Peter Fleiss, the executive director of the Corporate Angel Network (CAN) for well over a decade and a highly regarded executive in the business aviation industry, passed away on April 4 after fighting various illnesses for the last two years. He was 76.
Fleiss retired from CAN in 2016 as the organization recorded its 50,000th flight. Under his guidance, CAN expanded its membership companies—the corporations that fly CAN’s cancer patients to and from their treatment centers at no charge—to more than 500 lift providers. Since CAN’s first flight in 1981, the nonprofit organization has provided free air transportation to people whose best treatment options are often thousands of miles from home.
During his tenure with CAN, Fleiss was instrumental in working with NBAA for the annual fundraising benefit at NBAA-BACE on behalf of CAN. In late 2016, Fleiss retired from CAN and current executive director Gina Russo took over.
“Peter was instrumental in developing CAN into the organization it is today,” said Russo. “His continued commitment to the mission was well-known by patients and business aviation peers alike.”
Before joining CAN, Fleiss served with Safe Flight Instrument Corp., working in collaboration with that company’s founder and CAN co-founder Leonard Greene.