Category: People

Kellstrom Aerospace, a global aftermarket leader in aircraft lifecycle solutions, has announced the appointment of Michael Garcia to serve as Vice President of Commercial, effective January 16, 2020. As Vice President of Commercial, Garcia will oversee all Product Line related activities, Technical Services as well as trading and leasing of whole assets for Kellstrom. Kellstrom continues to grow its presence as a global after market leader, acquiring un-serviceable and serviceable assets to support its customers.

As Vice President in charge of Safran Aircraft Engines’ Military Engines division, Christophe Bruneau will be responsible for military engine production and support, especially the M88 fighter engine, in export markets. He is also in charge of coordinating research and technology work on the engine that will power the new-generation fighter in Europe’s Future Combat Air System (FCAS), within the scope of a partnership set up with MTU Aero Engines in 2019.

SAS has released that Charlotte Svensson has been appointed as the new Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer (CIO) as of February 1, 2020.  Svensson will succeed Mattias Forsberg who announced in October last year that he is leaving SAS for a new position as CIO at Svenska Handelsbanken. Svensson has a broad background and experience with different industries. In her recent position as a part of PostNord’s Group Leadership team, she was responsible for handling one of the largest transformations within the logistic industry, the mail business, as well as building a new, profitable digital revenue stream. Prior Read more

Universal Avionics (UA) has appointed Franc Mendes to the position of Airline Business Development Manager. Based out of Phoenix, Arizona (USA), he is responsible for introducing UA’s product line including the ClearVision™ Enhanced Flight Vision System (EFVS) to the airline market. Additionally, he will support UA’s Flight Department as a demonstration pilot for the company’s Gulfstream G-III aircraft. Mendes joins UA with over 24 years of experience in the aerospace industry. Most recently, he served in the position of Technical and Safety Pilot for the Boeing Company in Shanghai, China. Prior to joining Boeing, he was a long-haul pilot for Read more

Laurence Petiard has been appointed Head of External Communications for Airbus Helicopters, effective January 2020. In this new role, she will be in charge of coordinating Airbus Helicopters’ media relations, web, and social media activities. Petiard has worked for the last five years in the Airbus Helicopters media relations department, where she was in charge of external communications for a variety of civil and military helicopter programs, while also acting as the main contact for French media, among others. She has been with the company since 2005 in various project management roles, including four and half years with the H160 Read more

Brian Znotins has been named Vice President of Network and Schedule Planning for American Airlines. In this role, Znotins will guide the development and implementation of American’s global network and hub strategy, including all route planning, slot management and long-range planning efforts. Znotins will report to Vasu Raja, American’s Senior Vice President of Network Strategy. Znotins joins American from WestJet, where he spent the past three years as the airline’s Vice President of Network, Alliances and Corporate Development.

Virgin Galactic, a vertically integrated aerospace company, has appointed Enrico Palermo as Chief Operating Officer (COO), effective immediately. In this newly created role, he will be responsible for helping maintain efficiency and peak performance across the enterprise as it develops as a public company, and will lead the execution of specific company strategies and initiatives. Palermo currently serves as President of The Spaceship Company (TSC), the wholly-owned aerospace manufacturing and development subsidiary of VG. In this role, he leads over 500 employees at the company’s facilities in Mojave, California. Palermo joined Virgin Galactic in 2006 as one of its first Read more

Gulfstream Aerospace has promoted Matt Baer to regional vice president of sales for the northeastern U.S. and eastern Canada. Baer joined Gulfstream in the spring of 2019 as a regional sales manager for the northeastern region. Prior to that, he was a vice president of global corporate aircraft finance with Bank of America Merrill Lynch. He has worked in the aviation industry for a decade and is a licensed pilot. Baer is based in Gulfstream’s Manhattan Sales and Design Center and reports to Peter Vasconcelos, regional senior vice president of sales for the northeastern U.S. and eastern Canada.

Willie Walsh has announced he is to retire from International Airlines Group (IAG), officially on June 30, and will be stepping down as Group CEO and Chairman of the Board on March 26. Walsh is responsible for the creation of IAG through the merger of British Airways with Iberia, followed by Aer Lingus, Vueling, low-cost hybrid Level and, shortly, to include Spanish carrier Air Europa. Irishman Walsh began his long relationship with the airline industry as a pilot with Aer Lingus back in 1979, rising through the ranks to head the Irish carrier in 2001 where he successfully dealt with Read more