees that are incredibly moving,” she says. “But in this economy, we also have to prove we’re creating value to continue to be relevant. This report shows that when you invest in culture, you also invest in the vibrancy of your city and neighborhood. Now, we have the data to prove it. It will be extremely helpful for us.”

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