Story ID: 003August
People in Aviation
By: Kait Wilson
Caption: A look at aviation industry changes in leadership roles and job titles as well as those recognized with awards and honors.
Word Count: 1218
Ken Karklin has assumed the role of CEO at Opener Aero and will also serve on the company's board of directors after Opener Aero founder Marcus Leng stepped down from the position. Karklin comes to the company after previously holding a variety of leadership positions with AeroVironment.

David Kahl has been appointed as COO of FL Technics’s wheels and brakes business in Hanover, Germany. Kahl previously worked at Lufthansa Technik and has spent nearly eight years in the aviation industry, with experience in the wheels and brakes segment.

Atlantic Aviation has named Bill White as executive v-p and CFO. White has nearly 20 years of experience in the CFO role across several industries, having most recently been the executive v-p and CFO at PrimeSource Brands, a leading distributor of building materials in North America.

Jianwei Zhang has been promoted to chairman of Bombardier China. Zhang has more than 26 years of experience in the aerospace and transport industries, previously holding various roles at Bombardier and on the company's management team.

Alex Vlielander has been appointed by Liebherr-Aerospace and Transportation SAS to assume the new position of chief customer officer after previously holding the position of chief services officer with the company. In this new role, Vlielander will also assume the duties held by the former chief commercial officer. Additionally, Gerd Heinzelmann has joined the management board of Liebherr-Aerospace Lindenberg in Germany and Sami Blal has joined the management board in Toulouse, France.

Doug Washburn succeeds Bruce Hanke as v-p at Hartzell Propellers following the retirement of Hanke after 20 years with the company. Washburn recently joined Hartzell after working at GE Aviation for the past 21 years, where he held numerous engineering management roles with skills in mechanical design, analysis and testing, organizational leadership, project management, fiber-optic systems, and team building.

Guardian Jet appointed Chris Hancock as v-p of business development. Hancock has more than a decade of aircraft sales experience, including serving with Hawker Beechcraft and Dassault Falcon.

Portside tapped Fred Powell as v-p of product. Powell has 20 years of business aviation technology experience, previously serving at the software company his father founded, Computing Technologies for Aviation, later for Collins after it was sold to the avionics and electronics company, and then for Stellar Labs.

John Vance was named assistant director of operations for Metro Aviation at its headquarters in Shreveport, Louisiana. Vance, a former pilot in the U.S. Army, has served with Metro for 15 years, most recently as regional aviation manager in the U.S. southern region.

ACASS appointed Steve Tedeschi as worldwide sales director of aircraft management. Tedeschi has spent 10 years with ACASS, functioning as sales director of flight crew staffing, as well as sales director of aircraft sales, in the Southeast U.S. and South America.

Ed Monaghan III has been promoted by Pro Star Aviation to director of maintenance. Monaghan began his aviation maintenance career at American Eagle Airlines and joined Pro Star in 2005 as an aircraft maintenance technician. He most recently held the position of chief inspector.

Rusada appointed Larry Strykowski as director of business development. Strykowski brings an aviation software background to his new role, including as director of technology for MRO and supply chain systems for Continental Airlines and United Airlines, and director of technology for the Bristow Helicopter Group.

Duncan Aviation has hired Bruno Mazzani as its business development coordinator for the company’s satellite network. Mazzani holds a degree in mechanical engineering and a master’s degree in business marketing. In this new position, Mazzani will manage satellite-specific diversification and growth, and continuous improvement initiatives throughout the company’s satellite network. 

The National Air Transportation Association (NATA) has appointed three new members to its board of directors. Kimberly Herrell, owner and CEO of Schubach Aviation; Jessica Naor, president of GrandView Aviation; and Chad Farischon, v-p of strategic development of West Star Aviation were newly elected to serve the organization at large.

Additionally, Clive Lowe, executive v-p of Atlantic Aviation Services, was re-elected to serve an additional one-year term as NATA board chairman. Curt Castagna, president and CEO of Aeroplex Group Partners, will continue to serve an additional one-year term as immediate past chair on NATA’s executive committee. Jeff Ross, president and CEO of Ross Aviation was named director emeritus,  while Marc Drobny of StandardAero, Geoff Heck of Signature Flight Support, Mike Magni of Monaco Air Duluth, Chris Rozansky of Naples Airport Authority, and Megan Wolf of Flexjet were re-elected to serve additional three-year terms.

Ken Thompson has also joined the NATA’s regulatory team as a senior advisor, specializing in business aviation maintenance issues. Thompson brings more than 48 years of aviation experience to the NATA regulatory team, including nearly three decades as an FAA aviation safety inspector.

West Star Aviation promoted Andy Pitstick to program manager and Connor Mottice to technical sales manager at its facility in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Pitstick joined West Star in 2017, holding positions at its Grand Junction, Colorado facility, in addition to Chattanooga. Mottice has been with the company for seven years and has served at the location since its doors opened in 2016, most recently holding the position of quality control manager. West Star further named Sean Fields material control manager at its East Alton, Illinois, facility. Fields previously spent 22 years with Boeing in supply chain and operations roles and has flown both airplanes and helicopters.

Heather Aldred was promoted by Western Aircraft to turboprop regional sales manager and hired Peter Chabay as a quoter. Aldred, a licensed A&P mechanic with more than 15 years of experience, co-owned a maintenance company in Scappoose, Oregon, and worked as a line mechanic in Oahu, Hawaii, before joining Western Aircraft in 2016. Chabay has 14 years of aviation experience, previously serving with Gulfstream Aerospace and Pilatus Aircraft.

Bryant Elliott has been appointed by Cutter Aviation as the regional sales manager for Texas Piper. Having held various positions with Piper Aircraft over the past 12 years, he has an intricate understanding of their products, including the manufacturing and assembly of the aircraft.

Awards and Honors

The International Business Aviation Council (IBAC) has awarded Leo Knaapen with the first François Chavatte Award for Lifetime Service to Business Aviation. The award recognizes Knaapen's contributions and "persistent advocacy and promotion of the international business aviation industry," according to IBAC.  

The National Business Aviation Association presented its American Spirit Award to Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Oregon), the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee who is retiring at the end of his term after serving in Congress for 36 years. The longest-serving House member from Oregon, DeFazio has served on T&I throughout his congressional career.

Maintenance quality and safety manager for Jet Access and Eagle Creek Aviation, Mike Grabbe was awarded the FAA FAASTeam's Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award in recognition of his 50 years of service as an FAA-certified aircraft mechanic, with more than 20 of those years at Jet Access and Eagle Creek.