Story ID: 003
People in Aviation—July 2026
By: Jessica Reed
Caption: Todd O’Hara is CEO of TracPlus, Tim Varga president of GE Honda Aero Engines
Word Count: 1354
TracPlus appointed a new CEO, Todd O’Hara, effective May 1, following a six-month leadership transition at the company. John O’Hara, CEO since 2024, shifted to the role of president. Todd O’Hara had served as chief commercial officer at TracPlus since 2020 and also held leadership roles at Spidertracks and Airways New Zealand.
GE Honda Aero Engines promoted Tim Varga from executive v-p to president. His aviation industry experience spans more than three decades. The company also named Mel Solomon executive v-p, and Andrea Franks took over as CFO after 10 years of doing financial management work at the joint venture.
Christi Tannahill joined West Star Aviation as an ambassador, working to improve customer experience and expand strategic partnerships at the company. Tannahill’s 30-plus years of experience in aviation include 17 years on Textron Aviation’s senior leadership team.
Embraer’s global director of treasury, Felipe Santana Santiago de Lima, was promoted to executive v-p of finance and investor relations. He has held various positions at Embraer for 18 years and has significant expertise in corporate finance.
EASA appointed a new certification director, Thibauld Jongen, effective June 1. Jongen has led innovation for more than 25 years across the industries of manufacturing, aerospace, and defense.
Jesse Laughlin, formerly president of Northeast Air since 2024, joined Pro Star Aviation as vice president. Laughlin, a commercial pilot, will have active involvement across Pro Star Aviation’s three locations.
Brian Reid, a former executive v-p at Wheels Up, was named FlyHouse’s first chief revenue officer. With more than 25 years of experience building and scaling companies, Reid recently held the position of chief sales and marketing officer for Thomas James Homes.
Nick Chantorn joined Western Aircraft as regional sales manager for jets. His recent experience includes serving as director of sales for FXAIR/Flexjet, and he previously worked for Gulfstream, NetJets, and Signature Flight Support. Western Aircraft also announced Doug Wendt’s retirement. Wendt, regional sales manager, had formerly been employed at Honeywell Aerospace, Western Jet Aviation, and Gulfstream.
Business aviation advisory and aircraft brokerage firm Mente Group recently hired Steve Main as chief revenue officer and named Kyle Bonda senior managing director. Additionally, the company promoted Jay Bushouse to senior managing director, and Brent Hanson and Rich Ropp to managing director roles.
Aviation insurer USAIG announced several promotions. Brett Bernard, regional manager of general aviation underwriting in USAIG’s New York office, was promoted to senior v-p. Mitzi Rasmussen, regional manager of general aviation underwriting at the Chicago office, was also promoted to senior v-p. Senior v-p in Chicago Kathleen McCoy was chosen for the role of underwriting operations manager. USAIG promoted two assistant v-ps of accounting in New York to senior accountants: Jacqueline Gonzalez and Phurba Sherpa. In Atlanta, Robert Barrett moved into the role of assistant v-p, senior claims representative. USAIG named Serafina Vitale assistant v-p, senior claims representative for the special risks claims division in its New York office. Jessica Tilson, previously an underwriting support coordinator in Wichita, advanced to the position of underwriter. Underwriting assistant Andrea Vanderpool was promoted to quality assurance coordinator.
C&L Aerospace appointed Dub Timmons regional sales manager for business jet parts sales in the Midwest, the Northeastern U.S., and Canada. Timmons previously worked at West Star Aviation and Jet Air and brings significant experience with aircraft parts and maintenance. C&L also promoted Amanda Hartwig to the position of strategic sales manager, focusing mainly on regional and business jets. Her 17 years of experience in aviation started at Rockwell Collins, and she has held roles at Regional One and AIRCO. A third recent appointment announced by C&L Aerospace is Ike Knudson, who takes on the position of regional sales manager in the Northern U.S. and Canada, bringing 28-plus years of experience in regional aircraft parts. Finally, Jason McNutt was hired as regional sales manager at C&L for the Southwestern U.S. He previously worked at West Star Aviation in various positions supporting business aviation and has more than three decades of experience in aircraft parts.
Professional pilot Blaze Grubbs joined aircraft sales and acquisitions firm Arcadia Jets. Grubbs, whose total flight time is close to 2,000 hours, will work with clients on evaluating their options, understanding cost of ownership, and making informed acquisition and sales decisions.
The German civil aviation authority has recognized Andreas Stegemann as DC Aviation’s accountable manager. Stegemann has worked at DC Aviation since 2012, including a recent position as v-p of ground operations.
Mike Fischer, who was hired as aircraft research manager at Elliott Jets in 2018, was promoted to senior director of aircraft research. One of his key contributions has been developing and improving the company’s quarterly market reports. Mike Saathoff, a member of the Elliott Aviation team for 30 years, was promoted to senior director of King Air maintenance sales and programs. Saathoff has about 35 years of experience working with King Airs.
Laurie Barringer joined ACASS as senior director of aircraft market research. Her 25-plus years of previous experience in aircraft market intelligence and analytics include working on and improving a comprehensive global database at JetNet.
Erik Snell, executive v-p and CFO of Delta Air Lines, joined the board of directors at Wheels Up as a Delta designee. Snell, who had been a member of the board from July 2021 to September 2023, previously served as president of Delta Private Jets and, more recently, had served as executive v-p and chief customer experience officer at Delta Air Lines. The board nominated Roger Farah at the annual Wheels Up meeting in June. Farah was a director at Aetna from 2007 to 2018, when the company merged with CVS Health, where he has also served as a director.
The Global Aircraft Dealers Association (GLADA) appointed Mitch Flinn to its board of directors. Flinn is a member of GLADA’s Frequent Flyers initiative and manages fixed-wing aircraft sales at Flinn Aviation..
Awards and Honors
Curt Campbell, recently retired from his role as avionics component tech rep at Duncan Aviation, was recognized with the Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award. He started working at Duncan Aviation in 1975 as an avionics instrument technician and soon became known as the go-to for autopilot expertise. During his career, which spanned more than 50 years, he trained and mentored technicians and contributed to innovations in engineering.
Jessica Cox, an advocate and aviator based in Arizona who is recognized as the first licensed armless airplane pilot, was inducted into the Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame during a ceremony at the Pima Air & Space Museum in May. Cox works with Rightfooted Foundation International to increase public understanding of disabilities in aviation.
Final Flight
Vern Raburn, who established Eclipse Aviation with the idea of carving out a new business aviation market niche with a low-cost very light jet, died in late April in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was 75. Raburn brought a strong technology background when he founded Eclipse in 1998, having served as one of Bill Gates’ first executives and ultimately executive v-p of Microsoft, as well as holding leadership roles with Lotus Development, Symantec, and Paul Allen Group.
A pilot who learned to fly as a teenager, Raburn built Eclipse on the belief that a twinjet sold for less than $1 million could spur a wave of point-to-point air taxi travel. The first prototype of the six-place, 1,200-nm Eclipse 500 flew with Williams EJ22 turbofans on Aug. 26, 2022, but, after a redesign, a second prototype flew two years later, sporting the Pratt & Whitney Canada PW610F.
Eclipse secured certification in 2006 and handed over the first copy in 2007. However, Eclipse filed for bankruptcy in late 2008. By August of 2009, the company was in Chapter 7 liquidation, with Eclipse Aerospace buying the assets to support the 260 aircraft in service.
Raburn later served as chairman and CEO of drone specialist Titan Aerospace. He had accumulated more than 6,500 hours of flight time and was type-rated in more than 15 aircraft.