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Christopher Hart was appointed NTSB chairman. A licensed pilot with commercial, multi-engine and instrument ratings, Hart previously served on the NTSB as board member. He replaces Deborah Hersman.
Airbus Group and Safran named Alain Charmeau as CEO for the companies’ future space launcher joint venture. He is currently head of operations for space systems within the Airbus defense and space division. The companies also named Marc Ventre chairman of the board directors for the joint venture. He is currently deputy CEO and COO of Safran.
Giorgio Moreni was named CFO for ATR.
Neil Gallagher was promoted to president of Vienna, Ohio-based Winner Aviation. He was most recently v-p of maintenance. Gallagher replaced Rick Hale, who will continue to serve as CEO and will take on the role of chairman.
Robin Eissler was named president and CEO of Jet Quest, a company she co-founded with her father, Don Richards. In the business since she was 18, Eissler has worked as a v-p and in aircraft sales. 
Bristow named Alan Corbett as director and Oladapo Oyeleke as deputy director. Corbett previously worked at Baker Hughes, where he was v-p for sub-Saharan Africa, Indonesia and Middle East/Asia-Pacific. Oyeleke will continue with his responsibilities as area manager for Bristow’s helicopter operations in the UK. 
World Fuel Services announced that the Air Elite Network elected Larry Wade of Golden Isles Aviation as chairman and Will Holroyd of Harrods Aviation as vice chairman.
Thomas Anderson was named director of product support for Gulfstream Aerospace’s facility at Long Beach Airport in California. He has been with Gulfstream since 2002, most recently as director of final-phase operations for the G550 and G450 in Savannah, Ga. Darrell Frey was promoted to director of international service operations. He was most recently director of regional service center operations. 
Kristen Cloud joined Leading Edge Aviation Solutions as v-p of aircraft sales, with responsibilities for international aircraft sales and marketing and business development. Before joining the company, she owned and operated Tri-State Aircraft Sales, an aircraft brokerage company.
Hourly-cost maintenance provider Jet Support Services (JSSI) named Tony Gilbert as the U.S. company’s new vice president of business development for South America. Most recently he served with global helicopter maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) provider HeliOne as vice president of partnerships and network.
Chris Strong was promoted to senior vice president of conventions and membership for NBAA. He was previously senior v-p of marketing and member services. 
Hendrik Janssen was named director of completion sales and market development for Jet Aviation Basel. He joined the company from Lufthansa Technik, where he was most recently sales director for Asia. 
Steve Barr joined Crane Aerospace &amp; Electronics as v-p of operations for the Electronics Group. 
Charles Buckland was named general manager of Landmark Aviation’s Asheville Regional Airport location. He was most recently general manager of Atlantic Aviation’s Cleveland Hopkins International Airport location. 
Priester Aviation named Gary Gennari senior v-p of charter sales. 
Jonathan Archer joined the General Aviation Manufacturers Association as director of engineering. He was most recently an associate with Booz Allen Hamilton, where he provided support to both the FAA and the Joint Planning and Development Office. 
Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Banyan Air Service named Brian Wilson director of sales and business development. Wilson has been with Banyan since 2007as director of avionics. 
HNZ Group, an international provider of helicopter transportation and related support services, named Rick Burt v-p of offshore operations, business development and strategy. 
West Star Aviation named Ed Henry regional sales manager for the eastern U.S. 
Denton, Texas-based Odyssey Aerospace Components appointed Randy Kempf senior director of operations of the cabinet and precision machining facilities. 
FlightSafety International announced several promotions. Mark Salzano, most recently director of government training, was promoted to executive director of government contract training. Todd Bitgood, most recently assistant manager of the St. Louis learning center, was promoted to manager of the Long Beach, Calif. learning center. Jeremy Pisell was promoted to manager of the Houston learning center from assistant manager of the Tucson, Ariz. learning center. David Glass was promoted to manager of the St. Louis learning center from assistant manager of the Houston learning center. He will also serve as a regional operations manager. Alex Thurmond, most recently regional director of operations, was promoted to assistant manager at the St. Louis learning center. 
Mike Richardson, previously director of aftermarket sales for Airbus Helicopters, was named commercial director of Avinco.
Aerospace Quality Research and Development promoted Suresh Narayanan to v-p of business operations. He joined the company in 2011 as a business manager and then served as v-p and partner. 
Craig Pluim has joined Vector Aerospace as regional sales director. 
Jack Jacobs, Honeywell’s v-p of safety and information management systems, was appointed to the Arizona Aerospace and Defense Commission.
Kurt Kitner was promoted to avionics installation manager at ProStar Aviation. He was previously avionics installations lead. 
Citation Jet Pilots, an owner/pilot organization for Cessna Citation, named Lt. Col. Jon Huggins executive director. Huggins joined the group following a 29-year career in the U.S. Air Force, where he accrued more than 7,000 hours of flight time as an instructor/evaluator pilot on the Lockheed U-2, Northrop T-38 Talon and King Air 350ER.
The Air Charter Safety Foundation named David Hewitt, executive v-p of safety for Wheels Up, as chairman; Greg Kinsella, president and CEO of Key Air, as vice-chairman; and Joshua Hebert, CEO of Magellan Jets, as board member. 
King Aerospace named Neil Simon avionics manager. He was most recently avionics manager/STC project manager at Temple Electronics. 
Spectrum Aeromed named Ashli Kottsick human resources and marketing generalist. She was most recently an account manager for the U.S. Department of Energy.
Dave Davis was promoted to CEO and board member of Global Eagle Entertainment. He was most recently CFO and COO. Kevin Trosian joined Global Eagle Entertainment as v-p of corporate development and investor relations. He was previously v-p at Mindspeed. 
Tom Crowell, Sr., founder of international jet sales company JetBrokers, retired at the end of July after a 46-year aviation career. Crowell, holder of Professional Aviation Maintenance Association Membership number one, is a former director and vice president of the Westchester Aviation Maintenance association and president of the Greater St. Louis Business Aviation Association. He has held sales, management and technical roles with Midcoast Aviation, Sabreliner, Rockwell International, Aviall, Dassault Falcon and AirResearch. 
Tim Casey, a 23-year Garmin employee, retired last month. He started at the company as a marketing manager in 1990 and was involved in launching the GPS 100, the GNS 430, the 55 AVD aviation portable and the GPS 90, among several other products. Casey started his aviation career as an air traffic controller with the Navy in 1968, based at Top Gun in Miramar. Later he was appointed an FAA air traffic controller in Kansas City. 
Awards and Honors
The Experimental Aircraft Association’s Young Eagles program received the 2014 Milton Caniff Spirit of Flight Award from the National Aviation Hall of Fame. The award, presented for exceptional contributions to the advancement of flight, was given to the Young Eagles for providing more than 1.8 million young people with a structured and educational flying experience. 
James Peter Singh was awarded a flying scholarship from TAG Farnborough Airport, which will provide training toward a private pilot certificate. Singh is a student at Farnborough Sixth Form College. The TAG Flying Scholarship is part of the airport’s Aviation to Education program, which reaches out to local schools and colleges to inform and educate students about aviation.
Dynamic Aviation was presented with an award from the U.S. Army’s Project Management Fixed Wing office for its support of the Night Eagle program for Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. 

Final Flight
Maxie Moore, a former NBAA board member, died on June 26 in Pullman, Wash., at age 86. Moore was employed by Southern Natural Gas in the roles of corporate pilot and director of aviation and served as an NBAA board member from 1980 to 1989. He served as chairman of NBAA’s Safety Awards Committee and chairman of the membership committee.

People in Aviation: September 2014

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