Story ID: 003
People in Aviation: January 2020
By: Kerry Lynch
Caption: Ken Sain is CEO of Panasonic Avionics, Roei Ganzarski chairman of Eviation, and Mike King president of FlightSafety Services.
Word Count: 1720
Ken Sain was named CEO of Panasonic Avionics. He succeeds Hideo Nakano, who held that position since 2017 and transitioned to the role of special advisor. Sain most recently was v-p of digital solutions and analytics for Boeing Global Services and CEO of Boeing subsidiary Jeppesen.

Eviation named Roei Ganzarski chairman of the board. Formerly CEO of software provider BoldIQ, Ganzarski also is chairman Clermont Aerospace and CEO of magniX, both of which are collaborating with Eviation on the Alice aircraft.

FlightSafety International appointed Mike King president of FlightSafety Services, responsible for the aircrew training systems and contractor logistics support provided to government and military agencies. King, who previously served with FlightSafety from 1990 to 2014, returns to the training provider after serving as COO for Simcom Aviation Training.

Elevate Jet named Michael Horrisberger chief information officer. A former U.S. Navy pilot, Horrisberger brings more than 20 years of experience to his new role, including leading large scale, technology-based business initiatives.

Elliott Aviation hired David Fenton to serve as chief administrative and financial officer, succeeding Jeff Hyland who served as CFO for 28 years. Most recently CFO/COO of Dixline Corp. in Galva, Illinois, Fenton began his career with Alcoa and later was COO of Russell Companies.

The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) named its 2020 executive leadership with Jet Aviation Group president David Paddock stepping in as chairman. Currently vice-chair, Paddock will succeed this year’s chairman, Gulfstream Aerospace president Mark Burns. Meanwhile, Burns remains on the Executive Committee as the immediate past chair. Nicolas Chabbert, Daher’s senior v-p for aircraft, is the incoming vice-chairman. He previously has chaired the association's Safety and Accident Investigation committee. Additionally, GAMA has created a European Leaders Steering committee, naming Luxaviation chief technical officer David Van Den Langenbergh to steer the new panel.

The International Aircraft Dealers Association (IADA) appointed QS Partners managing partner Paul Kirby chairman for 2020-2021, succeeding outgoing chair, Mente president and CEO Brian Proctor. Peter Antonenko, COO of Jetcraft, is taking the role of vice-chairman; David Monacell, executive v-p of CFS Jets, is treasurer; and, Joe Carfagna Jr., president of Leading Edge Aviation Solutions, is the new secretary.

Safran Helicopter Engines appointed Frédéric Bugeon executive v-p of strategy, succeeding Serge Maillé who is retiring. Most recently v-p of sales, marketing, and customer satisfaction for the organization, Bugeon has nearly 25 years of industry experience, also including with Thales and Alstrom. In addition, Patrick Prulhiere has become executive v-p purchasing for Safran Helicopter Engines, succeeding Frédéric Rascouailles who moved to another position within the company. Prulhiere has nearly 30 years of experience, holding positions with Labinal before joining Safran Electrical and Power in 2014.

ACASS hired Brenda Paauwe-Navori as executive v-p for the Americas. Paauwe-Navori brings 20 years of experience to her new position, including nine in aircraft sales, previously with Virgin Charter, Bombardier, and Embraer.

Gulfstream appointed Julien Nargeot regional v-p of sales for Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand and Brian McCarthy as a regional sales manager in the region. Nargeot brings 12 years of business jet OEM experience to his new role, including providing pilot training, operational support, aircraft technical support, and customer service and most recently holding a sales role in the Middle East. McCarthy joins Gulfstream with nine years of business aviation experience, most recently as a sales manager for an aircraft brokerage company, responsible for the Northeast U.S. and Asia-Pacific markets.

Frédéric Lino was named v-p of purchasing of Safran Electrical & Power. He succeeds Patrick Prulhière, who has become v-p of purchasing for Safran Helicopter Engines. Most recently v-p of purchasing at Safran Landing Systems, Lino joined the company after serving with the Laboratory of Accidentology and Biomechanics, which was created by PSA Peugeot Citroën and Renault, and later for Renault Group.

Mark Tattershall was named v-p of business development and strategy for Arnprior Aerospace. Tattershall has more than 30 years of industry experience, including with Kaman Aerospace, Breeze-Eastern, Unitech, Stark Aerospace, Capewell, and Westland Helicopters.

Bernard (Ben) Chowaniec was appointed v-p and general manager of Cadence Aerospace—Tell Tool. Previously v-p of operations for Cadence, Chowaniec will direct daily operations at the Cadence Tell Tool business in Westfield, Massachusetts.

JetHQ added John Daut as v-p of sales. Daut, who heads up JetHQ’s East Coast base from White Plains, New York, most recently was base president with Jet Linx in New York and has 15 years of aviation sales experience.

Antoine Villain joined ACASS as aircraft sales director for Southern Europe. Villain has decades of private aviation, military aviation, and aerospace experience, including holding sales and marketing roles for Dassault Aviation.

ACASS appointed Sunil Chahal as sales director-Asia, based in Kuala Lumpur. Chahal has spent nearly five years with ACASS in various roles, including as flight crew manager and sales manager, and also has served with Bombardier, JetEventz, and Able Fisher Group.

Mike Townsend joined C&L Aerospace as regional sales manager, corporate aircraft. Previously regional sales manager and manager of component repair and overhaul for Bombardier, Townsend has two decades of experience specializing in parts sales and exchanges, component repair and overhaul services, and supply chain management for corporate aircraft.

Chris Hicks joined Latitude Aero as director of VIP sales. Hicks brings 27 years of corporate and regional aviation sales and marketing experience to Latitude Aero, most recently as director of sales and marketing with Quiet Technology Aerospace.

Wayne Lockley joined Elevate Jet to lead safety and security protocol. Lockley has 40 years of aviation experience, including 23 years in the U.S. Navy and has been a member of the International Society of Aviation Safety Investigators.

Bismarck Aero Center promoted Chad Hegel to lead flightline technician. Hegel joined Bismarck Aero Center in 2012 as a part-time flightline technician and before that had aircraft refueling experience with Great Lake Airlines.

JetHQ added Jamie Roberts as a sales manager and Steven Pinkerton as a technical analyst. JetHQ also named Aman Kapur a sales manager at its international headquarters in Dubai. Roberts formerly was the marketing director for Airport Systems International and has provided marketing consulting services and research for a variety of corporate clients. Pinkerton has worked as an FAA-licensed aircraft engineer in Kansas City. Kapur previously has focused on Gulfstream and Beechcraft sales in India with Arrow Aircraft and also served with KPMG.    

King Aerospace named Analia Vaca people department leader. Vaca brings 15 years of experience to her new role, most recently as human resources director for SevenBar Aviation.

Awards and Honors

Bombardier honored Michael Ott of the international air ambulance provider Phoenix Air Group with the 2019 Bombardier Safety Standdown Award. Presented during the 23rd annual Safety Standdown held in November in Fort Worth, Texas, the annual award recognizes an “aviation professional who has demonstrated exemplary dedication to improving aviation safety through the Safety Standdown principles of learn, apply, and share.” Ott was nominated for outstanding leadership in aviation safety management over a 35-plus year career, Bombardier added.

Currently director of government contracting and lead international captain/instructor pilot for Phoenix Air Group, Ott also has spent more than a decade as a line captain for the operator and steered the development and implementation of its safety management system. He further served as a designated IS-BAO auditor, a member of the IS-BAO standards board, and on the NBAA Safety Committee.

A retired Marine and airline transport pilot in both multi-engine airplanes and helicopters, Ott has amassed more than 14,200 flight hours, half of which involved international missions that included evacuation flights out of North Korea and out of West Africa during the Ebola crisis.

Andy Nureddin, v-p of customer support for Bombardier Aviation, praised Ott “for his great passion and his exemplary leadership in promoting aviation safety and professionalism in our industry.”

Michael Benton, founder and managing director of VyClimb Consulting, was honored with the Jim Charlson Aviation Safety Award at the recent Association of Air Medical Services (AAMS) Air Medical Transport Conference in Atlanta.

Presented annually to an individual who has made significant contributions to promoting aviation safety within the air medical transport community, Benton has more than 22 years of aviation industry management and operations experience. A former armed reconnaissance helicopter instructor pilot and member of the Directorate of Evaluation & Standardization with the U.S. Army, he has served as a helicopter emergency medical services pilot, check airman, accident investigator, regional aviation director, and a director of aviation compliance before launching his own consultancy in 2015.

During that time, he has steered organizations through a range of safety initiatives, including the FAA’s Safety Management System Voluntary Program and Aviation Safety Action Program. Benton has served as a Helicopter Association International committee chair and an instructor at the NTSB Training Academy.

Final Flights

Patricia Luebke—whose aviation marketing and writing career spanned more than five decades with organizations including Women In Aviation (WAI), Aircraft Electronics Association, and Flying Magazine—died on November 22 following a brief illness. Over the past 20 years, Luebke has been a freelance writer, editor, and marketing consultant for a number of publications and organizations such as Avionics News, Sporty’s, AOPA, Lightspeed Aviation, and Aspen Avionics, among others. At WAI she contributed to Aviation for Women and Aviation for Girls magazines and is credited for being a creative force behind many programs and events including Take Your Daughter to Conference, which became Girls in Aviation Day, and the Honor The WASP event on Memorial Day weekend.

She joined Flying in 1974 as an advertising assistant and her first general aviation airplane ride involved a trip to the former Reading Air Show. Luebke rose up to become vice president for the Flying publishing company before embarking on her own career as a freelance writer and consultant in 2002.

WAI highlighted her ability to lead a team “with her quick wit and creative inspiration” and said Luebke was particularly proud of her work to develop future leaders in aviation and to encourage women to be confident in their fields.