Trey Allen
SVP Planning and Administration
POGO Jet

Trey Allen serves as SVP Planning and Administration at POGO. Prior to joining POGO, Allen was a Senior Manager at Deloitte Consulting, where he led or played a key role in transformation and technology implementation projects across aerospace, consumer goods, retail, telecom, and public sector clients. Allen began his career in the United States Navy, where he served for eight years as an aviator and flight instructor. He made several carrier deployments as an F-14 pilot and was selected as an Adversary Instructor responsible for teaching advanced air-to-air tactics to fleet F-14 and F/A-18 aircrews. Allen’s educational experience includes an MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a B.S.M.E. from the University of Texas at Austin. He is a commercial pilot with single and multi-engine ratings.

Steve Brown
Sr. VP, Operations
NBAA

Steven Brown, senior vice president, operations for the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), oversees all of the Association’s activities relating to aircraft operations and flight department management issues. Prior to joining NBAA, Brown served as a top official with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as vice president of operations planning. Brown also has previously served as associate administrator for air traffic services, managing the 35,000 air traffic controllers, maintenance and software technicians, flight inspection pilots and administrative personnel who are responsible for the day-to-day operation of the nation’s airspace systems. Before joining the FAA in 1998, Brown was president of the National Aeronautic Association and has served as senior vice president of government and technical affairs at the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. He also has taught a number of aviation-related courses at Texas A&M University, where he was a member of the faculty; has worked for the Texas Aeronautics Commission; and has been employed as an air taxi pilot and full-time flight instructor. Brown is a graduate of the executive management programs at the Pennsylvania State University and the University of Virginia and is a qualified aviation accident investigator certified by the University of Southern California. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business management and a master’s degree in industrial education.

Matt Byrd
Vice President
Hillwood Properties

Matt Byrd serves as vice president of aviation marketing for Hillwood, overseeing aviation development opportunities for Hillwood worldwide. Specifically, Byrd has international business experience in Asia, Europe and the Middle East. He was directly involved in bringing Lockheed Martin Aeronautics to the AllianceTexas® development and continues to serve as a relationship manager for Lockheed as well as Bell Helicopter Textron. Byrd began his work with Hillwood as vice president of Hillwood Strategic Services where he was responsible for coordination and development of Hillwood’s consulting and development projects outside of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. He then served as director of corporate best practices for Perot Systems Corporation, prior to rejoining Hillwood in his current role. Complimenting his experience in the private sector, he worked for both NATO and the United States Air Force, where he had the opportunity to fly over 20 different types of fighter and trainer aircraft. Byrd received a Bachelor of Science in Math of Operations Research from the United States Air Force Academy. He is a graduate of the Air Command and Staff College and the Armed Forces Staff College. He earned his Master of Science from Troy State University.

Traver Gruen-Kennedy
Vice President, Community & Governmental Affairs
DayJet

When Traver Gruen-Kennedy joined DayJet in November 2005, he brought with him more than 25 years of diverse experience in corporate strategy, strategic alliances and operations.

A global technology leader, Gruen-Kennedy is ranked by NetworkWorld (along with Bill Gates and Michael Dell) as one of the "25 Most Powerful People in Networking," and the World Economic Forum named him a Technology Pioneer for his contributions to technology and to society. For the past eight years, he served as chief strategist at Citrix Systems, where he played a significant role in the company's post-IPO growth to become the world's 15th largest software company.

An active participant in creating America's Next Generation Transportation System (NGATS), he is a member of the Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) National Strategy Committee of the National Institute of Aerospace (NIA).

Gruen-Kennedy is a graduate of Bowdoin College and received specialized training in early-stage technology venture management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Steve Hanvey
President/CEO
SATSair

Stephan Hanvey has over 36 years of experience in the aerospace business. He co-founded SATSair in 2005, and has restructured Rhino/SATSair into a growing air taxi operation. Recently Hanvey advised aerospace businesses, such as Adam Aircraft, Cirrus and several VLJ start-up companies, and as President/CEO set up and ran the operations for Piaggio America from 2000-2003.

From 1980-1997, Hanvey served as a senior aerospace executive with Hughes/McDonnell Douglas and Beechcraft/Raytheon Aircraft, leading major programs and developmental activities. Hanvey has served on numerous Boards of Directors, including the first chairman of the AGATE Executive Group for NASA/industry that led to the Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) program. An accomplished pilot, Hanvey holds numerous aviation awards including Naval Test Center Test Pilot of the Year in 1978, two time to climb World Class Records, Aviation Week Laurel Award in 1994, JH "Jimmy" Doolittle Award 1995 (Society of Experimental Test Pilots) and Aviation International News Top 10 Newsmakers in 1995 and 2002.

He holds a BS degree in Engineering from the US Naval Academy, graduated from Claremont University’s Advanced Management Program and performed masters degree work in Systems Analysis at the University of Southern California and aerodynamics at the USN Test Pilot School.

Jack Harrington
VP Business Affairs
Eclipse Aviation

Welles Hatch
Vice President and CFO
Linear Air

Welles Hatch is an experienced financial and operating executive with significant experience helping to lead growth stage technology companies. As Chief Financial Officer in four technology and service companies, he has built organizations and scale operations by leading the accounting and risk management functions as well as direct company efforts in capital raising, human resource management, management information systems, and investor relations. He has done this in both domestic and international settings. Since leaving a career in commercial banking fifteen years ago, Hatch has managed reorganizations, recapitalizations, strategic deal negotiations and profitable exits. Hatch holds a BA from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and an MBA in international business and finance from George Washington University. He also has studied at foreign universities in China, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom. Hatch has served on public and private company boards and currently holds positions on the PATA and Air-Taxi Association boards. He maintains an active involvement with a variety of community service organizations. He is a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors and Financial Executives International and currently serves on FEI’s Professional Development Committee.

William Herp
President and CEO
Linear Air

William Herp has a history of success starting and growing companies. In 1996, Herp founded e-Dialog, a 200-person online marketing technology company with offices in Lexington, MA, New York, NY, Seattle, WA and London, England. Herp personally created marketing strategies for such clients as the National Football League, Charles Schwab, and Cendant Corporations Trip Network. In addition, he led the development of e-Dialog’s market leading technology platform, which earned the company recognition as one of the 10 best e-mail marketing providers by Forrester Research and Jupiter Research.

Previously, Herp served as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Geerlings & Wade, a direct marketer of fine wine and an Inc. 500 fast growth company. Herp joined the company in 1993 and supervised the company’s initial public stock offering in 1994. Before joining Geerlings & Wade, Herp started and led several entrepreneurial ventures, including a cellular telephone company that was acquired by publicly traded Shared Technologies. Herp holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BBA from the University of Notre Dame, and is a member of the board of directors of Junior Achievement of Eastern Massachusetts. He is an Instrument Rated Commercial Pilot.

Dr. Bruce Holmes
Director of Air Systems Research, DayJet
Former NASA Chief Strategist

Dr. Bruce Holmes joined DayJet in May 2007 to work with federal and state agencies to deploy next-generation technologies that will expand the number of small airports DayJet can utilize across the country for its per-seat, on-demand jet service. For more than 30 years, Holmes has contributed to transforming American air transportation, culminating in a senior executive position as chief strategist at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. He was instrumental in the strategic development of the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NGATS), the creation of the NASA Advanced General Aviation Transport Experiments (AGATE) Alliance, and the Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) Project. Holmes is widely known for his strategic leadership in the emergence of small aircraft and community airports for public transportation and for championing strategies for improving future generations of personal air transportation vehicles, airspace systems and airports. Holmes has published more than 70 technical papers, received four patents, and directed several research programs fostering technical developments upon which new aviation companies have been formed. He has been honored with numerous NASA and professional society awards including the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal, NASA Exceptional Engineering Achievement Medal, The National Air Transportation Association Distinguished Service Award and others.

Edward Iacobucci
President & Chief Executive Officer
DayJet

Ed Iacobucci, a prominent high-tech entrepreneur and system software expert, was named to Business 2.0 magazine's list of the "50 Who Matter Now" in 2007, and in 2005, Newsweek included him in its list of "10 Big Thinkers for Big Business." Iacobucci’s technology vision is matched by his proven management and leadership skills. In 1998, he was recognized as the top entrepreneur in the world with the prestigious CNN, USA Today and Ernst & Young "International Entrepreneur of the Year" award for his leadership at Citrix Systems, a software company he co-founded in 1989. Iacobucci is a graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology where he serves on the School of Engineering Advisory Board.

Joe Leader
President
Air Taxi Association

As an expert on very light jets and next generation air taxis with the first business Ph.D. dissertation on the subjects worldwide, Joe Leader worked with industry leaders in forming the Air Taxi Association (ATXA) and now serves as its President. With more than a dozen years of executive experience at both entrepreneurial and multi-billion dollar companies working both in the U.S. and Europe, Leader uses the combination of his professional and academic expertise to build bridges across the industry. This year, Leader has been named the keynote speaker at two aviation conferences and enjoys passionately speaking about the incredible growth ahead for the next-generation air taxi industry. Leader holds a Bachelor and Master of Arts from Emory University, received his Masters of Business Administration and Technology Management while working internationally, and will shortly defend his dissertation for his business Ph.D. from Walden University in Applied Management and Decision Sciences with his research centering upon very light jets and next generation air taxis. In the world of flight, Leader is most frequently a passenger and has begun training as a student pilot of both single engine aircraft and helicopters.

Captain William Minkoff
Chairman Pilot Mentor Project
Aviation Accreditation Board International

Captain Billy Minkoff serves as an elected President of AVION, LLC, a member/owned VLJ investment group. In the recent past Minkoff held overall responsibility for the operation of Colemill Enterprises, Inc., an aircraft manufacturing company specializing in the conversion of Piper Navajo Chieftains into Panther Navajos. Additional responsibilities at Colemill included managing a Part 135 Charter operation and a Part 141 flight school. Prior to his service at Colemill, he flew as an international captain for Delta Air Lines. During his time with Delta, he accumulated over 17,000 hours as S/O, F/O and Captain. In addition to his flying duties, Minkoff served as a Base Safety Chairman and as an aircraft Accident Investigator. He has commanded aircraft to over 20 international destinations on five continents.

He graduated from Rutgers University, where he was awarded “The Scarlet Key” as an outstanding scholar-athlete. He obtained his MBA at Vanderbilt University. Minkoff served in the US Navy where he flew the A-7E Corsair aboard the USS Midway, CV-41. His accolades include graduating first in his flight school class, winning the A-7 Top Gun Award, at Strike Fighter Weapons School, and accumulating nearly 300 aircraft carrier landings (more than 100 of which were at night).

John W. (Jack) Olcott
President
General Aero Company

John W. Olcott's career in aviation encompasses the technology, operations, politics and promotion of business aviation. As a Flight Research Specialist for Princeton University, he established a flight laboratory for engineering students at the Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur, India. As an officer for a high-tech R&D firm in Princeton, he managed some of NASA's early efforts related to general aviation aircraft, and he was test director and pilot of the Aereon 26 proof-of-concept Aerobody, which was the subject of John McPhee's book "The Deltoid Pumpkin Seed." While employed as an aeronautical engineer with BSE and MSE degrees from Princeton as well as an MBA from Rutgers, he took writing assignments that eventually lead to 19 years in business aviation publishing, most of those with AVIATION WEEK Group's Business & Commercial Aviation magazine. Between 1974 and 1986, he also served as Chairman of NASA's General Aviation and Commuter Technology Advisory Panel, a volunteer committee appointed by NASA management to oversee the agency’s GA activities. Olcott was recruited from B/CA to be the president of the National Business Aviation Association, a position he held until his retirement from NBAA in 2003, at which time he formed General Aero Company, Inc.

Randall P. Sanada
Chairman, Jet-Alliance
Chairman, Alliance Financial Group, Inc.

In August 2000, Randall P. Sanada co-founded Jet-Alliance, Inc. and serves as its Chairman. Jet-Alliance has developed a unique offering: a true shared ownership business model with a genuine focus on serving the owners’ best interests. The result is a significant reduction in the cost of purchasing and operating private jets. Jet-Alliance took delivery of the world’s first production VLJ: Serial #1 Eclipse 500. Sanada has also started several businesses in the areas of aviation, financial services, real estate, storage services, and wealth management. Each mature venture has delivered positive returns to investors as a result of his selection of experienced team partners to manage the operations of each business. With over 35 years of wealth management experience, Jet-Alliance builds on the stewardship attributes of Sanada’s investment management firm. Jet-Alliance is part of Alliance Financial Group, Inc. whose holdings also include a registered investment advisor, a securities brokerage firm and a national bank & trust company (assets $5B). “When responsible for the management of someone else’s wealth or property, it is critical to perform with an attitude of serving the best interests of the owner.” Sanada is a licensed pilot, and his business education includes two bachelor degrees, two master’s degrees and three professional credentials in financial services disciplines.

Matthew Sheble
VLJ Program Manager
TAG Aviation

Matthew Sheble serves as Program Manager for TAG Aviation’s Light Jet Program. Sheble is responsible for creating and implementing a new business model for the management of light jets, very light jets, and light turboprop aircraft. He is also a managing principal with CA Advisors, a management-consulting firm providing leading edge analytical services to the airline industry, where he specializes in aviation, start-up, and business development work fore the firm. Sheble continues to serve as a partner and member of the Board of Directors for GoCar Rentals, Inc., Trigger California, Inc., and GoCar Franchise Services, Inc., based in San Francisco. Working together, these companies have developed a proprietary GPS touring and navigation system, incorporated into state-of-the-art touring vehicles utilized by visitors to San Francisco. In 2004, this revolutionary new system was nominated by Time Magazine as “One of the Most Amazing Inventions of the Year”. GoCar Rentals has been profiled worldwide with in depth stories appearing on CNN, USA Today, and the New York Times. Sheble holds a Bachelor of Science in Aviation from San Jose State University, with a minor in Business. He is a commercial pilot with a single, multi-engine land, and instrument airplane ratings, and is a certified flight instructor.

Aaron Sohacki
CEO
ImagineAir

Aaron Sohacki is CEO and co-founder of Atlanta-based ImagineAir. The company operates a fleet of Cirrus SR22’s in its on-demand air taxi service and will be adding the Eclipse 500 to its operation in 2008. Sohacki graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2006, starting the company while still in school. His aviation experience includes assisting Delta Airlines and ALPA as an independent intermediary, Atlantic Southeast Airlines in flight operations engineering, and as a flight instructor teaching the students, faculty, and alumni of Georgia Tech. He holds a commercial pilot's license with multi-engine, instrument, and single-engine ratings.

Joe Wiendl
Senior Vice President
Skyway Capital Partners LLC

Joe Wiendl is a Senior Vice President at Skyway Capital Partners, an investment banking boutique and merchant banking operation based in Tampa, Florida. There he leads a new effort in the aviation, aerospace, and defense industries, including the ability to make principal investments. Wiendl is a former Navy surface warfare officer, and has worked for Lockheed Martin and for the securities firm Raymond James. He also served in key economic development roles in Florida focused on aerospace, first as a commissioner, and then as Vice-Chairman to former governor Jeb Bush at Space Florida, the state's lead economic development agency for aerospace. Wiendl holds degrees in aerospace engineering, finance, and accounting from the U.S. Naval Academy, the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Tampa, respectively. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. Wiendl lives in Tampa, Florida, with his wife of twelve years and three sons.