Roei Ganzarski has resigned from his positions as CEO of MagniX and chairman of Eviation Aircraft. In a January 6 posting on LinkedIn, the electric aviation pioneer said that “with a heavy heart” he decided to leave the companies, both of which are subsidiaries of the Singapore-based investment group Clermont.
MagniX is developing electric propulsion units to convert turboprop aircraft such as the Cessna Grand Caravan and DHC-2 Beaver. The company is also providing its Magni 650 system for Eviation’s 11-seat Alice fixed-wing aircraft, which is imminently expected to make a first test flight. Both companies are based in Washington state.
At MagniX chief operating officer Michele D'Ercole has been appointed as interim CEO while the company conducts a search for a permanent replacement. He has been involved in the development of the electric propulsion system since the company's early years in Australia and relocated to its Everett, Washington, headquarters in January 2021.
Meanwhile, Eviation has appointed board member Dominique Spragg to replace Ganzarski as executive chairman. He is chief of aerospace strategy and business architect at the Clermont Group.
Ganzarski became CEO of MagniX in April 2018 and in October 2019 Clermont appointed him as Eviation’s chairman. Previously he spent just over 13 years with Boeing, most recently as chief customer officer for flight services, before joining software group BoldIQ as president and CEO.
This story was updated on January 10 with details about new executive appointments at MagniX and Eviation Aircraft.
