McDermott + Bull has successfully placed Karen Bacon as Director of Finance and Mickie Naperala as Director of Supply Chain at Epic Aircraft. In their respective roles, Karen will lead the modernization of the company’s financial reporting, budgeting, and operational finance infrastructure while supporting long-term strategic growth and future capital initiatives. Mickie will oversee Epic’s supply chain strategy, strengthening supplier partnerships, driving cost containment and risk mitigation, and building a scalable procurement organization to support the company’s continued production growth and operational excellence.
Karen brings over two decades of finance and accounting leadership experience across manufacturing and industrial organizations. Most recently, she served as Corporate Controller at Rosboro Company, where she led financial planning and analysis, budgeting, cash flow management, and purchasing while serving as project manager for the company’s Infor M3 ERP implementation. Prior to that, she served as Senior Finance Manager at Levi Strauss & Co., where she led inventory accounting across North America and Europe, implemented new SOX controls following the company’s IPO, and managed more than $750 million in inventory assets. Earlier in her career, Karen held leadership positions with Arcimoto, Bigfoot Beverages, and Peterson Pacific Corporation, where she led ERP implementations, strengthened financial controls, and built scalable accounting and reporting processes.
Mickie brings over 15 years of strategic sourcing, procurement, and supply chain leadership experience within aerospace and advanced manufacturing. Most recently, she served as Mill Procurement Manager at Sappi Fine Paper, where she led procurement strategy, supplier performance initiatives, and long-term cost reduction efforts while supporting global IT and operational projects. Prior to that, she served as Strategic Sourcing Manager at Cirrus Aircraft, where she developed commodity strategies, implemented supplier scorecards, negotiated long-term supplier agreements, and successfully qualified new suppliers for critical aircraft components while managing more than $110 million in annual spend. Earlier in her career, Mickie held progressive supply chain leadership roles with Oshkosh Corporation, Air Wisconsin Airlines, and Hawker Beechcraft, building extensive expertise in supplier negotiations, strategic sourcing, and aerospace procurement.
Founded in 2004, Epic Aircraft designs and manufactures the award-winning E1000 GX, one of the world’s fastest single-engine turboprop aircraft. Headquartered in Bend, Oregon, the company combines advanced composite manufacturing with innovative engineering to deliver high-performance aircraft to customers around the globe, continuing to expand production while advancing the future of general aviation.
This executive search was completed by McDermott + Bull Managing Director Aaron Griffin, Director Alyssa Joy, and Executive Recruiter Trevor Gartlan.