People in Aviation

Helicopter OEM Erickson appointed Barry Kohler CEO. Kohler has more than 40 years of experience in the aerospace industry, more than half of that time in the helicopter industry. He has a background in technology development and business leadership, having held senior leadership positions with Honeywell, BAE Systems, and Bell.

Bob Lockett was hired as chief people officer by flight-training provider CAE. Lockett has more than 20 years of experience in human resources (HR), previously working at ADP as a diversity and talent officer and v-p of HR, Harland Clarke as senior v-p and head of HR, and with USAA in HR and marketing.

GE Aerospace appointed Germaine Hunter as chief diversity officer, effective May 1. Germaine most recently served as the chief diversity executive and talent acquisition leader at Marathon Petroleum. He previously spent more than 20 years working in the consumer-packaged goods industry in strategic planning and brand development roles and served as the first chief diversity officer at The Clorox Company.

Luciano Froes was named partner and chief marketing officer at mobility investment firm UP.Partners. Froes has more than 20 years of experience across the aerospace and financial sectors having held senior roles at Embraer including as chief marketing officer for the company’s Executive Jets division and as head of investor relations.

Air charter specialist Chapman Freeborn appointed Katie Holmes as senior v-p of business aviation, Nick Kelly as senior v-p of aircraft, crew, maintenance, and insurance (ACMI) leasing, and Claire Geary to the newly-created role of group marketing director. Holmes has more than 15 years of private aviation industry experience, most recently as a director of key accounts for an on-demand charter provider. Kelly has 18 years of industry experience in ACMI leasing and cargo operations; Geary previously served for two years as marketing director EMEA with Cirium, has held marketing management positions at South African Airways, and was manager of corporate communications, marketing, and brand at Emirates Airline.

Honeywell Aerospace named Dave Shilliday v-p and general manager of urban air mobility and unmanned aerial systems, replacing Stephane Fymat, who is now leading Honeywell Ventures. Shilliday has been with Honeywell for more than 15 years and most recently served as v-p and general manager for Honeywell’s power systems business.

Aviation insurance firm Global Aerospace appointed Sarah Porges v-p and aerospace client executive. Porges joins Global Aerospace from Piiq Risk Partners, where she was a senior partner in its aviation and space insurance and risk advisory division. She also has held senior broker roles at aviation and space insurer Marsh for 23 years in its New York and London offices.

Ado Sanusi was hired by ACASS as director of business development for Africa. Sanusi served most recently as CEO of NG Eagle and previously was CEO for Aero Contractors in Nigeria, as well as a Boeing 737 captain, trainer, chief pilot, senior v-p of operations, and deputy managing director at Arik Air.

Jennifer Veilleux was hired as director of sustainability for helicopter services provider PHI Aviation. Veilleux’s career in corporate social responsibility and sustainability spans 20 years in industries including consumer goods, retail pharmacy, medical devices, and aviation. She most recently was director of corporate social responsibility at Atlas Air.

Engine Assurance Program appointed Yorkk Swick director of engine solutions. Swick has 30 years of experience in the industry and, while working at Garrett Aviation (now StandardAero), created and implemented the first mobile service team for AOG support worldwide. He previously served as director of operations for StandardAero at Los Angeles International Airport.

Dennis Pearson was hired by Aerocor as a flight training instructor to meet demand for Eclipse 500 type-rating training. Pearson has prior experience as a military flight instructor, professor of aviation at William Jessup University, FAA safety inspector, aerobatics instructor, and the founder of Mach 5 Aviation flight school.

Polaris Aero hired Ian Lumpp as Midwest regional sales executive. Lumpp has more than eight years of experience in aviation, most recently serving as the director of business development and publisher for BusinessAir magazine. He also co-founded the Iowa Business Aviation Association and serves as the co-chair of the NBAA YoPro Council.

Colin Dunne was promoted to U.S. Midwest sales director at Jetcraft. Dunne has more than a decade of experience having previously held roles across the aerospace, energy, and construction industries in design engineering, project management, and business development capacities. He joined Jetcraft as a sales manager in 2019, based at the company’s London headquarters.

Christin Sherwood was hired by Aircraft Specialties to head aftermarket sales. Sherwood has prior industry experience in part sales and purchasing. In her new role, she will be responsible for domestic and international aircraft part sales.

Awards and Honors

The NBAA maintenance committee awarded Gabrielle Janicki and Jacob Pendleton with the association’s Hank Hilsmann Memorial Scholarship. Janicki is a student at The National Aviation Academy working toward her A&P. Pendleton is an A&P student at Solano Community College and a U.S. Marine Corps veteran with a goal of becoming a business aircraft maintenance technician. The scholarship is awarded annually by NBAA—in coordination with Dassault Falcon Jet Corp. and Dassault authorized training providers CAE Simuflite and Flight Safety International—to aspiring aviation maintenance technicians and military personnel transitioning to business aviation. 

Final Flights

Industry stalwart Larry Flynn, 71, whose career spanned more than four decades and culminated in his role as president of Gulfstream Aerospace and v-p of parent General Dynamics, died on April 12 after a battle with cancer.  Flynn retired from his full-time role with the Savannah, Georgia manufacturer in 2015 for health reasons but he remained on boards of companies including Duncan Aviation and Heads Up Technologies. And his legacy continued, including being named a Living Legend in Aviation in 2020.

Born Feb. 13, 1952, Flynn had grown up in a flying family. His father, a TWA pilot for 38 years, had taught him and his two brothers to fly. “Growing up, we spent a lot of time with his friends, who were airline pilots all over the world. They would come to dinner and tell stories dating back to the DC-3 days up to the B747,” Flynn had told AIN sister publication Business Jet Traveler. Flynn had obtained a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in manpower management from the University of Kansas and, according to his obituary tribute, “was a diehard Jayhawk.”

His aviation business career traces into the early 1980s, when he held several roles within the FBO sector, including as v-p for Stevens Aviation, where he managed six facilities, as regional v-p and general manager for AMR Combs, and as regional v-p for Signature Flight Support. He joined Gulfstream in 1995, holding positions of increasing responsibility, serving as senior v-p of marketing and sales, and then president of Gulfstream Product Support. He was named president of the company in 2011.

In addition to his service at Gulfstream, Flynn became involved in industry advocacy, serving on the boards of directors of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association and Professional Aviation Maintenance Association, as well as the NBAA Associate Member Advisory Council. 

Flynn is survived by his wife Sarah; daughters Kathrine Morehead and husband Ron, and Kelley Young and husband Adam; and five grandchildren and step-grandchildren.

Roger Humiston, Learjet aficionado and founder of Best Jets, JetMakers, and Artist-Aire, passed away unexpectedly on April 19. Humiston earned his pilot’s rating in 1967 and combined his love for country and aviation by embarking upon a six-year stint as an aircraft structural repair specialist in a Kansas Air National Guard reconnaissance group. 

In the late 1970s, he became a Learjet instructor at Flight Safety International in Wichita and later served as president of jet charter operation SternAir, and then as president of Continental Aviation, flying Gulfstream jets on the American Airlines Alliance program before launching his first company, Best AeroNet.

His aviation career spanned more than 50 years with 45 years actively involved in aircraft maintenance and flight operation. In that time, he earned 10 jet type ratings, amassed over 20,000 flight hours, and visited approximately 100 countries. Just prior to his passing, Humiston finished authoring and publishing a book, What You Need to Know About Owning & Flying 20 Series Learjets in the 21st Century, documenting his knowledge of the aircraft. He leaves behind a wife, Kate Woolstenhulme.