Marc Drobny has joined StandardAero as president of business aviation. Drobny was previously the president of Executive Jet Management for 13 years and served for more than a decade with the U.S. Navy.
Lufthansa Technik AG appointed Constanze Hufenbecher chief financial officer for an additional five years. Hufenbecher is also responsible for the company’s VIP and special missions aircraft services and for corporate services.
Markus T. Inäbnit as executive director of corporate strategy. Before joining F/LIST, Inäbnit held senior executive positions at Suhner, Aerolite, Jet Aviation, and Honeywell Aerospace.
Robert van de Weg has rejoined Volga-Dnepr Group as vice president of sales and marketing. He previously spent three years in senior roles with the company and will be responsible for all commercial airline activity.
Gerald Pratt has been named vice president of finance at Raisbeck Engineering. Pratt has more than 17 years of finance and accounting experience and previously served as financial operations manager for Beckwith & Duffel.
Michael Anckner is the new regional vice president, corporate fleets, USA at Bombardier Business Aircraft. Anckner has worked for Bombardier since 2000 and was most recently sales director, Latin America and the Caribbean for the company.
Nelson Krahenbuhl Salgado has been elected interim executive vice president of finance and investor relations at Embraer. Salgado will replace José Antonio de Almeida Filippo, who resigned.
Cirrus Aircraft promoted Ben Kowalski to senior vice president of sales and marketing. Kowalski will lead all sales and marketing efforts.
Argus International promoted John Illson to executive vice president of its wholly owned PRISM subsidiary. Illson was previously the senior vice president of certification services and regulatory assistance for Argus.
Keith Anderson joined FlightSafety International as director of engineering for simulation products. Anderson has more than 37 years of experience in engineering, aircraft design and certification, customer service, and training, most recently as vice president of engineering for Raisbeck Engineering.
Airplus Maintenance named Robert Zehnder head of customer service and planning. Zehnder brings a background in business aviation and airline MRO to his new role, including with Swissair, SR Technics, Jet Aviation, Altenrhein Aviation, and most recently Kuerzi Avionics.
Marie-Hélène Emond was appointed marketing communications and public relations manager for Esterline Avionics Systems, succeeding Janka Dvornik who retired after 35 years with the company. Emond has held marketing communications management roles in a range of industries, previously serving with ABB, Fordia, BDC, and the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy, and Petroleum.
David Copeland, director of sales for Mid-Continent Instruments and Avionics, was elected to the Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA) board of directors. Copeland, who is serving a three-year term that began in March, has 30 years of aviation experience and has held volunteer roles with several aviation organizations.
Stevens Aviation announced Andrew Camp as regional sales manager. Camp served eight years as an aircraft structural repair technician with the U.S. Army and most recently worked as avionics sales manager for Elliott Aviation.
Duncan Aviation has named Alan Monk airframe sales manager and George Bajo modifications sales manager. The two will oversee the sales team at Duncan’s Battle Creek location.
Ian Holder has been announced as Air Partner’s new managing director of Baines Simmons. Holder has more than 25 years of safety management experience and joined Baines Simmons as a principal consultant in 2015.
Vanessa Hopkins has been appointed as the new crew manager for rescue and firefighting services at London Biggin Hill Airport. Hopkins has been a rescue and firefighter at London Biggin Hill for six years and is the first female to be promoted to crew manager at the airport.
Carlo Montanini was named charter sales manager for Acropolis Aviation, based at the company’s Farnborough Airport, UK headquarters. Montanini previously sold Global 6000 charter for VistaJet and also has been commercial director for FlairJet.
Airforce Turbine Service hired Wayne Butler as a sales representative in the Eastern U.S. and Eastern Canada and Kate Cosgrove to manage the inside sales team. They join Scott Cheairs, who was added to the team last June as director of sales. Butler has 27 years of experience, formerly serving with StandardAero. Cosgrove has a background in PT6 parts, previously serving with Mint Turbines and Kansas Aviation. Cheairs’s background, meanwhile, includes time with Elliott Aviation, Hawker Beechcraft, and Blackhawk Modifications.
Emperor Aviation appointed Razvan Stefan director and accountable manager for its operation in Malta. Stefan, who has served with Emperor Aviation for five years, has international civil and business aviation aircraft handling experience.
Cutter Aviation named James Fisher regional engine sales manager. Fisher, who most recently was director of maintenance for N1, has more than 25 years of aviation experience, including holding various management roles with Pratt & Whitney Canada. In addition, Cutter appointed Iggy Burkhardt HondaJet regional sales manager for New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma. Burkhardt has more than 15 years of aircraft sales experience, including with Cirrus and Eclipse Aerospace, and also has served as regional sales manager for DaimlerChrylser Motors Corporation.
Skyward Aviation hired Robert Levino as charter manager and Eric Tabor as vice president of sales. In addition, the firm promoted Brianna Casciola to vice president. Levino joins Skyward with more than 17 years of charter scheduling experience, including with organ transplant flights. Tabor has 15 years of business aviation sales and business development experience. Casciola has served with Skyward team for 10 years and has played a role in the growth of the company to multiple airports.
Comlux appointed John Fleeman as head of maintenance. Fleeman previously worked at Associated Air in Dallas for 21 years where he served as director of maintenance.
Boston JetSearch added Mark Millar and Lara Jaugust to help manage the aircraft search-and-acquisition process for clients. Millar previously spent nearly 18 years with Jet Aviation’s FBO and MRO in Bedford, Massachusetts, most recently as manager of MRO business. Jaugust previously managed a corporate flight department for a Boston-based company and before that served with PlaneSense for 10 years as a pilot and director of training.
Pro Star Aviation added Zac Cote and Tyler Mullens to its maintenance team. Cote was hired as an apprentice and is soon to be certified as an A&P mechanic. Mullens, a 2016 graduate from the Aviation Institute of Maintenance (AIM) - Philadelphia, is working toward his A&P as well.
David Bannard has become Kaplan Kirsch & Rockwell’s newest partner, opening a Boston office for the firm. Bannard has nearly 25 years of experience in representing airports on matters such as regulatory compliance, airport financings, leasing, rate-setting ordinances, defense of Part 16 actions, and concessions agreements.
Aircraft Sales Group welcomed Coco Accardo as an executive assistant at the company’s Alabama location. Accardo is a certified administrative professional and was previously a legal administrative assistant at Kaufmann, Brown, and Taft-Chicago.
Phil Seymour, CEO of IBA, has been granted the honorary title of appraiser fellow by the ISTAT Appraiser’s International Board of Governors. Seymour has served the appraisal profession for over 20 years as an ISTAT appraiser.
Blackhawk Modifications Inc. has named Scott Keefe as a marketing consultant. Keefe previously spent 13 years in sales and marketing for Raisbeck Engineering.
Davinci Jets welcomed Lynda Jo Norred to its business development and customer experience team. Norred has 15 years of aviation business development and sales experience.
Awards and Honors
NATA has selected Gerald Dillingham, the former head of the U.S. Government Accountability Office's (GAO) civil aviation issues arm, the recipient of its Distinguished Public Service Award to recognize his outstanding service and contributions to the industry. Dillingham retired last month after a career in public service that lasted for more than four decades.
In addition, the association named Larry Flynn and Randall Berg the recipients of its highest annual honors. Flynn will be awarded the William A. “Bill” Ong Memorial Award, while Berg will receive the NATA Distinguished Service Award. Flynn, who retired as president of Gulfstream Aerospace in 2015, served more than 30 years in managing aircraft service facilities. Berg, a NATA board member and recent director of aviation for King County in Washington, has more than 40 years of experience as an airport executive.
The ATP/NATA General Aviation Service Technician Award will be presented to George Terry, vice president director of operations at Corporate Eagle. The award recognizes the exceptional performance of a licensed airframe and powerplant mechanic or radio repairman who has practiced their craft for 20 or more years. Terry has served for more than thirty years and his contributions have allowed Corporate Eagle to remain accident-free during his tenure.
Juan Rivera has been selected to receive NATA’s Airport Executive Partnership Awards. Rivera is the airport director at Manassas Regional Airport in Virginia and aided in the development of a new FBO, building site, and hangar space at HEF.
NATA’s Excellence in Pilot Training Award will be given to Janine Schwahn, chief instructor at Summit Aviation in Montana. The award recognizes outstanding contributions in professionalism, safety, leadership, and excellence in pilot training. Schwahn helped Summit transition to a Part 141 flight training center and Part 135 operator.
The fourth annual Safety 1st Certified Line Service Professional Award will be presented to Henry Graves, line technician and shift leader at APP Jet Center. Graves has 22 years of ground support experience and has dedicated the last 15 years as a shift supervisor at APP Jet Center.
