Hawker Beechcraft last week celebrated its first anniversary as a private entity, and the company reports it’s doing very well all on its own. On March 26, 2007, GS Capital Partners, an affiliate of Goldman Sachs and Onex Partners, acquired the former Raytheon Aircraft. Since then, the Wichita-based aircraft manufacturer announced record backlogs and international sales, increased its workforce to more than 9,000 employees and expanded its product line with five certified derivative offerings last year. “There has always been great pride in the Hawker and Beechcraft names, and as Hawker Beechcraft Corporation we have returned to the company’s heritage,” said company chairman and CEO Jim Schuster. In other news, Hawker Beechcraft this week appointed Charles Mayer its new vice president of marketing. Mayer, who previously was director of marketing for Maserati North America, is now responsible for developing and implementing strategies and branding initiatives for all marketing activities at the company.