People in Aviation: March 2019

David Winstanley, previously COO of the UK’s Birmingham Airport was named as the first CEO of rapidly growing London Biggin Hill Airport. He succeeds Will Curtis who stepped down after serving as the airport’s managing director for six years.

Jet Support Services, Inc. (JSSI) appointed Francisco Zozaya president of JSSI Latin America, as well as senior v-p of business development and strategy for JSSI corporate. Zozaya, who will lead all JSSI activities in Latin America, the global JSSI Alliance Program, and JSSI Marketplace, joins JSSI after spending more than a decade as pre-owned director for Aerolineas Ejecutivas.

Aerion promoted Steve Berroth to COO and program manager of the AS2 supersonic business jet. Berroth brings 35 years of aerospace experience to his new role, including spending 31 years with Northop Grumman and also serving with Triumph Aerospace Structures.

Daniel Lafrance was appointed v-p/general manager of Greenwich AeroGroup subsidiary Professional Aviation Associates. Lafrance moves over to the new role after serving as v-p of sales and marketing for Greenwich AeroGroup since 2009 and before that, spending 21 years with Bombardier Aerospace.

HeliOffshore promoted François Lassale to COO. Formerly operations director, Lassale began his aviation career as a pilot in the UK’s Royal Air Force and since held roles with a number of international rotary- and fixed-wing operations, including the Presidential Flight of the UAE, where he was director of safety and strategic development.

FlightSafety International appointed Daniel MacLellan to jointly lead a company-wide transformation team as senior vice president. MacLellan, who joined the company in 1994, most recently senior v-p of operations, responsible for FlightSafety’s global training center network. Dann Runik, meanwhile, was promoted to senior v-p of operations. He has served with FlightSafety since 2004, initially at FlightSafety Academy, later managing OEM and customer relations in Savannah, and ultimately becoming executive director of advanced training programs in 2014. Also jointly leading the transformation team is Edward Koharik, who was promoted to v-p. A 23-year U.S. Air Force veteran, Koharik joined FlightSafety in 2015 and most recently was general manager, FlightSafety Visual Systems. Stepping in as general manager visual systems for the global training company is Jim Wheeler. Most recently director, military and commercial program manager, Wheeler joined FlightSafety in 1993 and has held roles in engineering, quality, operations, and program management, along with supporting FlightSafety VITAL Visual System products.

Kasey Harwick has taken the role of v-p of maintenance for Duncan Aviation’s airframe department in Lincoln, Nebraska. Harwick has spent 20 years with Duncan Aviation, beginning as an interior shop assistant and moving up to positions of increasing responsibility, including v-p of maintenance at the company’s Battle Creek, Michigan facility. Travis Grimsley, meanwhile, was named director of maintenance for the aircraft services group in Battle Creek. Grimsley has had a 14-year career at Duncan Aviation in the line services department, most recently as manager of customer service in Battle Creek.

Silver Air named Colleen McCauley v-p of client services. McCauley brings more than two decades of charter sales, management, and operations experience to her new role, most recently with Solairus Aviation.

Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group appointed Patrick Wood chief technical officer and program management director. Wood previous was the director of international advanced programs and UK country executive for Lockheed Martin Space and also has held technical and program management roles at Airbus.

Wayne Jamroz joined King Aerospace Commercial Corporation as general manager of its Ardmore, Oklahoma operations. Jamroz has more than four decades of aviation maintenance experience, most recently as v-p and general manager of MRO services for AAR Corp.

Alistair Henderson has joined Lobo Leasing as managing director and chief technical officer. Henderson, who has a 36-year rotary-wing career, has served with Heli-One, British International Helicopters, and most recently as fleet manager for CHC Helicopters.

Passur Aerospace appointed Niels Steenstrup chief commercial officer. Steenstrup previously served as senior v-p, international at Gogo and has more than a 20-year background in online and technology services.

Wings of Mercy named Jeff Ostrander executive director. Ostrander has been a pilot, software developer, and writer for the organization, as well as flight instructor and proprietor of the flight school Majestic Air.

Matternet appointed former FAA deputy administrator and chief NextGen officer Michael Whitaker to its board of directors. Whitaker also has spent 15 years in various roles with United Airlines, including as senior v-p of alliances, international and regulatory affairs.

Shreekant Agrawal joined Spike Aerospace as an executive advisor. Agrawal, a director of flight sciences within the Vehicle Engineering director of Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, has more than 35 years of aerospace experience, also including 29 years with the Boeing Company.

NBAA appointed Annemarie McDonald Oxman chief people officer. She takes the responsibilities held by Holly Clark, who is retiring from the organization after more than 12 years of service. Oxman has previously held senior human resources roles for the American Petroleum Institute, Best Practices, and the Consumer Electronics Association.

Rachel Daeschler was appointed certification director for the European Aviation Safety Agency, succeeding Trevor Woods who retired. Daeschler has served with EASA since 2004 and previously was French Directorate General for Civil Aviation.

Christine DeJong joined the General Aviation Manufacturers Association as director of global innovation and policy. DeJong has more than 13 years of experience with standards and business development at ASTM International, steering initiatives involving general aviation, aircraft systems, and unmanned aircraft systems and played a role in the launch ASTM’s Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence and the Autonomy in Aviation committee.

Des Miles was appointed group MRO sales director for the Luxaviation Group. Miles, who has 25 years of aviation experience, will also continue as MRO business development manager for the Middle East.

The National Air Transportation Association’s Compliance Services organization named Joe Dalton as director of security. Dalton previously spent 17 years with NetJets, most recently as director of aviation security.

Westair Charter hired Joshua Weinshank as director of operations. Weinshank, a certified ATP and flight Instructor, has more than 27 years of corporate, charter, and scheduled air carrier operations experience.

Kim Stephenson joined Universal Avionics as regional sales manager for Canada. Stephenson brings more than 20 years of aviation experience to her new role, previously holding sales and business development positions at L-3 Aviation Products, Mooney International Corporation, and Team Aircraft.

Blackhawk Modifications promoted Lindsay Allmon to marketing manager. Most recently marketing coordinator, Allmon joined Blackhawk almost three years ago after serving with an avionics manufacturer.

Awards & Honors

Cassandra Bosco, who steers education and industry affairs for Women in Aviation International (WAI), was selected as the 2019 recipient of the American Society for Public Administration’s (ASPA) Truitt-Felbinger Award. ASPA’s Section on Transportation Policy Administration will present the award on March 10 in Washington, D.C., in recognition of Bosco’s “significant contributions to aviation non-profit organizations, continued efforts in outreach to underrepresented groups, and recruitment efforts for the next generation of aviation professionals.”

Bosco has nearly four decades of experience in industry outreach, spearheading numerous programs to raise awareness about the value of the aviation industry to the general public, government, and industry leaders, as well as to ignite interest and enthusiasm within the schools at all levels.

In addition to her current role at WAI, Bosco has served as the interim executive director at University Aviation Association, as well as directed communications at both NBAA and GAMA. She helped develop the No Plane, No Gain joint NBAA/GAMA public awareness campaign and programs such as AvKids, which was designed to bring aviation awareness into the schools.

Final Flights

Michael Hohm, 63, the International Business Aviation Council (IBAC) director and liaison to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), died on January 11, following a battle with a brain tumor. He represented the business aviation industry on the ICAO Air Navigation Commission and, as IBAC liaison, was responsible for day-to-day relationships with the ICAO Secretariat and national delegations.

“Michael was a tremendous advocate for our industry and a dear colleague to all of us at IBAC and to all our member associations,” said IBAC director general Kurt Edwards. “He will be missed dearly, especially for his sincere dedication [to] and passion for aviation, and his kindness that fostered so many relationships throughout the industry.”

Hohm had accumulated 5,800 flight hours as a professional pilot, flying in Canada, the Arctic, and the U.S. After serving as a de Havilland DHC-7 and -8 flight instructor at FlightSafety International, he joined Transport Canada in 1988 as a civil aviation inspector and later was supervisor of airport policy and standards. He moved over to Nav Canada in Ottawa in 1996, spending the next 13 years as manager of airspace planning and design. In 2009, he became a technical officer for ICAO before becoming IBAC's director and ICAO liaison.

Vincent Esposito, president of business aviation data provider JetNet, passed away in January. He took over as head of the Utica, N.Y.-based company in 1991, following the death of his father, who was a founder of JetNet in 1988. Born and raised in Utica, he graduated from Utica College with a degree in business administration and earned a Juris Doctor degree from Syracuse University’s School of Law in 1990.

Along with his brother, JetNet executive vice president Tony Esposito, Vincent helped expand the company from a small aircraft listing service to a worldwide aviation intelligence leader. He kept his focus on building its research base, expanding markets and products, and embracing new technologies.

“Vincent brought a steady hand and great vision to JetNet, steering the firm to phenomenal growth, both domestically and internationally,” the company said.