Christof Spath was appointed CEO of TAG Aviation Europe. Spath has held senior management positions at SR Technics, Jet Aviation, Ruag Aerospace, General Electric and BMW Rolls-Royce.
Matt Morchower is joining ClipperJet as president. A former co-founder and senior v-p of Marquis Jet, Morchower most recently served as COO of Magnises.
David Rimmer was appointed president of JFI Jets. Rimmer, chairman of NATA’s Air Charter Committee, most recently was president of ExcelAire.
Raphael Haddad was appointed president of Jetcraft Commercial. Haddad most recently was vice president of sales for the Middle East and Africa.
Cheryl Hardy was named COO for the Citation Jet Pilots Association. Hardy, who has served with the association since 2011 as executive administrator, has 33 years of association management experience.
FlightSafety International made two high-level promotions, appointing David Davenport executive vice president for commercial and Raymond Johns executive vice president for government. Davenport joined FlightSafety in 1996 as assistant manager of the West Palm Beach, Fla. training center and was most recently senior v-p; Johns joined FlightSafety as senior v-p last year with 36 years of U.S. Air Force experience.
The National Air Transportation Association hired Timothy Obitts as senior vice president for business development, membership and general counsel. Obitts joins NATA from the law firm of Gammon & Grange, which specializes in nonprofit organization representation.
Global Aerospace named Jeffrey Bruno president, succeeding Jeffrey Cassidy. In addition to his new role, Bruno will continue as chief underwriting officer. Cassidy will transition to a senior, part-time role with the company.
Mark Skerik was named president of Edelman Leather. Skerik previously was marketing director of KnollStudio.
Rochdi Touri was appointed FBO director for Swissport Executive Aviation in Nice. Touri has 20 years of business aviation experience, having held corporate and private aviation management positions in Doha and Bahrain with the company and with Jet Aviation in Dubai. Swissport also named Rafael Fromentin deputy FBO manager in Nice. He joined the facility in 2006 as a customer service agent and later was promoted to deputy station manager.
Peter Likoray was promoted to vice president, U.S. and Canada, for Bombardier Business Aircraft. Likoray formerly was regional vice president, sales, Eastern U.S. and Canada, and before that sales director in the Southeast U.S. and Canada.
David Hess was appointed senior v-p for aerospace business development for United Technologies. A 34-year UTC employee, Hess has served as president of Pratt & Whitney and Hamilton Sundstrand.
Gulfstream Aerospace appointed Rick Trusis vice president of mid-cabin programs. Trusis has spent 14 years with Gulfstream as director of airworthiness and certification and also has served with Lockheed Martin.
Dassault Falcon Jet promoted Rodrigo Pesoa to senior director of sales for Latin America. Pesoa, who has been with the company for more than 15 years, will direct new business development in South America, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.
William McLemore was named vice president and chief information officer for Landmark Aviation. He has 20 years of senior information technology experience, most recently as CIO for Apex Clearing.
Kevin Crowe joined business jet broker Freestream Aircraft USA. Crowe, who will be based in Houston and focus on Bombardier and Gulfstream jets, has 20 years of corporate aviation experience.
Gulfstream Aerospace named Nicolas Robinson director of product support sales for Asia-Pacific. An 18-year aviation industry veteran, Robinson joined Gulfstream in 2009 and before that managed a Gulfstream for a company based in South Africa.
Jeteffect has added Peter Leonard-Morgan to its sales team. Leonard-Morgan, who is based at Dulles International Airport, has been involved in corporate aircraft sales and acquisition since 2001.
Mark Steinbeck has joined aircraft maintenance tracking specialist Traxxall Technologies as vice president of sales and marketing for the Western U.S. Steinbeck formerly served as director of sales for an aircraft management company and head of sales for aircraft maintenance tracking service Avtrak.
Scotts Group has named Deb Verbrugge an account representative. Verbrugge has nearly 20 years of experience in the textile industry, primarily with Applied Textiles.
Scott Barringer was named director of maintenance for Silver Air. Barringer brings 30 years of aviation experience to his new role, including as director of maintenance for numerous corporate flight departments.
Starspeed has added Colin Harris to its ground operations team. Harris joins the company with 25 years’ experience, most recently running the flight operations department for the private owner of two AgustaWestland AW109s.
Michael Wieder has joined FirstFlight as CFO. Most recently he was CFO with an energy company.
Edwin Kelly was appointed the new director of the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) of Aruba. He has spent 20 years with the DCA, most recently as manager of the Airworthiness and Registration Department.
FlightSafety International promoted Danny Robayo to manager of its learning center in Teterboro, N.J. A 23-year employee, Robayo most recently served as the center’s assistant manager.
Martin Leroux has joined Innotech Aviation as regional sales manager for aircraft maintenance and cabin interior business. He was formerly with Bombardier Aerospace. StandardAero promoted Clinton Kent to vice president of sales and customer service for its components business and Marc Wittingen to vice president of military sales for the military and components division. Kent most recently was director of corporate development. Wittingen previously served as director of international sales for the company’s airlines and fleets division.
Mark Van Tine, CEO of Jeppesen and vice president of digital aviation for Boeing, has joined the Experimental Aircraft Association board of directors. A long-time EAA member and Young Eagles pilot, Van Tine is serving a one-year renewable term on the board.
Paul Westenkirchner has joined Winner Aviation as service center manager. Westenkirchner has 20 years of aviation experience, beginning as an aircraft fueler at Newark Airport, then as an aircraft technician for Atlantic Coast Airlines and later as a Honeywell field service engineer.
AeroVision International promoted Angela Baker to vice president for component services. She joined the company in 2012 after serving with Pratt & Whitney Canada.
Skybird restructured its management, promoting Norman Anderson to COO, James Topalian to director of operations, Power Johnson to chief pilot and Raquel Cabrera to charter manager.
Luis Barros recently founded a new charter brokerage, Horizon Private Jets. Barros was formerly senior v-p for Dallas-based Starbase Aviation.
James Hagerty formed a Savannah, Ga.,-based aircraft brokerage firm, The Hagerty Jet Group. Hagerty brings to his new role 16 years of aircraft sales experience with Gulfstream and Avpro. Joining Hagerty is Ken Hart, who most recently was with Welsch Aviation.
Erie Aviation named Tammi Golen executive v-p. Previously she was director of customer support.
Micky Bowman joined Aerodynamics (ADI) as vice president of airline services. Bowman has 37 years with regional airlines, including Chautauqua Airlines, Mesa Air Group and Silver Airways.
FlightSafety International promoted Fabio Miguez to regional operations manager. Miguez, who joined FlightSafety in 2004, will continue to serve as manager of the company’s facility in Columbus, Ohio, and will oversee centers in Houston, Texas; Wilmington, Del.; and Greensboro, N.C. The training provider also promoted Yannick Kerriou to manager of its Paris Le Bourget learning center in France. Kerriou, most recently assistant manager of the center, is a former British Airways, EasyJet and Cathay Pacific pilot.
Viking Air named three new sales representatives: Dubai-based Jet HQ, led by chairman Ted Farid and managing director Garett Jerde; Sydney, Australia-based Utility Air, led by Stephen Pembro; and Dubai-based Veling Tayara, led by managing director Colin Steven.
Thomas Kopetzky was named FBO supervisor at Jet Aviation Vienna. Kopetzky is a 40-year industry veteran, with Pan American World Airways, Delta Air Lines and Austrian Airlines on his résumé.
FlightSafety International promoted Jon Hester to vice president of visual systems. Hester has 35 years of experience, beginning as a software systems engineer with McDonnell Douglas in 1980 and joining FlightSafety in 1993 when the company acquired McDonnell Douglas Visual Simulation Systems.
Brad Sims was appointed chancellor of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Worldwide. Sims, who joined Embry-Riddle in 2013, previously was chief academic officer. Also, John Watret, previously chancellor of the Worldwide Campus, has become senior v-p and COO. Richard Heist, previously chief academic officer for the Daytona Beach campus, was promoted to senior v-p for academic affairs and provost.
Awards & Honors
The National Aircraft Resale Association awarded $23,820 in scholarships as part of its second annual business aviation scholarship program awards. The funds were awarded to Michael Adams, Cory Clifft and Louie Marquez, who are all working on graduate degrees at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University; Chip Shriver, seeking a graduate degree from Middle Tennessee State University; and Alexander Martin, a senior at Florida Institute of Technology.
The 12th Annual Living Legends of Aviation Awards program, hosted by actor John Travolta and held January 16, recognized the contributions of five industry leaders. Southwest Airlines founder Herb Kelleher was awarded the program’s top honor, the Lifetime Aviation Entrepreneur Award. Papillon Helicopters founder Elling Halvorson received the Vertical Flight Hall of Fame Award; Michimasa Fujino was named Aviation Leader of the Year; and AOPA president and CEO was presented with the Harrison Ford Aviation Legacy Award. Also, Angelina Jolie, an instrument-rated pilot, was recognized with the Aviation Inspiration and Patriotism Award for her role in directing the movie Unbroken, about the life of World War II airman Louis Zamperini.
Final Flight
Joseph B. Nadol III, a J.P.Morgan Chase managing director who led the company’s aerospace and defense research arm, died when the commuter train he was riding in collided with a sport utility vehicle in Westchester County, N.Y., on February 3. Nadol was 42. Considered among the top aerospace and defense analysts, Nadol was well known in the business aviation community for his market insight and his group’s Business Jet Monthly report, which tracks industry trends. A Harvard University graduate, Nadol joined J.P.Morgan in 2000 after serving with Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette from 1995 through 2000. He is survived by his wife, Jen, and three sons.
