Stephen Creamer is taking over as president and CEO of the Air Traffic Control Association (ATCA) as Carey Fagan began transitioning out of the role on April 1. Creamer has more than three decades of experience working at the FAA and also served as director of ICAO’s Air Navigation Bureau from 2015 to 2023.
Adam Richardson, COO of Enstrom Helicopter, has been promoted to president and CEO. Richardson previously worked at Rolls-Royce for 17 years and has been at Enstrom since 2023. Todd Tetzlaff, the former president at Enstrom, takes on the role of senior v-p of regulatory affairs and global relations.
Nik Tarascio, who has served as CEO of Ventura Air Services since 2010, is transitioning to the role of executive chairman of the board. Sam Wolf, president of the company since 2020, will take on the CEO position.
PrimeFlight Aviation Services announced that president and CEO Dan Bucaro is transitioning to chairman of the board, and Craig Smyth will take on the role of president and CEO. Bucaro led the company for more than seven years. Smyth brings more than three decades of experience in aviation, including as group CEO at Worldwide Flight Services.
Roger Wells is now president of Aevex Aerospace. Wells previously served as COO and executive v-p at Mercury Systems and has also held leadership positions at Northrop Grumman, ICX Technologies, and FLIR.
Jet Access promoted David Richter to chief revenue officer and president of managed aircraft sales. Richter’s previous experience includes leadership roles at Wheels Up and Executive Jet Management.
CAE appointed four new members to its board of directors. Calin Rovinescu, now chair of the board, was president and CEO of Air Canada from 2009 to 2021 and also previously served as chair of IATA. Peter Lee, Katherine Lehman, and Louis Têtu also joined as directors. Lee, who will co-chair CAE’s CEO search committee, is founder and partner of the firm Browning West. Lehman, chair of Stella Jones, is a partner at Palladium Equity Partners. Têtu, chair and CEO of Coveo Solutions, co-founded and served as CEO of Taleo Corporation.
USAIG announced five promotions that went into effect on April 1. Greg Carboy, senior v-p at the Dallas office, was promoted to claims division manager for general aviation. Brad Hernke, Seattle office claims manager, takes on the v-p role. At the Toledo office, claims manager Rance Miller was promoted to v-p. Kari Hinkel, senior underwriter at the Wichita office, was tapped as assistant v-p. At the Chicago office, Trevor Boskey is now the senior underwriter.
Eric Donofrio was appointed chief underwriting officer at aviation insurance provider Global Aerospace. Donofrio brings almost 30 years of industry experience, including a recent term at AXA XL Insurance as chief underwriting officer for specialty insurance solutions in the Americas. Michael Bannon, Global Aerospace’s chief underwriting officer for Europe, will retire on June 30. Bannon joined the company in 2009, and his career in brokering and underwriting spans more than four decades. Gareth Howell, who has been with Global Aerospace since 2018, will take on the position of chief underwriting officer for Europe. Howell has worked in the aviation insurance industry for 23 years.
Chris Cerbini was promoted to senior v-p of Chapman Freeborn OBC. Cerbini previously worked at UK-based World Courier for about 15 years and at Worldnet International New York, where he was senior director of global training and development.
Charlotte Fox was hired as commercial director at Kenyon International Emergency Services, part of Air Partner Group (a Wheels Up company). Fox brings more than two decades of experience in commercial and strategic leadership, including as chief growth officer for her consultancy, The Smart Connection.
Paragon Aviation Group added three members to its Network Advisory Board: Tracy Chaplin, v-p of resources and partnerships at Clay Lacy Aviation; Jeremy Sobolik, manager at Fargo Jet Center; and William Holowesko, general manager at Odyssey Aviation.
Malin Junkers was appointed as events and training executive at The Air Charter Association. Junkers has multiple years of experience in the live events industry.
U.S. Air Force veteran Dale Holland was hired for a business development role at MyGoFlight. Holland’s 35-plus years of aviation experience include serving on Air Force One and working on government contracting and satellite communications.
Jennifer Jewett at Jetcraft was promoted from controller to senior v-p of finance. Jewett played an important role in Jetcraft’s acquisition and integration of Corporate Fleet Services Jets.
Corporate Angel Network (CAN) elected Derek DeCross, Signature Aviation’s CCO, to the board of directors. DeCross has previously held senior leadership roles at American Airlines and IHG Hotels and Resorts.
Greg Holbrook was named general manager at Modesto Jet Center at the Modesto City-County Airport in California. Previously, Holbrook was the general manager at Hawthorne Global Aviation in Iowa.
Awards and Honors
NBAA honored Joy Buoncuore with the 2025 Schedulers & Dispatchers (S&D) Outstanding Achievement & Leadership Award at the 2025 Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference in late March.
Buoncuore is the supervisor of transportation scheduling for Constellation Energy, a role she has held since May 2024 after joining the company as a senior transportation scheduler in 2016. Her career, which began in 2000 at FlightSafety International, has spanned various roles, including pilot and maintenance training scheduler, FBO leader, and trainer for domestic and international airlines.
Buoncuore earned her FAA dispatcher certificate from FlightSafety in 2018, and she is an active member of the Delaware Valley Business Aviation Association, Women in Aviation International, Women in Corporate Aviation, PRIDE, and Women in Nuclear.
The National Aviation Hall of Fame recognizes Thomas M. Sando with the A. Scott Crossfield Aerospace Educator of the Year Award. Sando, an aviation instructor at Williston High School and the Williston Basin CTE Center in North Dakota, previously earned an $80,000 award from the Robert E. Herman Foundation after a successful grant application.
Michael Williams, founder of Jetaire Group, will be recognized with the National Aviation Hall of Fame’s 2025 Neil Armstrong Outstanding Achievement Award in September. Williams played a major part in developing the Invicta Fuel Tank Flammability Reduction System. He has achieved more than 500 FAA certifications and almost 200 major design approvals as one of the youngest African Americans to become an FAA-designated engineering representative.
Dan Schwinn, CEO of Avidyne, was recognized by the AOPA Air Safety Institute with the Richard G. McSpadden General Aviation Safety Award . His contributions include enhancing real-time situational awareness and introducing glass panel avionics.
A tribute to the crews that battled destructive Los Angeles wildfires in January took center stage at the 22nd Annual Living Legends of Aviation Awards on April 25. Actor and pilot John Travolta hosted the ceremony, which included honors for aerial firefighters and the Polaris Dawn spaceflight crew. Morgan Freeman and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, led the segment honoring helicopter pilots and other aircrew who flew hundreds of missions during the Los Angeles wildfire emergency response.
The Polaris Dawn crew received the inaugural Dr. Buzz Aldrin Space Advancement Award. Commander Jared Isaacman, pilot Scott “Kidd” Poteet, and mission specialists Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon completed a high-altitude orbital mission and conducted the first private spacewalk while performing scientific experiments.
New inductees into the Living Legends of Aviation include former NASA astronaut and Navy SEAL Christopher Cassidy, veteran astronaut and air racer Robert “Hoot” Gibson, and NBC’s aviation and space correspondent, Tom Costello.
Ron Draper, CEO of Textron Aviation, received the Lifetime Aviation Industry Leader Award, and Burt Rutan, designer of Voyager and SpaceShipOne, received the Dr. Sam B. Williams Technology Award.
The Eren Ozmen Aviation Entrepreneur of the Year Award went to Peter Beck, founder of launch company Rocket Lab. Louis Pepper, former CEO of Atlantic Aviation, received the Kenn Ricci Lifetime Aviation Entrepreneur award.
Kaye Gitibin, co-founder and CEO of Go Rentals, was presented with the Aviation Entrepreneur Award. Amanda “Stalin” Lee, the first female demonstration pilot to fly with the Blue Angels’ F/A-18 fighter jet team, received the Barron Hilton Aviation Inspiration Award.
The event also honored four aviation figures who have “flown West:” Richard Rutan, record-setting test pilot who flew the Voyager aircraft around the world with Jeana Yeager in 1986; Roy Morgan, founder of emergency medical transport provider Air Methods; Clarence “Bud” Anderson, World War II triple ace and test pilot; and William “Bill” Anders, Apollo 8 astronaut who captured the iconic “Earthrise” photo.
The board of governors of the Aero Club of Washington is honoring two recently retired aviation industry leaders with the 2025 Donald D. Engen Aero Club Trophy for Aviation Excellence. Mary Miller, former v-p of industry and government affairs at Signature Aviation, began her aviation career in 1981 as a customer service representative at Butler Aviation at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (KDCA). After the events of 9/11, Miller helped to develop the TSA’s Access Standard Safety Protocol program and played a central role in reopening KDCA for business and general aviation in 2005. Also recognized with the Engen Trophy this year is Pete Bunce. He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1979 until 2005, at which time he was appointed president and CEO of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association. He established the association’s Electric Propulsion and Innovation Committee, and his legislative affairs efforts led to the implementation of the Small Airplane Revitalization Act.