People in Aviation: January 2008

By Jennifer Harrington

January 1, 2008
People

The Bombardier board of directors has approved the appointment of Pierre Beaudoin as president and CEO. His father, Laurent Beaudoin, has served as chairman for nearly 30 years and will remain in the position.

Harrods Aviation customer services director Kate Bayes has been appointed acting CEO. She replaces chief executive Steve Grimes, who left the company in mid-November.

UK-based Twinjet has appointed Keith McMann CEO. McMann previously served as director of easyJet.

Steven Landeene has been named executive director of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority’s Spaceport America, the first commercial spaceport in the U.S. He most recently served as director of strategy and planning for sales and marketing at Landmark Aviation in Phoenix.

Keith Plumb has been named president and COO of Kansas City, Mo.-based Executive AirShare. He most recently served as executive v-p and COO and replaces company founder and president Robert Taylor, who will serve as the company’s chairman and CEO.

Carey Matthews has joined Spectrum Aeronautical as president of Aircraft Services. He previously served as accounts manager of NetJets Europe.

The Pilatus board of directors has selected Fredy Glarner as head of manufacturing and Markus Bucher as head of aircraft assembly.

The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) promoted Gregory Bowles to director of engineering and manufacturing. Bowles previously served as manager of maintenance and engineering.

Brian Reid has joined Midcoast Aviation as vice president for engineering. He most recently served as vice president for engineering, certification and interior design at Associated Air Center.

Pentastar Aviation has named Don Augustine the vice president of new business development, sales and marketing. He previously served as sales director for Priester Aviation.

Avidyne has announced the following appointments: David Copeland, vice president of sales and marketing, and Matt Cowan, Southeast regional sales manager.

Ruben Sanchez has been named vice president of sales for Dublin, Ireland-based aircraft lessor AWAS. He joins AWAS’ Miami office from GE Commercial Aviation Services (GECAS), where he served as vice president of marketing.

Corey Eckhart has been appointed director of engineering for Blackhawk Modifications. He was most recently vice president of engineering and DER flight test pilot for Centex Aerospace in Waco, Texas.

Montreal-based Execaire, the aircraft management arm of the Innotech-Execaire Aviation Group, has announced the following appointments: George Nader, director of sales and marketing; Kenneth Dandy, Vancouver aircraft management and charter sales; John O’Brien, Winnipeg maintenance and avionic repairs; and Harald Maron, Toronto aircraft management and charter sales.

Garmin International has announced the following promotions within the aviation sales and marketing team: Roger Dykmann, director of aviation OEM sales, Americas; Jim Alpiser, director of aviation aftermarket sales, Americas; Tim Casey, sales manager of portables, light sport aircraft and experimental aircraft markets; and Dave Brown, sales manager of integrated flight-deck retrofit programs.

Andrew Hoy was appointed executive director of group sales at ExecuJet Aviation Group. He comes from Skyjet International, Bombardier’s block-charter program.

Mooney announced the following appointments: Michele Fite, vice president of human resources; Piotr “Pete” Wolak, vice president of customer service; Susan Harrison, manager of international sales; and Robert Shank, Mooney team representative for the Pacific Northwest, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, North and South Dakota, Eastern Colorado and Nebraska.

Executive AirShare has hired Craig Bayless as sales director for the company’s offices at Fort Worth’s Meacham International Airport. He most recently served as the southwest regional account executive for Baltimore, Md.-based First Service Networks.

Bruce Bunevich has joined Universal Avionics as Great Lakes Regional marketing manager. Before joining Universal Avionics, he served as sales manager for Chelton Flight Systems and was formerly the director of international sales for Avidyne.

Fort Worth, Texas-based Aviation Technology 2000 has appointed Kim McKnight business development manager. Before joining Aviation Technology 2000, McKnight held the same position at Tampa International Jet Center.

Chris Brown has been named Falcon program manager of Chesterfield, Mo.-based Avmats Spirit. He previously held technical and maintenance management positions for companies such as Midcoast Aviation, Jetcorp, Trans World Express and Worldwide Aircraft Services.

Fred Zimbelman has been appointed general manager of Hawker Beechcraft
Services’ Wichita facility. Most recently he served as president of Soundair Repair Group and Soundair Design and Development Group.

Dawn Johnson has been appointed as site leader of Crane Aerospace and Electronics’ Redmond, Wash. location.

Avjet has hired Jason Cooper as a Gulfstream market analyst in its Washington, D.C.-area offices. Before joining Avjet, Cooper was a Gulfstream market researcher for an aircraft brokerage firm.

Awards & Honors

Frederick Kearns (1924-1987), former president and chief executive of Canadair; Hubert Pasmore (1898-1999), founder of Fairchild Aircraft; and Marc Garneau, astronaut, naval officer, engineer and former president of the Canadian Space Agency, will be inducted into Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame at the 35th annual dinner and ceremony in Toronto on May 28. Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame is part of the Reynolds-Alberta Museum in Wetaskiwin, Alberta, and its members include military and civilian pilots, entrepreneurs, scientists, inventors, aeronautical engineers and administrators. Kearns, Pasmore and Garneau will join the nearly 200 aviation pioneers who have been inducted since the Hall of Fame’s formation in 1973.

Former National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) employee Paulo Escobar has received the NASA Space Flight Awareness Honoree Award “for his demonstrated dedication to quality work and flight safety.” Escobar, who now works as an engineer for United Space Alliance, was nominated for “outstanding technical contributions” as lead analysis engineer for the testing division of the Anomaly Resolution Team 245, formed after the NASA space shuttle Discovery launch in December 2006. He previously received the United Space Alliance Quest Performance Award for outstanding contributions or “quick victories” that resulted in a significant impact to the company’s goals and objectives.

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