DTI Senior Editor Paul McLeary's recent Ares blog post covered the Army Expeditionary Warrior Experiment at Fort Benning, Ga. He calls it “a littler, scrappier cousin of the twice-yearly brigade-sized Network Evaluation Exercise at Fort Bliss, which has become central to testing modernization efforts.” Marcase notes:
Greg Beebe (see photos) has been appointed president of Sennheiser Electronic Corp., Old Lyme, Conn., effective Jan. 1, succeeding John Falcone, who will be promoted to VP-sales for the Americas. Markus Warlitz, currently CFO, will become general manager of Sennheiser Latin America.
Henri Broussalian has become director of aeronautical sales for Europe and the Middle East at Thrane & Thrane, Lyngby, Denmark. He has held executive roles in international business development for the air transport market.
Richard J. Van Gemert has joined the board of Solairus Aviation of San Francisco. He was senior VP of Jet Aviation, president of the New World Jet Corp., executive VP at KC Transportation Services and director of general services at the Xerox Corp.
Luanne Calvert (see photo) has been appointed VP-marketing of Virgin America. She was a digital marketing consultant with Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy's Fendi and Moleskine brands in Italy.
Architect Frank Gehry has been named brand ambassador for the Global business jet produced by Bombardier Aerospace's Montreal-based Business Aircraft Div.
Ralph F. Meoni has become president of Arlington, Va.-based Thales USA Defense & Security. He was executive VP for the Electronics, Intelligence & Support operating group of BAE Systems.
Michael P. Moses has joined Las Cruces, N.M.-based Virgin Galactic as VP-operations. He served at the NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida as the launch integration manager from 2008-11.
Ken Greene has been named deputy manager of aviation for operations, public safety and security at Denver International Airport. He was assistant director of operations for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
Thomas Kinton (see photo) has been appointed Boston-based senior aviation adviser at Parsons Brinckerhoff. He was CEO and executive director of the Massachusetts Port Authority.
Leda L. Chong has become senior VP for the Asia-Pacific region for Falls Church, Va.-based General DynamicsAerospace Group. Chong has been staff VP-government relations since 2009.
Leda L. Chong has become senior VP for the Asia-Pacific region for Falls Church, Va.-based General DynamicsAerospace Group. Chong has been staff VP-government relations since 2009.
Tom Corum has been named VP-business development for Jet Midwest Technik, Kansas City, Mo. He spent three years in the financial services and business brokerage industry and had been executive VP-business development at Empire Aero Center.
Karen Jans has been selected as associate VP-university relations for Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, Fla. She was a public information officer at Isothermal Community College.
Blain K. Rethmeier has been named senior VP-public affairs and government relations for the Washington-based U.S. Travel Association, succeeding Geoff Freeman, who was promoted to executive VP and chief operating officer. Rethmeier was senior VP-public affairs for the American Insurance Association.
Amar Chouaki has been appointed VP-sales for Southern Europe for Air France KLM Engineering & Maintenance. He was head of the Project Management Department. Miguel Chiang has become VP-Latin American sales. He was product support director for airframe base maintenance.
USAF Brig. Gen. James E. Haywood has been named director of strategic plans, programs and analyses at Air Force Materiel Command Headquarters, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. He was director of requirements at Air Force Space Command Headquarters, Peterson AFB, Colo. Honors And Elections
Jane Garvey has been named the 2011 recipient of the Donald D. Engen Aero Club Trophy for Aviation Excellence, given by the Aero Club of Washington. She was FAA administrator from 1997-2002 and previously was director of Boston Logan International Airport and acting administrator of the Federal Highway Administration.
Jay Heppner has been elected chairman of the Master Executive Council of United Airlines' Air Line Pilots Association unit. He succeeds Wendy Morse, who did not run for re-election.
Adam Maher has been selected by the New York-based Society of Satellite Professionals International to receive its Promise Award for Young Space Industry Professionals. Maher, an engineer in the Advanced Systems Group at Space Systems/Loral, was honored for leadership in systems and mechanical engineering.
Investors detest the thought of losing money. So one has to wonder what the future holds for struggling Hawker Beechcraft. Investment bank Goldman Sachs and Canadian buyout firm Onex Corp. paid a top-of-the-market price of $3.3 billion in 2007 to acquire the builder of business jets and general aviation and military turboprops from Raytheon. But a collapse in demand for business jets the following year created a flood of red ink that has yet to be stanched, despite progress in cutting costs and improving efficiency.
Boeing Chief Financial Officer James Bell (left photo), 63, will retire April 1 after 40 years with the company. He will be succeeded by Corporate Controller Greg Smith (center photo), 45, on Feb. 1 who will work with Bell “to ensure a smooth transition,” Boeing said.
A system that enables an aircraft to taxi without engine power or ground tugs has been launched by El Al Israel Airlines for application on its fleet of Boeing 737s. Developed by WheelTug, the system will use two electric motors inside the wheels of the nose gear to propel it at speeds up to 28 mph. Although adding around 300 lb., 200 lb. of which comprises the new integrated driving wheels, developers say the overall system is “flight-weight” neutral due to the reduced amount of fuel required for taxiing.
