Story ID: 003February2022People
People in Aviation
By: Kerry Lynch
Caption: Billy Nolen is FAA associate administrator for aviation safety and Greg Fell is CEO of JetNet. Linda Peters and Roger Sperry have retired.
Word Count: 1317

The FAA has named Billy Nolen, a former airline captain who most recently held a leadership role with WestJet Airlines in Canada, to serve as associate administrator of aviation safety. Previously v-p for safety, security, and quality for WestJet, Nolen brings a long airline background to the agency, including Qantas Airways, American Airlines, and Airlines for America (A4A).

JetNet named Greg Fell to lead the company in a newly created CEO position. Ownership of JetNet is remaining with the Esposito family, and Tony Esposito remains president, owner, and majority shareholder. Fell brings a 30-year background of senior management, including strategic development and IT infrastructure growth, across a number of industries to his new role, including as CEO for the social media company Display Social, COO of Gama Aviation, and positions with Ford Motor Co. and Terex.

Nikolay Kolesov was appointed director-general of Russian Helicopters. He succeeds

Andrei Boginsky, who has held this position since 2017 but has transferred to the United Aircraft Corporation as the deputy director-general for civil aviation and as the director-general of the Irkut Corporation. Kolesov had been the head of Concern Radio-Electronic Technologies since 2009.

Lilium appointed Karim Jalbout chief people officer. Jalbout recently was a lead partner for private equity and technology at Egon Zehnder and also led global customer propositions and sales at Sony Ericsson Mobile.

Stevens Sainte-Rose joined Wheels Up Experience as chief people officer. Sainte-Rose has human resources experience across a range of industries, previously as senior v-p of HR at The Coca-Cola Company International, as chief human resources officer at U.S. Walgreens, chief HR and transformation officer at Dawn Foods Global, and most recently chief HR officer at Parallel Inc.  

Gulfstream Aerospace promoted Michael Swift to regional senior v-p for Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Indian subcontinent, succeeding Roger Sperry.  Sperry is retiring at the end of the year after serving with Gulfstream for 20 years and in the business aviation industry for nearly 50, also including with Cessna, Learjet, and Galaxy Aerospace. Swift joined Gulfstream in 2018 as a regional vice president of sales after holding aircraft financing positions with Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Textron Financial. In addition, Chad Beaulieu was promoted to regional v-p of sales for the south-central U.S.  He succeeds Sherman Griffith, who is retiring after 15 years with the company. Beaulieu previously was regional sales manager for the south-central region and has also served with business aviation organizations such as Leviate Air Group, Dallas Jet International, and Starbase Jet. Meanwhile, Tim Wood has rejoined Gulfstream as regional sales manager for the Middle East, Africa, and the Indian subcontinent. Previously with the Royal Air Force, Wood served with Gama Aviation before originally joining Gulfstream in 2018.

Mente Group named Jay Bushouse managing director for the Midwest region. Bushouse, a flight instructor and airline transport rated pilot with more than 4,500 flight hours, previously served as a sales director for Textron and also has been involved in sales and marketing, revenue management, and planning in the commercial real estate sector.

Jet Linx promoted Scott Wilbanks to senior v-p of aircraft management sales. Wilbanks, who has 20 years of sales and business development experience, joined Jet Linx in 2014 in Atlanta as director of private jet card sales and most recently was v-p of regional aircraft management sales.

Linda Peters, who has managed exhibitor activities for NBAA’s conventions and other events, retired after spending nearly the past 28 years with the association. Peters had joined the association in 1994 after serving with the Helicopter Association International.

The Women in Aviation and Aerospace Charter (WIAAC) appointed Victoria Foy as co-chair.  She succeeds Jacqueline Sutton, who had served as co-chair since July 2020. Foy is executive v-p of Safran Seats and has 15 years of senior leadership experience.

Four Corners Aviation named its initial senior leadership team: Diana Schneider, v-p of client services; Ray Bennett, v-p of sales; Mike Jefcoat, v-p of operations; and Phil Leone, v-p of safety and security. Schneider, who joined Four Corners Aviation's predecessor in 2019, began her aviation career as an accountant/controller in 2007 and has a financial, managerial, and organizational background through other industries as well. Bennett has 30 years of aviation sales experience, including management roles in the areas of avionics, fractional aircraft, aircraft manufacturing, parts distribution, and aircraft management. Jefcoat spent 18 years as an airline pilot, including with Delta Connection, and also has served as the chief pilot and director of operations for FlightWorks, a consultant with ATP Flight School, and an FAA-approved check airman on the Hawker 800 and Bombardier Challenger 300. Leone, meanwhile, has 26 years of experience in the New York Air National Guard, where he served as an aircraft commander, instructor, and evaluator in the C-5A Galaxy, an aircraft commander in the C-17 Globemaster, and the chief of safety for the 105th Airlift Wing in Newburgh, New York.

JSSI named David Caporali v-p of business development for Latin America. Caporali, who has 15 years of industry experience, previously was director of aircraft sales for Viking Air Limited and also has served with Lider Aviação, where he specialized in regional sales and distribution of Hawker Beechcraft products in Brazil and North America.

MyGoFlight added Mitch Biggs to its senior management team leading sales and business development. Biggs formerly was v-p of sales and marketing at Avidyne Corporation and has held senior sales positions with several national retailers.

The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) hired Alex Burkett as general counsel and director of safety and regulatory affairs. Burkett joins GAMA after serving as the staff director and special advisor on aviation for the U.S. House aviation subcommittee and also has served as director of regulatory compliance for United Airlines and as an attorney with the National Transportation Safety Board.

Jet East hired Patrick Moylan to serve as v-p of safety. A former air traffic controller with the U.S. Marine Corps, Moylan most recently was a senior associate at FBO Partners and also has served as senior director of health, safety, and environmental for Signature Flight Support and held several safety positions supporting the FAA’s Office of System Safety and NextGen.

Air Charter Service appointed John Castellano as v-p of commercial sales. Castellano has 18 years of private aviation experience, previously working with companies including Jet Aviation, Private Jet Services, NetJets, and Marquis Jet.

Final Flight

Charles Schneider, a software engineer who co-founded MyGoFlight in 2010, died December 17 after being in an aircraft crash the previous day near McGhee Tyson Airport in Knoxville, Tennessee. Schneider, who served as CEO of MyGoFlight, had been traveling on business in a Cirrus SR22 piston single when the aircraft crashed at 9:20 a.m. on December 16, the company said, adding the cause of the accident is unknown. According to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), the CAPS ballistic parachute was deployed, but the aircraft crashed and was destroyed in the accident. MyGoFlight posted that Schneider had died that next morning at UT Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. 

Schneider—who had a background that included leadership roles at companies such as Booz Allen & Hamilton, Oracle, MDC Holdings, and Builder Sourcing—founded MyGoFlight after obtaining his pilot license and deciding he did not want to use paper charts, the company said. Instead, he decided to use a computer but had a difficult time keeping it on his lap. Shifting to an iPad, he determined a need to secure it and, MyGoFlight said, “Our first product, the iPad Kneeboard, received so much attention and demand, a business was born.”

The business has since expanded to numerous mounts, cases, cradles, flight bags, luggage, anti-glare glass, and into the first certified head-up display for general aviation.
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