BP has named company veteran Jon Platt to succeed David Gilmour as CEO of Air BP. Gilmour, who has led Air BP since 2013, is taking the new position of vice president at BP Group Technology. Platt joined BP in 1989 as a chemical engineer in refinery and petrochemicals operations and moved up the ranks to CEO of BP’s liquid petroleum gas business and CFO for its petrochemicals business.
Mxi Technologies named Jon Slangerup chairman and CEO. Slangerup was formerly CEO of the Port of Long Beach and before that spent 20 years with FedEx, where he advanced to the position of president of FedEx Canada.
ExcelAire promoted Ralph Michielli to COO. Michielli helped launch ExcelAire in 1993 and has been overseeing the company’s maintenance operations.
Tradewind Aviation appointed Andreas Ponce de LeĂłn as COO. Ponce de LeĂłn had held director-level positions in operations and risk management at Citigroup and also served with Intellirisk, JP Morgan Chase, NewPower, NextCard and BankOne/First USA.
Swissport International named Nils Pries Knudsen chief commercial officer. Knudsen joined Swissport in January 2009 and most recently was executive v-p of global cargo.
The European Business Aviation Association board of governors elected Juergen Wiese, head of BMW Flight Services, to become its next chairman. Wiese succeeds outgoing chairman Rodolfo Baviera, who has held the role for four consecutive terms.
Jet Linx Aviation promoted Jay Vidlak to executive v-p and expanded the responsibilities of Jason Vanis as v-p of flight operations. Vidlak joined Jet Linx in 2003 as a flight scheduling coordinator and was most recently v-p of base development. Vanis also has served with Aviation Integration and Mayo Aviation. In addition, John Scicluna has joined the company as base president of its Detroit private terminal. Scicluna has 30 years of experience in aviation and sales, previously holding executive roles with CAE SimuFlite, Pentastar Aviation, Avolar and JetOne.
Ann Davidson has joined L-3 Communications as senior v-p, general counsel and corporate secretary. Davidson has 30 years of legal experience, having previously held positions with Exelis, ITT, Alliant Techsystems, Thales North America, Parker Hannifin and Honeywell.
Honeywell appointed Rudolph Louw to serve as its first aerospace business group leader in Africa. Louw previously worked with Witwatersrand University to develop national aerospace and systems engineering centers, and before that helped set up the Boeing International offices covering Southern and Eastern Africa.
Gulfstream Aerospace named Matthew Murphy regional v-p of sales for Mexico and Central America. Murphy previously spent 12 years at Textron Aviation, where was director of regional sales for Latin America.
Bombardier named Olivier Marcil v-p external relations. Marcil previously spent five years as vice principal, communications and external relations at McGill University and before that held senior positions in the Quebec government.
Silver Air hired Doug Weiner to serve as v-p of business development focusing on charter sales and service. Weiner has a background with entertainment charter, transport and cargo companies, among them Victor, YoungJets and Shockwave Cargo.
Ismael (Pete) Santiago was promoted to v-p of business development for Royal Technical Group. Santiago has 25 years of industry experience.
American Environmental Aviation (AEA) named Paul Sundby v-p of sales and marketing, and Glenn Gross senior v-p of business development and client relations. Sundby has 20 years of experience in various aspects of aviation fueling, including as v-p of fuel tech and director of domestic sales for Garsite. Gross has 33 years of commercial and corporate aviation experience, most recently as v-p of operations, Eastern region, for Atlantic Aviation.
Mountain Aviation promoted Malachi O’Neill to v-p of business development and charter sales and Alex Armijo to director of business development and aircraft management. Most recently business development/marketing manager, O’Neill joined Mountain Aviation in 2005 as a flight operations manager after serving with Jeppesen. Armijo joined Mountain in 2011 after serving with International Jet Aviation Services.
Certified Aviation Services named Mike Stafford general manager of line maintenance. Stafford brings 27 years of aviation experience to his new role, most recently as western region manager of MRO sales for United Airlines.
GlobalAir.com appointed Neosha Miller sales director for the Eastern U.S. Miller has served with GlobalAir.com since 2011, holding sales posts in the Midwestern, Western and international territories.
MHS Aviation appointed Petra Steffen manager of communications and international key accounts. Steffen, who has 15 years of business aviation experience, previously served as a marketing and public relations specialist with OHS Aviation Services in aircraft refurbishment and with Vibroair as sales and marketing director, in addition to supporting marketing of Lufthansa Bombardier Aviation Services, ASG, Aviation Investment and DC Aviation.
Duncan Aviation promoted Keith Schell to manager of the company’s parts and rotable sales division. Schell, who joined Duncan last year as a parts sales team leader, spent 35 years in the Nebraska Air National Guard.
FlightSafety International promoted John Healey to assistant manager of the Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) North training facility. Healey joined the company in 2010 and most recently was director of training for the DFW South location.
Trine Aero named Sean Schafer director of avionics. Schafer brings 22 years of avionics experience to his new role, having worked with West Star Aviation and Mid-Continent Instruments and Avionics.
Welsch Aviation named David Bausch director of sales at its office in Savannah, Ga. A former U.S. Navy commander, Bausch recently retired as director of aviation for Hess and also has served as head test pilot for Flight Systems.
Precision Aviation Group added four people to its sales team: Christian Medina joined as MRO sales executive in SĂŁo Paulo, Brazil; Robert Lanier became a regional sales executive based in Dallas; Samantha Butero was named regional sales executive in Long Beach, Calif.; and Joel Knight is a sales executive in Atlanta.
Tom Magglos has joined Air 7 as director of aviation asset management. Magglos has extensive flight department experience, previously serving with or supporting Williams Sonoma, Baja Fresh Flight Department and Regions Bank SE, among others, and also has held management positions with Petersen Aviation, Cutter Aviation and Bob Hoover’s Jet Center. o
Awards and Honors
The International Aviation Women’s Association (IAWA) named Sharon Holahan as the recipient of this year’s IAWA Aviation Industry Woman of Excellence Award. Holahan, daughter of AIN cofounder Jim Holahan, is director of claims and executive v-p at Global Aerospace, where she is responsible for airline, manufacturers’ product liability and major litigation. She has also served as a private attorney and as associate editor for AIN. Holahan has remained active in IAWA, previously as a director at large and advisory board member and currently as an honorary board member.
Women In Aviation International (WAI) founder Peggy Chabrian and business aviation industry luminaries Randall Greene, Preston Henne and Clay Lacy were selected as this year’s recipients of the National Aeronautic Association (NAA) Wesley L. McDonald Distinguished Statesman of Aviation Awards.
Chabrian launched the first WAI conference in 1990 with 150 attendees and formally established the organization in 1994 with 16 founding board members. The organization now has 13,000 members and has awarded nearly $11 million in scholarships.
Greene, chairman, president and CEO of Safe Flight Instrument, has held senior roles with numerous industry companies, including Aeronautical Systems, Commander Aircraft, AirResearch and AlliedSignal. He is chairman of the Corporate Angel Network and holds 15 U.S. patents and 12 aviation records.
Henne has led teams responsible for the certifications of the Gulfstream G650, G550, GV, G450, G280 and G150. He was also responsible for the aerodynamic design of the wing on the C-17, chief design engineer for the MD-80 and v-p and general manager of the MD-90 program.
Lacy has worked in aviation since he became a flight instructor at the age of 16, holding roles as an airline captain, military aviator, experimental test pilot, air race champion, world record-setter, aerial cinematographer and business aviation entrepreneur. He has flown 300 aircraft types and logged 50,000 flight hours. His highlights include the first flight of the Pregnant Guppy; flying the first Learjet into Van Nuys Airport; and founding Clay Lacy Aviation in 1968.
Janine Iannarelli, founder and president of Houston-based aircraft brokerage firm Par Avion, was named as an inductee into The Aviation Hall of Fame of New Jersey. Iannarell, a native of Fair Lawn, N.J., has a 30-year career in business aviation. In 2014 she was appointed to the Texas Governor’s Aerospace and Aviation Advisory Committee. She also recently joined the European Business Aviation Association Associate Member Advisory Council’s Sales and Acquisition Committee.
The International Civil Aviation Organization Council recognized the inventor of the first-ever aircraft flight recorder, David Ronald de Mey Warren, with its 41st Edward Warner Award. Warren was honored posthumously during the opening day of ICAO’s 39th triennial Assembly in September. A jet-fuel expert, Warren was recruited in 1953 to join a team analyzing inflight structural failures of the de Havilland Comet, the first jetliner. During that work, he realized that post-accident safety analysis would benefit from a recording of what had transpired on the aircraft before an accident. Noticing miniature recorders demonstrated at a trade fair, he began to conceive the idea of their use in commercial aircraft. This led to the development of his first demonstration unit.
Final Flight
Arthur Ludwig, a former vice president of finance and controller for Safe Flight Instrument, died on September 12 at the age of 76. Ludwig had held Safe Flight’s top financial position from 1990 until he retired in 2007. He also spent the past 26 years as treasurer of the Corporate Angel Network. Ludwig is survived by his wife of 46 years, Pat Ludwig, daughters Jennifer Casey and Jeanne Ludwig and two grandchildren.
