Story ID: 003May
People in Aviation
By: Kerry Lynch
Caption: A review of industry job title updates, leadership changes, awards recognitions and honoring the memory of those who have taken their final flight.
Word Count: 1458
The FAA selected its top safety official, Billy Nolen, to step in as acting administrator following the departure of Steve Dickson. FAA Deputy Administrator Bradley Mims further expanded his duties to focus on the agency’s workforce and airports initiatives. Dickson stepped down as FAA administrator at the end of March and the Biden Administration is conducting a search for a permanent successor to serve a five-year term. In January, Nolen became FAA associate administrator for aviation, bringing more than three decades of piloting and safety leadership experience, including with American Airlines, Airlines for America, Qantas, and most recently WestJet. Mims, has 40 years of public and private sector transportation, including serving as president and CEO of the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials and with the FAA during the Clinton Administration.

CPI Aerostructures appointed Dorith Hakim as CEO, president, and director. She succeeds Douglas McCrosson, who is leaving the company to pursue other opportunities. Hakim previously served as group v-p for Parker Hannifin Aerospace and also has held management positions with Triumph Group and Sikorsky.

Toby Woolrych was appointed CFO for Ontic. Woolrych has more than 30 years of financial and business management experience, including CFO roles with Renewi, Consort Medical, and Acta.

The South Florida Business Aviation Association (SFBAA) elected long-time board member Scott Ramsden as president. He will succeed his brother, Jeff Ramsden, who has held that position for 15 years.

Orla Brady has joined Clyde & Co’s global aviation practice as senior counsel in Washington, D.C. Brady was previously a trial attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice, Aviation, Space & Admiralty Litigation Section.

Randy Gifford joined Vita Inclinata as executive v-p of operations. Formerly with GE Aviation, Gifford brings an extensive background in commercial growth, manufacturing, and supply chains to his new role.

Rhiannon Silvashy joined Bluetail as v-p of sales. Silvashy has nearly a decade of aviation software experience, previously serving as v-p of sales for Flightdocs.

Lee Brewster has joined Thoroughbred Aviation as v-p. Brewster formerly was v-p of marketing and engagement for ATP (Flightdocs) and before that served with FlightSafety International as well as ATSM International.

Elliott Aviation named Paul McQuay v-p and general manager and Michael Frazier King Air service supervisor at its Moline, Illinois facility. McQuay previously spent four years at Cobham as director of operations and engineering and has held other roles involving operations supervision and management, engineering, quality, and sales. Frazier has 33 years of aviation industry experience as a crew chief, lead mechanic, line lead, and maintenance supervisor.

Griffin Global Asset Management named Gonzalo Ramos v-p. Ramos joins Griffin after spending 17 years with Airbus and before that as an engineering consultant.

Brittany Brawner rejoined Alliance Aviation Services as FBO general manager. Brawner, who previously was customer service manager for Alliance Aviation Services from 2012 to 2017, most recently served as Air Elite senior program manager for World Fuel Services.

Henderson Jet Services appointed Scott Lawson as general manager. Lawson has more than 20 years of commercial, corporate, and general aviation experience that has included leadership roles with Airborne Express and Evans Composites.

Tecnam appointed Volodymyr Rizzitano as customer service manager. Rizzitano joined Tecnam’s technical support department in 2014 and since held roles as engineering manager of the company’s maintenance organization and as aircraft delivery manager.

West Star Aviation promoted Leonard Lentz to aviation technical trainer at its Grand Junction, Colorado location. Lentz has more than 43 years of aircraft maintenance and repair experience, 32 of those with West Star, previously as NDT Lead.

Glen Serra has joined business aviation technical support company Jet Diligence. Serra, an A&P mechanic and licensed aircraft maintenance engineer, has previously supported Challenger, Global, and Gulfstream aircraft based around Australia and New Zealand.

Twin Commander Aircraft hired David Allison as a technical service rep. Allison has a range of maintenance management and engineering support experience, including as a field representative of aerospace component manufacturers and most recently opening and managing the GoJet Airlines maintenance base in Greensboro, North Carolina.

West Star Aviation appointed Randy Cissell as project manager at its facility in Perryville, Missouri. Cissell is returning to West Star, having previously served on its AOG team and before that holding roles with Midcoast Aviation.

Ametek named David Bair director of finance for B&S Aircraft, Drake Air, and Southern Aeroparts. Bair joins Ametek after holding consulting roles for top companies in various industries as well as serving in the aerospace and transportation sectors.

Awards and Honors

The British Business and General Aviation Association (BBGA) awarded its Michael Wheatley Award for Outstanding Services to Gama Aviation co-founder Marwan Khalek.

Honored during BBGA’s annual conference on March 10 at Luton Hoo outside of London, Khalek was recognized as “a respected, successful entrepreneur with a proven track record over nearly four decades.” BBGA noted Khalek steered Gama from a small air taxi business in the early 1980s to a global aviation services group that employs 1,000 and spans the business aviation sector.

An engineer who originally worked in the furniture business, Khalek learned to fly and saw an opportunity to move his business skills into aviation. Gama was established with its first aircraft, a Beech Baron, in 1983.

Over the years, he’s become a strong industry advocate, including serving eight years as chair of BBGA and holding several positions with the European Business Aviation Association.

NBAA honored Leo Knaapen, Bombardier’s chief of industry affairs, with the association’s Silk Scarf Award, recognizing his decades of leadership and commitment to safety, sustainability, international operations, and other industry priorities. Knaapen retired from Bombardier in March after a nearly 37-year aerospace career.

“For more than three decades, Leo has been a constant, tireless, and effective champion for business aviation throughout the world,” said NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen.

Knaapen’s aerospace career began in 1985 with Pratt & Whitney Canada and he moved over to Bombardier in 1989, serving as spokesman for the Canadair division and later Bombardier Business Aircraft.

In 2007, he stepped into a newly created industry affairs position, representing the company throughout the global aviation community. In this role, he helped establish the Business Aviation Coalition for Sustainability.

A member of the NBAA Advisory Council and the International Business Aviation Council Governing Council, he played a role in the development of the safety management systems involving design and manufacturing for the International Civil Aviation Organization’s Annex 19.

Final Flights

Edwin Niemöller, 57, Jet Aviation’s senior director of FBO operations for the Netherlands, passed away on February 12 after a short illness.

A 30-year industry veteran with a passion for aviation, Niemöller began his career with KLM as a financial controller in 1991 before moving to general aviation and the KLM Jet Center at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport in 1996. He served as FBO director of the facility for more than a decade until the FBO was purchased along with its sister location in Rotterdam by Jet Aviation in 2018.

Niemöller was then named as head of the company’s two Netherlands locations and, under his leadership, in 2020, both facilities earned Stage 1 registration under IBAC’s International Standard for Business Aircraft Handling.

Known for his sense of humor and his ability to diffuse stress, Niemöller was also instrumental in the efforts to have sustainable aviation fuel available at the Schiphol location on a continuous basis.

Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), the long-time congressional leader called the “dean” of the House, died on March 18 at the age of 88. Young, who stepped into his congressional role after winning a special election on March 6, 1973, at the time of his death was the lower chamber’s oldest and longest-serving lawmaker. Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee from 2001 to 2007, Young was known for his “steadfast service to his country, and his passionate commitment to promoting aviation,” according to NBAA.

“Don Young was a vigorous advocate for our nation’s aviation industry throughout his five decades in Congress, including through his support for multiple initiatives to bolster aviation infrastructure and to build our industry’s next-generation workforce,” said NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen.

A longtime member of the General Aviation Caucus, Young backed legislation such as Promoting Service in Transportation Act and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in recent years, and as chairman of T&I, he steered through H.R.2115, Vision 100—The Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act.