Story ID: 003
People in Aviation
By: Kerry Lynch
Caption: Bradley Mims stepped in as FAA deputy administrator, Dr. Susan Northrup as federal air surgeon, and Alexandria Colindres as CEO of The Registry of Aruba.
Word Count: 1591
The Biden Administration selected A. Bradley Mims, who had been president of the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials, to serve as FAA deputy administrator. Mims has a 40-year background in transportation, serving at the FAA and the Department of Transportation during the Clinton Administration and holding roles with the Mid-Atlantic Laborers’ Employers Cooperation and Education Trust, Parsons Brinckerhoff, and Booz/Allen/Hamilton.

The FAA appointed Dr. Susan Northrup as the federal air surgeon. A private pilot and retired U.S. Air Force colonel, she previously has served as acting deputy federal air surgeon and senior regional flight surgeon and also has held leadership roles on the American Board of Preventive Medicine, the U.S. delegation to NATO’s aeromedical working group, the American Society of Aerospace Medicine Specialists, and the Civil Aviation Medical Association.

The Registry of Aruba named Alexandria Colindres CEO. She succeeds the company founder and her father Jorge Colindres, who remains executive chairman and CEO of the Aruba Registry’s parent, Aviation Registry Group of Companies. Alexandria Colindres has served with the registry for eight years, beginning in public relations and most recently as COO.

Mike Skow, who is CEO of Omni Aircraft Sales, Omni Air Transport, and Omni Aircraft Maintenance, has become a partner in the business. Skow has served with the Omni group of companies for 14 years, beginning as a first officer.

Boom Supersonic brought Kathy Savitt on board as president and chief commercial officer and Joe Massaquoi as chief financial officer. Savitt, a founder of change management consultancy Perch Partners and Alaska Airlines board member, has served as a Boom adviser. Massaquoi formerly was CFO of Initium Aerospace. Boom further added three board members: Ray Johnson, also a Boom adviser and former senior v-p and chief technology officer for Lockheed Martin; Michael Marks, a founding managing partner of WRVI Capital and co-founder of construction technology company Katerra; and Jacqueline Reses, former head of Square Capital and chief development officer at Yahoo.

Woodward named Roger Alan Ross president of Aero Systems. Ross brings 25 years of aerospace experience, having served as president of airlines and fleets for StandardAero, executive v-p and president of sensors and systems for Esterline Technologies, and in leadership roles with United Technologies.

Gary Spulak retired from his role of president of Embraer Aircraft Holding in North America after a 37-year career with the Brazilian airframer. Spulak, however, will remain on the board of Embraer Aircraft Holding, Eve Urban Air Mobility Solutions, and the Embraer Foundation, and will serve as a senior advisor.

Spartronics named Annette Cusworth senior v-p and CFO. Cusworth has more than 30 years of financial experience, previously with electronics manufacturing services company Creation Technologies.

Mandy Richards was appointed CFO of Epic Fuels and Signature Select. Richards has served with Epic affiliate Signature Flight Support since 2012 and most recently as senior director of business process management.

CAE named Ben Nicholson v-p of Washington operations. Nicholson, who has 21 years of experience, previously was v-p of global government relations for Honeywell International and also has served as v-p of government affairs for L3 Technologies.

Tom Keller was promoted to chief technology officer for King Schools. Keller joined King Schools in 2005 to run the internal technology department and has taken on software development, software quality assurance, and technical support roles.

Laura Heltebran joined Wheels Up as chief legal officer, responsible for legal, corporate governance, privacy, IP, compliance, and risk. Heltebran previously was senior v-p and deputy general counsel at Hilton Worldwide and before that senior v-p roles at Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Xerox.

The Air Charter Association added two board members – Derek Thomson and Emily Williams. Thomson is commercial director and accountable manager for Air Charter Scotland Europe. Williams co-founded the private aviation consultancy IW Aviation.

JetHQ appointed Sanjeev Choudhary as v-p of sales for Asia. Choudhary brings 15 years of aviation sales experience to his new role, most recently as president of business development for Arrow Aircraft in New Delhi.

Panasonic Avionics appointed Abby Bried as v-p and general counsel. Bried, who was past president of the International Aviation Women’s Association, has 25 years of aviation experience and most recently was a partner with the international law firm Jenner & Block.

Kyle Schultz joined Ross Aviation as v-p of operations. Schultz previously was president and CEO of MLS Courier and also has served as president at Network Global Logistics. In addition, Marilyn Vela a 30-year industry veteran, most recently regional sales manager for Signature Flight Support, was named as Ross's director of network sales.

Mente Group named Jamie Buff director of technical services. Buff has held roles with Cessna Aircraft and Wachovia Bank Flight Operations in addition to serving with the U.S. Air Force.

Honeywell Aerospace promoted Laura Pogue to senior account manager of Boeing aircraft defense programs. Pogue joined Honeywell Aerospace in 2019 in strategic operations and planning and before that launched an online educational technology company.

Tina Barnes was promoted to national client account leader for CAE. Barnes joined CAE in 2001 as a sales representative. In addition, Tom Cushman was named regional sales manager for the Central region and Tina McCarthy regional sales manager for the Northeast region.

Matthieu Rosanvallon joined Freestream as director of sales and acquisitions. Rosanvallon formerly was sales director for the Mid-Atlantic for Guardian Jet and also has served with the commercial real-estate firm Coalition.

Elliott Aviation promoted Roger Woolums to engineering manager. Woolums joined Elliott Aviation in 1998 after working in the U.S. Navy as an avionics technician.

GlobalParts named Jamie Breth Part 145 manager of its Aero Services repair station. Breth, a U.S. Air Force veteran, joined GlobalParts in October 2017 after serving with Wescon Controls and spending 16 years in various roles with Bombardier Aerospace.

PHI Americas appointed James Maner as chief pilot. Maner also has served as chief pilot and director of training for Bristow.

West Star Aviation promoted Todd Rasch to quality/accountable manager in East Alton, Illinois. Rasch, who spent eight years as chief inspector at West Star, has more than 35 years of aviation experience, beginning with the U.S. Air Force as a jet engine mechanic and also including with Midcoast and Avmats.

MySky hired Erica Da Veiga as a sales manager within the European team. Da Veiga brings more than a decade of private aviation experience, including as a founding partner of Vertis Aviation as well as head of charter sales at Comlux Aviation and partner and managing director at Glaronia Aviation.

Duncan Aviation appointed Troy Nail airframe service sales manager for its Lincoln, Nebraska, and Provo, Utah, facilities. Nail, who served in the U.S. Army, joined Duncan in 2001 and most recently was an airframe service sales representative with Bombardier.

Final Flights

Earle Plain Martin III, a charter operator who became a champion of the Mitsubishi MU-2 turboprop twin, passed away on December 31 after battling Covid-19. He was 65.

Dubbed by a colleague as “Mr. Mitsubishi,” Martin had devoted a significant amount of time to speak publicly about the attributes of the MU-2 after it came under criticism and urged fellow operators to take industry-wide product surveys, leading to Mitsubishi earning top ratings. He also highlighted safety and training throughout these campaigns, according to obituary information from the Houston Chronicle.

Born in Houston on Aug. 14, 1955, Martin attended Vanderbilt University and then received a law degree from the University of Texas. He initially joined the firm of Vinson & Elkins. However, his love of flying led him to become a charter pilot and launch Personal Air Charter.

Martin teamed up with another charter business owner and eventually joined that operation, Mid-Coast Air Charter. In 1996, he acquired that business and along with it, its MU-2. That launched his decades-long advocacy for the aircraft.

Cresful William “Cress” Horne, Jr., who founded U.S. Helicopters as a college student and turned it into a nationwide company supporting the film, television, and a range of other industries, died on December 18 at the age of 61 in Marvin, North Carolina.

Horne established U.S. Helicopters in 1979 while still a student at Wingate University, according to his obituary information. The company began in a barn in Marshville, North Carolina, originally flying crop dusting missions and supporting aerial surveys of land and timber. U.S. Helicopters evolved into providing helicopter services for film and TV news, along with aerial surveys. In addition, it ventured into charter, maintenance, sales, and a range of other support activities.

Horne became a noted aerial director, pilot, and technical director of films with credits including The Fugitive, Nell, and The Gingerbread Man, among many others. Horne ultimately returned to the Carolinas to expand U.S. Helicopters.

Lindell “Fred” Shrum, a long-time pilot and aviation business leader, passed away at the age of 75. Born in Dixon, Illinois, Shrum spent most of his life in the Washington, D.C. area. A Vietnam veteran, he served in the U.S. Navy on the aircraft carriers Yorktown and Bonne Homme Richard. Following his service, he became a pilot, flying Learjet and Fokker aircraft. He also owned a number of aviation services companies, including East Coast Airways, North American Aircraft, North American Jet Sales, and Crown Aviation, according to his obituary information.