Story ID: 003
People in Aviation: January 2021
By: Kerry Lynch
Caption: Chuck Kegley is president of Hawthorne Global Aviation Services, Ben Hockenberg president of JSSI Parts & Leasing, Michael Dwyer president of Guardian Jet.
Word Count: 1655
Chuck Kegley has joined Hawthorne Global Aviation Services as president. Kegley steps into his new role with 35 years of aviation experience, including serving as president of corporate aviation services for Advance Aviation Services, president of Gateway USA (dba Clay Lacy Aviation), general manager of Galvin Flying Services, and as an engineer with Boeing.
JSSI Parts & Leasing has named Ben Hockenberg as president and Jim Sellers as chief commercial officer. Hockenberg previously worked in the aerospace sector as an investment banker at Deutsche Bank, the Pritzker Organization, Venor Capital, and Greenbriar Asset Management. Sellers helped start JSSI Parts & Leasing and has an aviation background in the buying and selling of parts, including at Heico Aerospace's Prime Air, Chase Aerospace, and AAR Corp.
Guardian Jet promoted Michael (Doc) Dwyer to president and Michael Mikolay to chief operating officer. Dwyer, who is on the board of directors of the International Aircraft Dealers Association, joined Guardian in 2009 and was named v-p of sales in 2013. Mikolay co-founded Guardian Jet in 2002 and since has served on the senior leadership team, most recently as executive v-p and director of operations.
CB SkyShare named Tommy Aoki president and Jonathan Schaedig director of maintenance. Aoki formerly was senior v-p of operations and digital strategy for Spring Mobile and the company’s Simply Mac division. Schaedig has more than 15 years of maintenance experience, including 10 with an inspection authorization. 
Lee Applbaum was named to the newly created role of chief marketing officer for Wheels Up. Most recently CMO for Surterra Wellness and before that Patrón, Applbaum joins Wheels Up with more than 25 years of experience working with brands including Patrón, Grey Goose, Target, and Coca-Cola.
Jet Linx named Ron Silverman chief commercial officer. Silverman has more than 30 years of business aviation experience, previously serving as chief business officer for XO and as president for VistaJet US.
Flying Colours named Scott Meyer COO. Meyer, who joined Flying Colours in December 2019 as v-p and general manager of its facility in St. Louis, Missouri, has nearly 30 years of international aerospace and aviation management experience.
Mente Group promoted Vince Restivo to COO. Most recently v-p of program management for Mente, Restivo has 37 years of business aviation experience, including as v-p of completions for Hawker Beechcraft and also as regional v-p of aircraft sales and director of completion sales for Gulfstream Aerospace.
Wyvern promoted Andrew Day to COO. Day joined Wyvern about a year ago as senior director of quality and education with more than 30 years of experience including with regional airlines and Part 135 operators.
ABS Jets named Vladimir Sip chief technical officer. Sip, who will be responsible for the MRO facility’s growth and development, has served as line maintenance manager for ABS.
CPI Aerostructures named Richard Caswell to its board of directors and chair of the Audit and Finance Committee. Caswell previously spent 22 years with United Technologies in multiple roles, including v-p of finance and CFO for the Power, Controls, and Sensing System, as well as for Sikorsky and Pratt & Whitney Canada.
Damon Ward, Maggie Severen, and Dayna Reynolds joined US Trinity Aviation to form the leadership team at the startup FBO at Denton Enterprise Airport in Texas. Ward brings 30 years of leadership experience to his new role, including founding Business Air and serving as operating partner at Catalyze Dallas and executive chairman of Metro Aerospace. Severen formerly spent nine years as the FBO manager at US Aviation, which is also at Denton. Reynolds, meanwhile, most recently was general manager of Cornerstone Air Center at Meacham Field in Fort Worth and also has served with Million Air.
FXAir, a Directional Aviation company, named Robert Shaplen senior v-p of sales and Michael Hall senior v-p of operations. Shaplen previously served as senior v-p of sales at PrivateFly and as an adviser at XOJet. Hall comes to his post at FXAir from several senior sales roles he held at other Directional Aviation companies.
Argus International hired Mike McCready to serve as senior v-p of operations and business development. McCready, who brings 25 years of aviation experience to his new role, previously founded the consultancy World Jet Group and has served with Jet Aviation and The Boeing Company/Jeppesen.
JetHQ appointed Sherif Abouzeid v-p of sales for Egypt. Abouzeid was most recently CEO of Cairo-based Global Countertrade & Offset, an import-export firm.
Mente Group appointed Mariana Santos v-p of strategic consulting. Santos has 15 years of business and commercial aviation experience, including more than eight years at Embraer Executive Jets. She replaces Cole White, who was named v-p of transactions, responsible for Bombardier and Embraer leases, acquisitions, and dispositions for Mente.
The Ritchie Group hired Ed Henry as v-p of aircraft sales. Henry brings 50 years of experience, previously serving in maintenance, sales, and management roles with companies including Airwork, Midcoast, K-C Aviation, and West Star Aviation.
Inflite The Jet Centre appointed Sebastien Albouy as general manager of its MRO business. Albouy previously was chief technical officer for ABS Jets and also has held consulting roles in the MRO industry as well as general manager of Embraer’s first Executive Jets Service Center in Paris.
Western Aircraft hired John Kochel as director of the parts and logistics business unit and Russell Crouch as Gulfstream service manager. Kochel most recently managed the western territory for GlobalParts and also has served with GKN. Crouch a former aircraft mechanic in the U.S. Army, spent 25 years with Gulfstream Aerospace.
Awards and Honors
The Flight Safety Foundation (FSF) recently honored former U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) board member, airline maintenance professional, and safety advocate John Goglia with its Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Award. Goglia was recognized during FSF‘s 73rd annual International Air Safety Summit (IASS) held virtually.
The organization further presented an honorary Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Award to former FSF president and CEO Stuart Matthews. FSF said the award recognizing “remarkable worldwide contributions─in method, design, invention, study or other advancement─in the field of aviation safety.”
Goglia, who is an AIN contributor, was the first, and to date only, airframe and powerplant mechanic appointed to become an NTSB board member, serving from August 1995 to June 2004. During his time, he participated in numerous accident investigations, including of TWA flight 800 in 1996, Alaska Airlines flight 261 in 2000, and ValuJet in April 1996.
He since has remained active in aviation safety initiatives, serving as senior v-p with JD Aviation Technology Solutions and then with his own firm, John Goglia LLC.
Matthews, who became a pilot at age 17, served as president and CEO of FSF between 1994 and 2006. Before that, he had served on the FSF board of governors since 1989, including as chairman.
Final Flights
Guy Gribble, an American Airlines pilot who became known in corporate pilot circles for his international operations education leadership, died on October 26. Born on Sept. 24, 1959, Gribble attended the Army's Warrant Officer Candidate Aviator program and earned his wings in 1978. He was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, as an aero scout pilot flying OH-58s.
Gribble also earned naval aviator wings in 1986 and was assigned to the USS Midway in Yokosuka, Japan, as an A-6E attack pilot. He continued as a Navy Reserve pilot after his full-time service in 1991 and spent the next 25 years as a pilot for American Airlines.
In 2012 he became general manager of International Flight Resources, a flight operations research and training provider with an emphasis on international flight operations and human factors. In this venture, he presented on a range of international topics before the NBAA International Operators Conference, Bombardier Safety Standdown, Flight Safety Foundation European Airline Training Symposium, and NBAA regional events and groups.
Tracy Forrest, who had served as president of both the Bob Hoover Legacy Foundation and Citation Jet Pilots Association (CJP), died of brain cancer on October 12. He was 70. The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association said Forrest would be remembered as a “philanthropist, an accomplished pilot, and a mentor to the next generation of aviators.”
He founded Winter Park Construction in 1974 and built that company into one of Central Florida’s largest construction firms before selling it in 2007 to his brother Jeff Forrest and three partners, according to the firm.
Forrest also pursued his passion for aviation, becoming an air transport pilot with numerous ratings. He combined his interest in construction with his passion for aviation in the development of the South East Ramp hangar complex at Orlando Sanford International Airport, his home base, according to AOPA.
Over the years, Forrest had formed a friendship with Bob Hoover. Before Hoover’s passing in October 2016, Forrest partnered with Mike Herman to form the Bob Hoover Legacy Foundation and became its president. In addition to the foundation, Forrest was a founding member and deeply involved with CJP.
Franck Bouillon, CFO for Rotortrade, passed away unexpectedly on November 4 at the age of 54. Bouillon’s career began with the IBM Group and then he served with the financial markets in France.  Bouillon joined the aviation industry 21 years ago, holding CFO positions for various Airbus Helicopters subsidiaries over a 17-year period. He further had served as head of group strategic procurement financial controlling and ultimately regional CFO for North Asia, before joining Rotortrade.
David North, a former U.S. Navy and airline pilot who later became editor-in-chief of Aviation Week & Space Technology, died on November 24. Born in 1934, North graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1957 and subsequently flew 107 missions in A-4 Skyhawks and accumulated 500 carrier landings. He later flew for Pan Am and ultimately became an aviation journalist, retiring as editor-in-chief in 2004.