Leadership in Aerospace

Built on Strength and Vision

FALCO’s foundation combines decades of leadership in aerospace, defence, and industrial investment with a clear strategic purpose: to create a resilient, vertically integrated manufacturing platform that supports both Western and Kingdom supply chains.

We start with certified excellence in standards such as ITAR, BS9000, APQP, and NADCAP, and build our operations around discipline, governance, and our people. This foundation isn’t just structure; it’s the architecture of trust, capability, and long-term value.

Aerospace Insights

The Core of FALCO

Our Key Themes

A strong foundation turns strategy into throughput. For FALCO, that reflects in each of our themes:

Governance you can trust

  • Board and Investment Committee Cadence: Monthly performance reviews and quarterly strategy resets.
  • Risk and Assurance: Live risk registers (technical, schedule, regulatory, talent) with owners and mitigation dates.
  • Financial Control: Capex stage-gates, working-capital hygiene, and covenant monitoring.
  • Ethics and Data Protection: Conflict-of-interest logs, supplier due diligence, and controlled ITAR environments.

Certified Operations and Compliance

  • ITAR-Readiness: Controlled data flows, trained custodians, and export-controlled handling procedures.
  • BS 9000/AS Family Alignment: Documented QMS, calibration and traceability, non-conformance management, and continuous improvement loops.
  • APQP Discipline: Requirements capture → process flow → control plan → PPAP/FAI sign-off, ensuring design intent is consistently realised.
  • NADCAP Pathways: Special process readiness (e.g. heat treat, NDT, coatings) with audit roadmaps and pre-assessment routines.

Vision 2030 Alignment

  • Industrial Localisation: Create qualified component lines “in Kingdom” that meet OEM offset objectives and regional export standards.
  • Human Capital: Structured pathways with KSA universities and vocational institutes to grow Saudi Arabian engineering and operations talent.
  • Economic Impact: High-quality jobs, supply-chain diversity, and SME uplift that compound beyond a single program.

SQDCP Focus

  • Safety: Zero harm, PTW controls, near-miss reporting, and contractor protocols.
  • Quality: Cp/Cpk targets, FAI adherence, LPA cadence, and cost-of-poor-quality trending.
  • Delivery: SIOP, constraint management, tier-board escalation, and clear promise dates.
  • Cost: OEE, yield, and value-stream mapping that identifies and removes waste while shortening the rate of production completion.
  • People: Competency matrices, apprenticeship programs with KSA partners, and leadership standards.

Looking to the Future

The Flight Path of Trust

Why it matters: In aerospace and defence, trust is earned through repeatable performance. FALCO’s foundation hardwires compliance, governance, and human capability so programs launch faster, deliveries hold, and localisation sticks.

Continuous Improvement in Practice

We improve performance in small, regular steps that add up. Frontline teams and managers review what happened on the floor each day, capture issues, and assign clear owners. Every week, we run short improvement sessions focused on the biggest constraints—such as changeover time, scrap drivers, or missed promise dates—and we track what changes, by when, and with what result. Each quarter, we step back to review the full value stream, lock in the input that worked, and reset targets so delivery, quality, and cost keep moving in the right direction.

People, Culture, and Capability

We build capability by setting clear standards, teaching practical skills, and recognising great work. Leaders are visible and consistent: they run on-time reviews, solve problems with facts, and treat people with respect. Operators have clear instructions, good tools, and training paths that grow their skills and pay over time. In the Kingdom, we pair experienced specialists with Saudi talent through apprenticeships and mentorships, so teams become confident, independent, and ready to deliver to export-grade quality.

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Charles Grime

Co-Founder

Charles Grime is a multi‑jurisdictional private practice lawyer and senior executive with over 20 years’ experience establishing and operating investment funds and family‑office investee companies across the UK, Middle East, Africa and India. He has deep expertise in private wealth, debt and equity capital raising, private equity investment, and offshore and fiduciary services.

Charles founded, financed and scaled several African businesses in renewable energy and manufacturing, and served as CEO of a major African fund, during which he achieved UK FCA authorisation. He brings extensive experience managing culturally diverse organisations and workforces in developing economies.

Skilled in governmental negotiation, strategy and commercial structuring, Charles specialises in start‑up development, ESG and sustainable development, renewable energy, venture capital, primary industry and manufacturing, infrastructure and investment fund formation. He previously served as General Counsel to a Middle Eastern royal family.

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Gordon Fraser

Co-Founder

Gordon Fraser is a seasoned industrial executive and investor with over two decades of leadership experience in aerospace, defence, and advanced manufacturing. He is the founder of Falco Strategic Advisors, an investment and advisory platform focused on building sovereign manufacturing capability across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the UK, and transatlantic markets.

Previously, Gordon served as CEO and Chairman of Mettis Aerospace, a Tier-1 supplier to global OEMs including Boeing, Airbus, and Rolls-Royce. Under his leadership, Mettis delivered transformational growth, major programme wins, and a successful exit to private equity at a significant valuation.

His career has spanned strategic restructuring, cross-border investment, and technology-led industrial transformation, with a track record of executing complex deals and unlocking value in highly regulated environments. Gordon has also worked closely with government bodies, sovereign funds, and defence ministries to deliver compliant, strategically aligned outcomes in sensitive sectors.

Following a successful corporate career, Gordon now leads Falco’s vision to create a state-of-the-art Gigafactory in KSA and consolidate OEM-qualified manufacturing assets under a unified, offset-compliant platform — fully aligned with Vision 2030 and the Kingdom’s national industrial strategy.

He is also an active mentor to senior executives, a fitness enthusiast, and an advocate of leadership through resilience and clarity

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