Electric Horseman Picks Fayetteville by ?Chance?
by July 23, 2001 12:00 am 77 views
William Goliff and his wife, Nancy, moved to Arkansas on June 15 to be closer to their grandson Chance Stephens, 4, of Fayetteville. Chance is the son of Mike and Andi Stephens, operators of Kitchen Distributors Inc.
Goliff spent 40 years in the satellite and electrical engineering field with Hughes Electronics, Douglas Aircraft, GT&E and Lockheed California Co. His experience was primarily in working on government projects for Hughes, including helping develop the submarine-launch Polaris Missile program.
His job at Hughes was to dream up businesses that the publicly traded firm could pursue, and if possible hunt the marketplace for suppliers to make it happen. He was involved in the development of Digital Cinema and various satellite systems projects.
Retired electrical engineering professor Bill Mayfield, a former colleague of Goliff’s at Hughes Electronics (a portion of which is now Boeing Satellite), said the entrepreneur is adept enough at business and science to handle a national rollout for a new technology.
“[Goliff] and I worked in a number of new business areas together,” Mayfield said. “We were involved with [Erin] Sibley in the New Venture Organization, which supports Hughes corporate management and investment for all kinds of decisions.
“We worked together on programs like Space Way and several mobile satellite services. Goliff is very energetic and capable.”
When he wasn’t mulling new ventures at Hughes, Goliff said he enjoyed riding and training his Peruvian Paso horses. He rode in 27 parades, including the annual Tournament of Roses Parade alongside the Viceroy of Peru, and two weddings. He’s also into catamaran racing and beach volleyball.
Goliff, a native of Malden, Mass., has a bachelor’s degree in nuclear engineering from UCLA and a master’s in system engineering from West Coast University in Los Angeles.