Story ID: 003 February 2021 People
People in Aviation: February 2021
By: Kerry Lynch
Caption: Gregory Beason is president and CEO of AllClear, Glenn Hogben CEO of ACA, and David Wyndham v-p for Asset Insight.
Word Count: 1612
Gregory Beason has stepped in as president and CEO of AllClear, which formed from the merger of Aero Precision and Kellstrom Defense. He takes the role from Darryl Mayhorn, who has stepped down after serving as president and CEO since 2018.  Beason, who had served as executive chairman of the Aero Precision board, has more than 30 years of aerospace experience and formerly was CEO of Wencor Group.

AeroParts Now named Jeffrey Jerge CEO. Jerge brings more than 20 years of combined aerospace technology consulting, management, and leadership experience in aerospace technology companies to his new role, most recently as v-p of sales and marketing for Inventory Locator Service

Cadence Aerospace appointed Kevin Martin as CEO of the company’s engine systems segment. Martin also is continuing as chief information officer for Cadence. A 30-year aerospace industry veteran, Martin joined Cadence in January 2019 after serving with Pratt & Whitney. He succeeds Bob Quaglia, who is retiring.

Glenn Hogben, who stepped in as joint deputy chair of The Air Charter Association (ACA) late last year, is moving into the new role of CEO for the organization. In that capacity, he succeeds Dave Edwards, who has run ACA on a part-time basis since 2017 but has returned full-time to his commercial duties. Hogben, who joined ACA in 2008 and was elected to the non-executive board in 2017, has 17 years of aircraft, charter, leasing, and management experience, including with ACC Aviation and ACMI Leasing.

Dan Davis joined FlightSafety International as president of FlightSafety Services Corporation.  Davis, who previously served in the U.S. Army, held leadership roles with Lockheed Martin and most recently was COO of Cornerstone Consulting.

David Monks was elected as president of FAI, the World Air Sports Federation for a two-year term. An electrical engineer from the UK who has participated in FAI championships, Monks has held positions in several air sports organizations, including chairman of the UK's Royal Aero Club and the Helicopter Club of Great Britain.

AJ Becker was appointed president and has become an equity partner in Elite Air. He succeeds Gray Gibbs, who founded Elite Air in 2001 and remains CEO and director of operations. Becker has served as director of marketing and sales for the aviation management and charter company for more than a decade and also has served with Northwest Airlink.

David Davenport has joined the executive leadership team of Solairus Aviation. Davenport joins Solairus after serving with FlightSafety International for 20 years, including most recently as president and CEO, and also has served on the NBAA Board of Directors and Corporate Angel Network Board of Governors.

Gur Kimchi joined the board of directors for Ascent AeroSystems, becoming the company’s first outside board member. Kimchi, a founding member of the FAA Drone Advisory Committee, is the former v-p of Amazon Prime Air and also spent 10 years at Microsoft.

The Aerospace Industries Association elected Kathy Warden, chairman, CEO, and president of Northrop Grumman Corporation as chairman of the association’s Board of Governors for 2021. Huntington Ingalls Industries president and CEO Mike Petters will become vice-chairman, while Eric Fanning remains president and CEO and Ginette Colot secretary-treasurer.

The General Aviation Manufacturers Association has elected its executive committee leadership for 2021, naming Nicolas Chabbert, senior v-p of Daher’s Aircraft division and CEO of Daher Aircraft and Kodiak Aircraft, as chairman of the board. Chabbert has served as the 2020 vice-chair and has led GAMA's Safety Affairs and Accident Investigation Committee. The 2021 vice-chair is Embraer Executive Jets president and CEO Michael Amalfitano. He has been chairman of GAMA’s Communications Committee.

Bombardier appointed Bart Demosky executive v-p and CFO. Demosky has more than 30 years of financial and executive leadership experience, previously as president and CEO of Universal Rail Systems, executive v-p and CFO of Canadian Pacific Railway, and CFO for Suncor Energy. Bombardier further appointed Annie Torkia Lagacé as senior v-p, general counsel, and corporate secretary. Lagacé has more than 20 years of corporate and commercial law experience, most recently as executive v-p of Stornoway Diamonds.

Jeff Barstow joined King Aerospace as senior v-p. Barstow previously had a 41-year career at Boeing, including as COO for Boeing Business Jets as well as in management roles with the P-8 Poseidon, 737, and 757 airplane programs.

Sean Bond joined Elbit Systems of America as senior v-p to lead the airborne solutions business unit. Bond has held a range of executive and technical roles, including program management for the V-22 Osprey at Bell, the Joint Strike Fighter engine at Pratt & Whitney, and most recently as CEO and president of HDT Global.

David Wyndham joined Asset Insight as v-p of Asset Insight Consulting Services. Wyndham, an industry veteran who is known as an expert, author, and speaker in the business and general aviation community, was a partner with Conklin & de Decker and then held executive positions with Jet Support Services, Inc. (JSSI) after it acquired Conklin.

Gulfstream Aerospace named Brian McCarthy regional v-p of sales for Singapore, Indonesia,  Australia, New Zealand, and Oceania. McCarthy, who has 10 years of business aviation experience, joined Gulfstream in fall 2019 as a regional sales manager after serving as a sales manager for an aircraft brokerage.

EPIC Fuels added two executives to its leadership team—Joshua Foster, who was named v-p of supply, and Kyle O’Leary, v-p of operations. Foster previously served as director of supply and training for various Delta Air Lines subsidiaries. O’Leary formerly was senior manager of fuel supply for Spirit Airlines and also has been a fuels marketer and general manager of an FBO.

LeMiracle Hendking joined FreeFlight Systems as director of sales. Hendking brings a background in both the airline transport, business jet, and other transportation segments, having spent nearly 10 years holding management positions with Recaro Seating and also holding project and engineering positions with Aerotek, Huitt-Zollars, and the Alabama Department of Transportation.

King Aerospace appointed Boyd Hunsaker as director of sales. Hunsaker most recently served as director of sales and marketing for ST Aerospace San Antonio unit Aeria Luxury Interiors and also has held roles with Comlux America and Associated Air Center.  

ZeroAvia added Andy Brown and Christine Ourmières-Widener as advisors. Brown is a 35-year Shell executive who most recently led the upstream division. Ourmières-Widener brings more than 25 years of operator management expertise in the commercial aviation market, recently with Flybe.

The Association of Air Medical Services (AAMS) named Matthew Fox director of event design and Christina Childs director of education and special events as well as MedEvac Foundation International director of events. Fox had served as a senior project manager at Meeting Management Services since 2011. Childs ran this year’s MTLI Virtual Grad School and previously has handled event planning for engineering, telecommunications, and renewable energy industry associations.

Aero Asset appointed Joe Viveiros and Sebastien Delmaire as sales directors. Viveiros, who is type rated in both the Sikorsky S-76 and Gulfstream G550, has more than a 30-year career in aviation and has completed more than $200 million in aircraft transactions. Delmaire formerly was a French Air Force officer before joining Airbus Helicopters and then Aston Martin.

Jetcraft appointed Fabrice Roger and Massimo Burotti as sales directors in Europe. Roger, a French national who is relocating from Miami to Nice, has been with Jetcraft since 2013. Burotti, who will be based in London, joined Jetcraft from Bombardier, where he was a sales director for Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, and Hungary.

Awards and Honors

CAE president and CEO Marc Parent was appointed Member of the Order of Canada by the Governor-General of Canada Julie Payette. Recognizing extraordinary Canadians whose services shape society, the Order of Canada is considered one of the country's highest honors. Parent is being honored for “his achievements that have greatly contributed to the development and growth of the aerospace industry in Canada.”

Parent began his career as an engineer at Bombardier Canadair in 1984 and joined CAE in 2005, taking the role of president and CEO in 2009. A staunch advocate for the Canadian aviation industry, he has served on the boards of Aéro Montréal, the Canadian Association of Defense and Security Industries, and the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada.

Final Flights

Lawrence L. “Larry” Burian, who led the National Air Transportation Association (NATA) for nearly two decades, died on December 23.

Burian, who soloed at the age of 14 in his Missouri hometown, joined NATA in 1974 initially as a v-p with a focus on the FBO interest and became its president two years later. At the time, the organization had just three employees, 160 members, and a $135,000 budget, Burian was quoted as saying during his retirement. By the time he left NATA in 1994, the association had grown to some 2,000 members and had a $2.5 million budget and 16 employees.

NATA noted that Burian stepped in when the association’s members were fragmented and needed focus and worked to attract leaders who understood the general aviation business. As he had joined the association, it was going through a transformation with the scheduled commuter and cargo carriers deciding to split off to form a separate organization. The remaining organization rebranded to the National Air Transportation Association and under Burian's direction became a strong voice of advocacy for business and general aviation businesses. Under his stewardship, NATA fought major conflicts such as fuel price and allocation controls—a battle that ultimately resulted in an estimated $70 million being returned to the FBO industry, according to the association.