On the Move: October 2026 Aviation, Airline & Aerospace Executive Changes
From Aviation Executive Monthly, October 2026.
AAR – Jeff Gormly joined as Director of Business Development, coming from Aviation Technical Services, where he spent five years as Director of Sales and Business Development. Salim Khamze was named VP, Engineering - ACS Global New Product Introduction (NPI) at AAR Component Services, moving from VP, Global Engineering.
Air Canada – Nicolas Saignat joined as Sr. Director, Cargo Sales, Americas, after serving as VP, Airfreight Product Management, North America, at CEVA.
Air Transport Services Group (ATSG) – Doug Belding, previously MD Global Clearance and Brokerage Solutions, joined as VP, Enterprise Performance and Operating Systems. Mike Hough, previously CEO at GAT Airline Ground Support, joined as Group President - Airlines and Services. Tim Schulze joined as Chief Risk & Corporate Development Officer after serving as an external advisor to ATSG since January. He was most recently Chief Financial Officer of BidWizer.
Alaska Airlines – Dan McNulty joined as Director, Commercial Performance. He spent more than 10 years at JetBlue, most recently as Sr. Manager, Route Planning. Jay Dunn joined as Director of Operations Analytics, coming from The Walt Disney Company, where he was most recently Director, ESPN Forecasting & Analytics.
American Airlines – Alexander Nethers was promoted to MD, American Eagle Planning, from Director, American Eagle Operations. John Bendoraitis joined as SVP, Technical Operations. He comes from Spirit Airlines, where he was COO. He previously served as COO of Frontier Airlines, President of Comair, and President of Compass Airlines. He succeeds Kevin Brickner, who is retiring from the role. Kirsty Dymond joined as Director, Senior Attorney, Technology Procurement, from D.R. Horton, where she spent four years as Senior Legal Counsel for Product, Privacy, AI & Technology Transactions. Shane Adleman was promoted to Director - Global Security Operations & Risk, from Senior Manager - Security Operations.
Ameriflight – David Harvey was appointed President and CEO. He previously served as Chief Commercial Officer of Wheels Up and spent more than two decades at Southwest Airlines, culminating in the role of Chief Sales Officer.
Avelo Airlines – Fenny Fonville was promoted to Director, Payroll and Benefits, from Manager, People and Payroll.
Aviation Capital Group – Jilinda Crowley was appointed EVP and CFO. She succeeds Jaime Crear, who served as interim CFO and remains Chief Administrative Officer. Crowley spent 14 years in senior finance roles at Rolls-Royce and then served as CFO at Electra Aero, magniX, and Skydweller Aero.
Boeing – Mick Sorrenson was named VP and GM of Fabrication, succeeding Shakira Pastrana-Naumann. He previously served as VP Composites and Manufacturing within Boeing's fabrication division. Pastrana-Naumann was named to lead Boeing's Wichita, Kansas, site, succeeding Sean Black. Black was named VP, BCA Future Production System.
Breeze Airways – Rod Ennis joined as VP of Flight Operations and Director of Operations. He previously served as VP, Aviation at TransMedics.
Citadel Aviation – Geurt Boshuizen joined as VP of Operations, coming from Gulfstream Aerospace, where he spent over 11 years, most recently as Senior Operations Manager at the CS Service Center.
Contour Airlines – Liam Mackay left in September after a year as CFO. He previously served as CFO at Air Wisconsin.
Delta Air Lines – Keri Paison (Starr) joined as MD and Head of Media Network, coming from Deloitte Digital, where she was Sr. Manager, Strategy, Growth, and Transformation. Sara Reid was promoted from MD, Sales & Distribution Innovation, to VP, Digital Product Management. Vijay Patel was promoted from Director, Technical Operations, Line Maintenance, to Managing Director, ACS Operations Strategy & Support.
Endeavor Air – Paul Caldwell was promoted from Senior Manager, Inflight Learning, to Director, Inflight Operations.
Expedia Group – Julie Kyse left in September, most recently serving as VP, Hotel Global Partnerships, following a corporate restructuring.
Frontier Airlines – Tabitha Dunn joined as VP Customer Experience & Brand. She comes from her own consultancy, TD Results, and previously held global customer experience leadership roles at Hitachi and Ericsson.
Gategroup – Danny Radicevic was promoted from Director, OpEx, Canada at Gate Gourmet to Director, Continuous Improvement & GPS, North America, at the parent company, gategroup.
JetBlue – Gina Buckner, Chief Audit Executive, left to become Vice President, Head of Internal Audit at Chewy. Nigel Chung was promoted from Sr. Manager to Director, Talent Acquisition and Compliance.
JSX – Niall Mulcahy joined as Director of Airport Operations, coming from Surf Air Mobility, where he was Director of Airport and Ground Support Operations. Tiarelei Wolfgramm was named Director, Hospitality Training & Standards, in addition to her role as Director of Airport Services.
Kalitta Air – Chris Agnini, previously Director of Operations at National Airlines, joined as VP of Flight Operations.
Kenmore Air – Andrew Bonney was appointed CEO. He was previously COO at Cape Air.
McGee Air Services – Ben Reed was elected President of the Alaska Airlines subsidiary, formalizing the role he has held on an interim basis since March. He previously served as MD safety and compliance and MD operations, and earlier held roles at Alaska Airlines.
Menzies Aviation – Emma Deane joined as SVP, Commercial. She was previously VP, Strategic Business Development & Transaction Management at SATS Ltd.
Pivotal – Ken Karklin departed as CEO of Pivotal, the eVTOL aircraft maker, after leading the company for the past four years. Mike Ross was promoted to Interim CEO and will continue to serve on the board while the board searches for a permanent CEO.
Pratt & Whitney – Jill Albertelli was named President, as of January 1, 2027, succeeding retiring Shane Eddy. She most recently served as President of P&W’s Military Engines.
PSA Airlines – Greg Christopher, previously SVP Flight Operations and OCC at Spirit Airlines, joined as SVP of Flight Operations and IOC. Melissa Smith joined as Assistant Director of People Services, coming from Six Flags Entertainment, where she was Director Corporate HR People & Culture.
Southwest Airlines – Alan Rider was promoted from Director, Ground Operations Delivery, to MD, Ground Operations Delivery & Business Solutions. Barry Lott moved from Director, Aircraft Records and Maintenance Reliability, to Director, Tech Ops Safety & Aircraft Programs. Rachel Dauenbaugh joined as MD Enablement. She comes from PwC, where she spent nearly 5 years and most recently served as a Managing Director in marketing transformation.
StandardAero – Paul McElhinney was named CEO. He was previously Sr. Operating Partner and Head of the Portfolio Strategy & Optimization Group at AE Industrial Partners, and has served on the StandardAero Board of Directors since 2019. He succeeds Russell Ford, Chairman and CEO, who stepped down as CEO and will remain Executive Chairman through the end of the year.
Sun Country Airlines – Eric Herman was promoted from Senior Manager, Standards, to Director, Pilot Training.
Surf Air Mobility – Barrett Brown was named President of SurfOS, leading go-to-market, strategy, and commercial expansion for the company's Palantir-powered, AI-enabled aviation operating-system platform. He most recently served as an advisor at Turion Space and previously as VP & Head of APAC at Maxar Technologies, with more than a decade at Palantir. Jason Secore was appointed Chief Financial Officer, succeeding Oliver Reeves. He most recently served as CFO at Matternet. Oliver Reeves will continue to support the company as an advisor.
United Airlines – Alexis Thompson was promoted from Sr. Manager to Director, Flight Operations Training Scheduling & Administration. Harel Magaritz was promoted from MD, NOC Daily Operations to VP, Network Operations. Jessica Muench was named MD, Office of the President, after serving as MD, Human Resources & Talent Acquisition. Mika Clark Tupy was promoted from MD, Alliances to MD, Community Impact.
Vertical Aerospace – Fabrice Brégier was appointed Chair of the Board, succeeding interim Chair Ben Story, who remains a Board member. He previously led Eurocopter and MBDA and, most recently, was President of Palantir Technologies France. He is also a non-executive director of Safran and ENGIE and the non-executive Chair of SCOR.
WestJet – John Aaron moved from VP Airline Operations to VP, Flight Crew Operations.