People
Cindy Castillo of CSSI: Team Leader in Air Traffic Control
By Lango Deen
May 26, 2004, 11:09

Cynthia Anne ("Cindy") Castillo, CEO of CSSI, Inc.

Meet Cynthia Anne ("Cindy") Castillo, CEO of CSSI, Inc. With 2003 revenues of more than $20 million, Castillo's company is rare among the nation's 5.4 million women-owned businesses, most of which are tiny. But CSSI is rarer still because of the type of work it does, helping put technological innovations in place that should save the struggling airline industry tens of millions of dollars every year and make flying easier for all of us.

CSSI has received the Air Traffic Control Association Small and Disadvantaged Business Award three times in the past six years. The company, which does systems engineering, program management, information systems development, schedule and risk analysis, engineering verification and validation, and other high-skill jobs, has secured major contracts with the FAA, NASA, the U.S. Department of Defense, NAV CANADA, and the International Air Transport Association, among others, in an industry where women and minorities are scarce.

Castillo began her aviation career at Hughes Aircraft Company in California, where she received recognition for developing advanced financial management methods for the Radar Systems Group and the corporate office from 1987 to 1993. She holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics and applied science from UCLA, where she was a member of the women's soccer team.

Hispanic Engineer Online spoke to her recently.

HE: You've grown from a company with just 20 employees in 1993 to one with "multiple East Coast offices; varied customers; accomplished professional and technical staff." What are some of the key factors that helped you make this transition?
Castillo: This is a tough question for me, because 11 years is a long time, and I personally have been through a lot. But I'd say our commitment to sustained quality performance has had a lot to do with it. For us, the focus has been on providing the right solutions, which we define as people, skills, talent, and experience. And we provide these solutions working in partnership with our customers. We really get into what their needs and issues are. We dig really deep.

CSSI is also about hiring people who can enjoy working for a small business, wearing a lot of different hats. We define them as "all-around good athletes." We took real initiative in increasing employee benefits, such as our training reimbursement program, rewards for employee referrals, and bonuses. Our employees add value by bringing like people into the company, people who just have a drive to make a difference, to expand our capabilities, and to never settle for yesterday's technologies.

Another thing CSSI has been about is investment: retaining our profits and reinvesting them in the company, whether it's reinvesting in our employees, reinvesting in our infrastructure for things like space and facilities, or in our quality control procedures through ISO. We also pay a great deal of  attention to metrics and accountability.

HE: Do team sports relate to the workplace?
Castillo: I believe they do. I've always been a person who has participated in team sports rather than individual sports. One person can make a difference, but one person alone couldn't have created the growth that CSSI has enjoyed. We've had 20 percent growth on average in the past five years.

I think team sports demand vision and leadership, mentoring and coaching. It's also about how you lead a team, your commitment and drive, showing that you can walk the walk, growing a team, working with people's strengths, and putting it all together to accomplish a common goal.

HE: CSSI received the Air Traffic Control Association Small & Disadvantaged Business Award for 1998, 1999, and 2000. Can you talk about that?
Castillo: The ATCA award recognizes outstanding achievements and contributions which have added to the quality, safety, and efficiency of air traffic control, and I said that slowly because that means a lot to me.... We provide services to many customers across many contracts, and having ATCA say that CSSI exceeds their standards was a prestigious honor. It's an award to every individual in the company making a difference, because it is based on recognition of our capabilities and our ability to provide those services.

HE: What are the demographics of your company?
Castillo: CSSI is just shy of 210 full-time and part-time employees: 36 percent female, 23 percent minority — Hispanic, Black, Asian, Pacific Islander, and Native American. About 67 percent of our work force have college degrees, 37 percent being bachelor's, 21 percent graduate. And then the majority of our personnel that are not college graduates have technical certifications as well as associate's degrees. Their experience and expertise range from program engineering, to financial management, to network/help desk ops, to systems engineering and software engineering. And, also, we draw from a lot of experience. We have young grads from different engineering backgrounds; we have retired military and retired government executives; we have former commercial pilots or military pilots; we have young certified flight instructors; and we have former air traffic controllers. I think this breadth of experience  gives us a
comprehensive understanding of air traffic control in particular and aviation in general.

HE: How aware do you think the average flyer is of the benefits of the air traffic control systems and programs you help develop and implement?
Castillo: Good question. Unfortunately, I think the average flyer isn't very aware of or knowledgeable about the benefits. The air traffic controllers, the airlines, and aircraft operators and pilots are all aware of the benefits that these systems and programs provide. But I think the thing that the average flyer will be aware of, especially if they pick up a journal or paper in our trade association, is the fuel savings. That translates into reduced ticket costs.

HE: What are some of the systems and programs that are most beneficial to air travelers?
Castillo: Two that come to mind are DRVSM and DOTS. DRVSM stands for "domestic reduced vertical separation minimum."  In early 2005, certified aircraft above flight level 290 will be able to reduce their vertical separation with other aircraft from the current 2,000-foot minimum to 1,000 feet, which will allow significantly more aircraft to fly in the same airspace at the same time. This is important to the average consumer because it substantially reduces airlines fuel costs, which allows them to maintain low ticket costs, or reduce them further.
DOTS+, or the Dynamic Ocean Track System Plus (DOTS+), improves aircraft efficiency when flying over the ocean. The system helps pilots choose routes that make use of favorable tailwinds. That can reduce travel time.  It also can reduce fuel costs, which, like DRVSM, allows airlines to offer reasonably priced tickets.

HE: Do you think male and female CEOs have different leadership styles?
Castillo: I believe they do, but I don't think it's a
gender-specific issue. For me, people are different; they lead differently. And so the only thing I can comment on is how I lead. It goes back to being part of a team and leading that team to a common goal. I believe in personal growth and development. I stretch myself, and I wouldn't ask anything from anybody else that I couldn't do myself. And so I lead by example. I put myself in other people's shoes. I ask questions. I listen. I get into what people's expectation are of me as well as what mine are of them. It's all about communication.

HE: How does a leader become an effective mentor?
Castillo: Honesty, integrity, being proud, having values, and really carrying those out in your actions; leading by example; walking the walk: Those qualities and actions allow one to be an  effective mentor. Also, creating an environment for potential personal and professional growth. You want to give people the right tools and the right environment to grow. Some  of the most important things are asking questions and listening, and opening up and being a little vulnerable. I think people like to see a person being genuine.