A lifelong aviation enthusiast who joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in 2007, Curt came to&nbsp;the publication&nbsp;from the broadcast industry where he was a national science and technology television reporter and producer. He writes on the FBO field, aviation finance, and sustainable aviation and occasionally contributes to&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;sister publication&nbsp;Business Jet Traveler. Curt was a member of the AINtv reporting staff that won the 2008 Aerospace Journalist of the Year award for Best Airshow Daily. That same year, he was a finalist for another AJOYA award. He earned an AJOYA for Best Business Aviation Submission in 2018 and was a finalist in that category in 2021. He received the National Air Transportation Association’s&nbsp; Aviation Journalist Award in 2012 and won a Pegasus Sapphire Business Aviation Award for outstanding journalism in 2021.
Before joining AIN, Curt worked with&nbsp;Consumer Reports’ television division, CRTV, and for several local television news staffs. An honors graduate of the State University of New York at Stony Brook, he earned a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Boston University in 1995. Curt lives in New York State with his wife and two young sons.

Senior Editor

Curt Epstein

Raymond Conner has been promoted to president and CEO at Boeing Commercial Airplanes; previously he was senior v-p of sales and customer support for commercial airplanes. He succeeds James Albaugh, who will retire in October.
Embraer Executive Jets has tapped Jay Beever, previously new product interior design manager at Gulfstream, as v-p of interior design.
Sir Ralph Robins, formerly CEO and executive chairman of Rolls-Royce, has been named non-executive chairman of UK-based global aviation services provider Gama Group.
Cessna has appointed Bill Schultz, previously president of subsidiary CitationAir, as its new senior v-p of business development for China. He was succeeded by Terry Clark, general manager of Cessna’s facility in Independence, Kan.
Peter Bartolotta, former senior v-p of global services at Lenovo, has joined CHC as COO and president of the company’s helicopter services unit.
Canadian avionics manufacturer Esterline CMC Electronics has named Christian Olivier as vice president of operations. Most recently he served as v-p and division general manager at technology provider e2v.
Joseph Rivera, most recently general manager for Bombardier’s Tucson, Ariz., service center, was selected by Gulfstream as director of international operations. The Savannah airframer also promoted Pedro Mercado from service center supervisor for interior refurbishment to national sales manager for product support interior refurbishment sales. 
Hawker Beechcraft Global Customer Support has appointed Michael Ward, previously CEO and president at EAS Completions, as senior general manager of its aircraft maintenance facility at William P. Hobby Airport in Houston.
Fernando Lacerda Da Silva, most recently a sales manager with Embraer, has joined Bombardier’s business aircraft division as its director of new aircraft sales in Brazil.
Michael Colberg, currently Daimler’s production director in Düsseldorf, was appointed COO of European aerostructures manufacturer Premium Aerotec.
Greenwich AeroGroup subsidiary Summit Aviation has named Ralph Kunz, most recently v-p of operations for Airborne Tactical Advantage, as general manager. He takes over leadership of the aircraft and engine maintenance and modification services provider from former president Bob Fitzpatrick, who has left the company.
Charlie Marinelli has been appointed senior v-p of private jet charter sales with aviation services provider Solairus Aviation. Most recently he was the founder and principal of an executive/business coaching company.
Jet Aviation has promoted Elizabeth Irizarry to senior director of human resources for the company’s flight services division and named Julie Goodridge, most recently senior v-p for Werner Aero Services, as national sales manager for Jet Aviation’s staffing subsidiary, Jet Professionals. Chris Maupin, previously new business development manager with Universal Weather and Aviation, has joined the Zurich-based company as director of FBO services, at its recently acquired Houston Hobby Airport facility.
Aviation logistics and aftermarket services provider VAS Aero Services has named Lloyd Lim, most recently a regional materials sales director with GE Aviation, as its managing director of sales and marketing for Asia. 
BBA Aviation Engine Repair and Overhaul (ERO) has appointed Lisa Cooper regional sales manager for the UK, Spain, Ireland and Portugal. Most recently she was customer support team leader with BBA subsidiary H+S Aviation.
Shane Harris was named director of international operations at Atlantic Aviation. He was formerly general manager at the service provider’s Newburgh, N.Y. location.
Dan Burkhart, regional program director and western region representative at NBAA, has retired. He was succeeded as program director by Stephen Hadley, who will also retain his role as NBAA regional representative for the Southwest U.S.. NBAA named Stacy Howard western regional representative; previously she held that role at AOPA.
Sierra Industries has hired Paul Wood as director of sales and support. Previously he served as general manager of Landmark Aviation’s Los Angeles facility.
Fractional lift provider Flexjet has named Darren Blackett as its new Pacific Northwest regional sales director. 
Aviation consulting and research firm Boyd Group International has named Jeff Potter, most recently COO of resort operator Intrawest, as president and CEO.
FlightSafety International has announced several staff changes. Fabio Sciacca, most recently international sales director with Piaggio Aero Industries, has joined the company as director of sales for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, while Woody McClendon, formerly senior v-p of sales and marketing for PrivatAir, was named as sales manager for rotorcraft training. The training provider also promoted Doug Gill from manager of real-time software and display management systems to director of engineering for the company’s visual simulation facility in St. Louis, Mo.
Aircraft charter and management provider Priester Aviation has hired Victoria Reina Duffy for the newly created position of director of business development for the New York region. 
Jeffrey Johnson, formerly senior v-p of reinsurance claims at Chartis, has been named global chief claims officer at aviation insurance underwriter Starr. 
Dallas Airmotive has made several additions to its staff. Kevin Bang was named manager of its Phoenix Regional Turbine Center, while Tracy Gandy was tapped as manager of the company’s F1rst Support AOG operations. The BBA Aviation subsidiary’s new program manager for HTF7000 service and support operations is Joseph Hough. All three men most recently served with Consolidated Turbine Support in Arizona. Steve Griego, previously a regional sales manager with Hawker Beechcraft, has been appointed regional engine manager for the Northwestern U.S.
Walter Kuhn, most recently a production supervisor at Circor Aerospace, has been named COO at Bohemia, N.Y.-based aircraft component specialist Corporate Service Supply and Manufacturing.
UK-based aviation consultancy and data provider International Bureau of Aviation announced that Robert Bryant, most recently v-p at SpiceJet in India, has joined the firm as manager of technical projects.
Jeff Baum, president and CEO of Wisconsin Aviation, has been selected as the new vice chairman of the Air Charter Safety Foundation. He succeeds Bill Haberstock, president of Keystone Aviation, whose term expired.
Texas-based aviation electronic solutions specialist Heads Up Technologies has hired Marco Laos, formerly director of quality engineering with St. Jude Medical, as quality assurance manager.
Keri Jenkins, a former Camp Systems and Cessna Aircraft administrator, has joined Yingling Aviation as aircraft records control and document administrator. The Wichita-based services provider also named Rebecca Williams as manager of its propeller department. She most recently served as support services manager for McCauley Propeller Systems. Aviation attorney Ronald Williams was also hired as a customer and administrative specialist.
Samuel Hill, most recently senior vice president of sales and marketing with HondaJet, has joined the strategic advisory council of Bye Aerospace.
Aircraft management and charter services provider JetFlite has promoted Damon Danneker from chief pilot to director of operations.
Canton, Ohio-based Timken has named Michael Hekker as product sales manager for its aerospace maintenance, repair and overhaul business. Most recently he served as aftermarket sales manager for Pratt &amp; Whitney Component Solutions.
Canadian manufacturer TrueNorth Avionics has expanded its sales organization with the addition of two new executives. Bob Lynch was appointed sales director for the eastern U.S. region, while Elie Tabri was named director for the western U.S.
Missouri-based aviation services provider Aero Charter has hired Ryan Sanders as a captain in the company’s Baron and first officer in its Sabreliner, CJ2 and Excel.
Awards &amp; Honors
Paulo Magalhaes Alves, M.D., M.Sc., vice president of aviation health for MedAire, received the Aerospace Medical Association’s 2012 Boothby-Edwards Award, presented annually for outstanding research and/or clinical practice directed at the promotion of health and prevention of disease in professional airline pilots. Dr. Alves was recently named president-elect of the Airlines Medical Directors Association. He will be president for the term of May 2013 to May 2014. 
The Wings Club has recognized General John R. “Jack” Dailey (USMC Ret.) as the recipient of its 2012 Distinguished Achievement Award, which acknowledges outstanding accomplishments in the field of aviation. Dailey, also a former NASA associate deputy administrator, became the director of the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in January 2000.

People in Aviation: August 2012

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