Story ID: 003
People in Aviation 
By: Kerry Lynch
Caption: Hervé Laitat is CEO of AllianceJet, Vinayak Hegde was promoted to president of Wheels Up,  Philippe Carette is president of Inmarsat's aviation business.
Word Count: 1596
AllianceJet brought Hervé Laitat on board as CEO. Laitat, who has 20 years of aviation experience, most recently was group chief strategy officer as well as CEO of Luxavation Belgium and also has served as a board member and treasurer of the European Business Aviation Association for 15 years.

Wheels Up promoted Vinayak Hegde to president. Hegde, who came to Wheels Up in May as chief marketplace officer, has more than 20 years of experience in technology, marketing, and product development with companies such as Amazon and Airbnb

Inmarsat named Philippe Carette to head up its aviation business unit as president. Carette, who has 30 years of technology and aerospace experience, joined Inmarsat after spending the past eight years with Thales, including as CEO of the electronics specialist’s InFlyt Experience business.

JetHQ promoted Chris Morales to president of its Latin America region, overseeing territories including Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, and South America. Morales, who has more than 25 years of aviation sales and management experience, has served with the company since 2016 and previously was v-p of sales.

Jet Linx promoted Jay Vidlak to the newly created position of senior v-p aircraft. Vidlak, who began his career with Mayo Aviation, joined Jet Linx in 2002 as a flight scheduling coordinator and has held positions of increasing responsibility since, most recently as senior v-p

Cadence Aerospace appointed Jeff Capponi senior v-p of sales and marketing. Capponi joins Cadence with more than 20 years of aerospace business development experience, most recently with the structures division of engineering services provider Senior PLC and also with Synchronous Aerospace (later acquired by PCC Aerostructures).

Mente Group appointed Chris Prokopeas to the newly created position of v-p of marketing.  Prokopeas brings 25 years of experience to the position, holding marketing roles with DFW International Airport, Dickies, Capital One, Dean Foods, Kraft Foods, and most recently Gesa Credit Union.

Jet Support Services, Inc. (JSSI) named Trevor Merszei v-p of business development for the Asia-Pacific region. Merszei has more than 14 years of international business jet sales, marketing, and executive leadership experience, most recently as CEO at Bangkok-based charter company OrientSKYs.

Jet East hired David Grup to serve as v-p of sales. Grup, a former member of the U.S. Navy search and rescue team, has held maintenance roles with companies including Stevens Aviation and Textron Aviation, and most recently was regional sales director for Constant Aviation.

ACC Aviation named Julian Aldana to lead up its newly formed technical services division as v-p of technical sales. Aldana has 16 years of aviation technical experience, most recently as technical manager Americas for IBA Group and also including technical roles with airlines including Etihad, Air Berlin, and Swiss.

Ron Smith joined Omni Aircraft Sales as v-p of sales for the Southeast region. Smith has a background in both domestic and international flight operations, aircraft management, government support operations, and aviation acquisition

The International Business Aviation Council (IBAC) named Andrew Karas IS-BAO program director. Karas has 20 years of business aviation and U.S. Air Force experience, most recently as a Gulfstream GV captain for an IS-BAO Stage 3-registered Part 91 and 135 operator in Florida where he was responsible for safety management, system administration, and standard procedure adherence.

Awards and Honors

The National Aeronautic Association (NAA) named Shelly Simi, a long-time industry executive and advocate, as the recipient of the 2021 Frank G. Brewer Trophy, which honors “significant contributions of enduring value to aerospace education in the U.S.”

NAA said she is being recognized for “her professional leadership and unwavering dedication in promoting aviation and aerospace education through industry partnerships, workforce initiatives, and organizations dedicated to aviation across the U.S."

Simi has had a career spanning more than three decades, including roles with the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, Adam Aircraft, Jeppesen, Boeing, and Aurora Flight Sciences. She also formerly led the National Association of State Aviation Officials.

During her career, NAA said, “Simi is known for going above and beyond to expand and promote aviation education outreach efforts that encourage students to choose aviation as a career.” She is a co-founder of the National Coalition for Aviation and Space Education, which is a clearinghouse of resources for teachers through a partnership with the FAA and other organizations. In addition, she helped establish the GAMA “Be a Pilot” learn-to-fly program and is a founding board member of Women in Aviation International.

Final Flights

Scott Miller, who spent 47 years as a pilot and 26 years with the Electronic Data Systems (EDS) flight department, eventually becoming its manager, has died at age 72 after being diagnosed with incurable cancer.

“He so loved to fly,” recalled his partner, Nancie Kathrens. Miller’s last flight on July 30 was one of his regular contract flights in a Gulfstream for Cook Canyon Ranch, and after he landed at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport he wasn’t feeling well and went straight to the hospital, she explained. After 10 days there and a lengthy chemotherapy treatment, he elected to go home. “It was brutal on him, and he said, ‘no more,’” she told AIN. He died on September 27.

Born in Corvallis, Oregon, Miller served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War, finding inspiration to pursue an aviation career while working on the flight deck of the USS Midway aircraft carrier. He returned to Oregon and, after learning to fly and earning advanced certificates, got his first flying job with Western Skyways in Troutdale.

Miller then switched to corporate flying after moving to Texas, where he signed on with Sabine Oil & Gas, met and married Glynda Sue Sanders, and then joined EDS, the pioneering computer outsourcing company founded by Ross Perot. Under Miller’s leadership, the EDS operation grew into one of the largest corporate flight departments operating Learjets. Miller’s 26-year career at EDS spanned Perot’s sale of the company to General Motors, then EDS’s spinoff as an independent company in 1996, followed by its sale to Hewlett-Packard in 2008, after which Miller left the company.

Pursuing his love of flying, Miller then combined flying for General Data Tech with teaching at CAE, finally retiring from the General Data Tech job. He continued to fly as a contract pilot when a former EDS pilot and friend hired him to fly for Cook Canyon Ranch.

M. Johanna O’Toole, who spent nearly 30 years providing administration and accounting support with the National Air Transportation Association (NATA) and NBAA, passed away.

“We are deeply saddened by Johanna O’Toole’s passing. Johanna cared deeply for the association and its members, treating those close to her and their loved ones like an extended part of her family,” said NATA president and CEO Timothy Obitts. “Over time she became association historian and industry cheerleader, always mindful of preserving and sharing the rich history of NATA and its members. Johanna could always be counted on for her sage advice, stellar member service, and sharp wit. If you were lucky enough to spend time with Johanna and hear her laugh, it is something that you will always remember.”

O’Toole joined NATA in 1998 initially as director of administration and financial services. In 2012 she was named comptroller, leading the administrative/financial team and overseeing day-to-day association operations. She departed the association in 2017 to launch her own venture, Business Solution Tooles, to assist small businesses with their accounting and administrative needs. She also spent more than five years as the vice mayor of the town of Toms Brook in Virginia.

Before serving with NATA, O’Toole was an account manager for association management firm Degnon and Associates and spent more than 10 years with NBAA as manager of membership, joining that association in 1979.

 

Harold “Hal” Summers, who served as director of flight operations for Helicopter Association International and had an aviation industry career spanning six decades, died on October 20. He was 83.

“Hal was an icon in the industry, a subject-matter expert on everything involving helicopter maintenance, and he felt it was an honor and obligation to share his wisdom and experience with the rest of us,” said HAI president and CEO James Viola. “We are a better industry because of his passionate contributions, and he will be profoundly missed.”

Born on Feb. 23, 1938, in Newport, Oregon, Summers achieved his A&P license and began his career working in Alaska in the early 1960s. In 1964, he joined Petroleum Helicopters, Inc. (PHI), eventually becoming vice president with responsibility for maintenance and support for a global fleet of more than 400 helicopters in the Gulf of Mexico alone.

Summers also had served as acting chief engineer for a joint venture that PHI had formed with China Southern Helicopter Company in Zhuhai, Guangdong, China.

He joined HAI in 2004 and steered the fly-in and fly-out each year for Heli-Expo, coordinating with local airports on staging and fueling sites. In addition, he worked with other HAI staff, regulators, and industry stakeholders on a number of issues confronting the association’s members.

This included serving as the staff liaison to the HAI Technical and Maintenance working group and the Utilities, Patrol, and Construction working group and representing the rotorcraft industry on a number of FAA advisory working groups.

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