Carson City’s Click Bond hires vice president of quality assurance

Click Bond, Inc., has announced Michele Varela has joined its team as vice president of quality assurance. She will lead the quality organization to guide product improvements and develop quality systems.

Varela brings 29 years of management experience in quality assurance and operations to her position. Prior to her role with Click Bond, her career included quality management positions with Cummins Engine Co., Thermal Dynamics, PCC Fasteners and, most recently, Arconic Global Fastening Systems & Rings, Inc. in Fullerton, California, where she held the position of quality manager. She specializes in quality systems management, quality assurance standards, manufacturing techniques and processes applicable to the manufacture of aerospace products and fasteners and new product launches.

Varela holds a Bachelor of Science in business, operations and systems management from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business and a Master of Science in quality assurance from California State University, Dominguez Hills.

“I am honored and humbled to have been chosen to work with such a great group of innovators at Click Bond,” Varela said in a media release. “Click Bond’s values, integrity, responsibility and teamwork align with my own values. The company is a gem in the aerospace industry, and I am looking forward to getting started with this very talented group of individuals.”

“Michele brings Click Bond a wealth of technical and leadership experience from the quality-intensive aerospace fastener and high-performance automotive domains,” said Click Bond President and CEO Karl Hutter. “Her new insights will build on our strong quality system and culture, paving the way for Click Bond to confidently tackle increasing scale and meet our customers’ expectations.”

Varela transitions into the position previously held by Chester “Lee” Parsley, who will become Click Bond’s vice president emeritus, quality assurance. Parsley’s career in aerospace quality assurance spans nearly 50 years, including 24 years with Click Bond.

“Lee, as he transitions to the emeritus role, can stand proud as the father of quality at Click Bond, building here an industry-leading culture of quality and a reputation for integrity,” Hutter said. “He has served as a leader in aerospace quality both inside our company and across the industry, and he will now continue in a critical role focused on transferring his deep company knowledge to Michele while serving to support strategic quality initiatives. We look forward to continuing to engage Lee’s wisdom and unerring ethic as we start a new chapter in Click Bond’s quality journey.”

Click Bond COO Ron Felix added, “The addition of Michele brings strong aerospace and product quality experience to build upon and enhance our Operational Leadership team and systems from which we derive our daily work practices. Click Bond is honored to have both of these talented executives on staff as we conduct this succession of leadership in our quality department.”

Click Bond is headquartered in Carson City with manufacturing facilities in Watertown, Connecticut, and Saltney, Wales, U.K. For information, visit www.clickbond.com.