Gallery: MRO Industry Leadership Moves In 2025

Carroll Lane has become CEO of MROH Group (formerly MRO Holdings), replacing Greg Colgan, who has transitioned to CEO of Citadel Completions. Lane has 20 years in the aviation industry, most recently serving as a senior advisor of the Boston Consulting Group’s aerospace and defense practice. He has previously held senior leadership roles at Kaman Corporation, Pratt & Whitney, United Technologies and Textron. Lane was also a naval aviator captain in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Launch Technical Workforce Solutions has appointed David Campbell as chief operating officer (COO). Campell has over 30 years of aviation industry experience, most recently serving as vice president and COO of Aero Design Labs. He was previously vice president of technical operations at JetBlue Airways and held senior leadership roles at American Airlines. Campbell is also a U.S. Air Force veteran and former aircraft technician.

Denise Mangan-Fahy will become CEO of Shannon Engine Support in September, succeeding Julie Dickerson, who is retiring. Mangan-Fahy has over 35 years of aerospace industry experience, most recently serving as head of portfolio and rental operations for AerCap Engines. She has also held leadership roles at GE Capital Aviation Services and Shannon Aerospace.

MAAS Aviation has appointed Patrick Fransen as general manager of its MRO division, where he will oversee aircraft painting operations in Maastricht, Netherlands, and Kaunas, Lithuania. Fransen was most recently operations manager at European Support Center, a helicopter services specialist.

AFI KLM E&M has appointed Peter van Helden as senior vice president of component product, succeeding Bruno Tricoire, who recently became senior vice president of engines at Air France Industries. Van Helden was most recently head of partnerships and OEM at Lufthansa Technik, and he has also held leadership roles at RUAG MRO International and SR Technics.

Gregg Evjen will become president of KF Aerospace Sept. 1. Evjen has spent 35 years with KF Aerospace, joining as a junior engineer and holding a wide range of senior roles there, including as manager and director of engineering, vice president of maintenance and engineering, and chief operating officer.

Greg Macleod has retired as managing director and accountable manager of GT Engine Services (GTES), a subsidiary of STS Aviation Group. Chief Operating Officer Tracey Clark will take over both roles. Clark has been with GTES since 2021 and has previously held roles at Avtrade, SR Technics and FLS Aerospace.

Ametek MRO has appointed Adam Payne as business development director for Europe, where he will target growth and expansion of the company’s facilities and repair capabilities. Payne has 20 years of experience in the aerospace industry, most recently serving as senior sales manager at Ontic. He previously held multiple roles during a 14-year tenure at GE Aerospace.

Chromalloy has appointed Russ Shelton as executive vice president of business development, where he will lead the company’s strategy for commercial aviation, defense and energy markets. Shelton was most recently president of GA Telesis’ Engine Services Group. Prior to that, he spent 29 years at GE Aerospace, culminating in his role as managing director of services sales.

Tommy Hughes has been appointed chief commercial officer (CCO) of Satair, succeeding outgoing CCO Paul Lochab. Hughes had been CEO of VAS Aero Services since 2015, overseeing the company’s acquisition by Satair USA in 2022. He will continue to serve as interim managing executive of VAS Aero Services while the company finds his successor. Hughes joined VAS Aero Services in 2007 and previously held leadership roles at Delta TechOps and Volvo Aero.

Germany-based Rolls-Royce and Lufthansa Technik joint venture N3 Engine Overhaul Services has appointed Holger Sindemann as director and general manager. Sindemann will be responsible for the company’s operational areas and be the maint point of contact for the German Federal Aviation Authority. Sindemann has nearly 20 years of aerospace industry executive management experience, including 16 years at MTU Maintenance, where he was managing director until 2022. He succeeds Carsten Behrens, who has left the company as planned after three years. 

IFS has appointed Mark Buongiorno as president of aerospace and defense (A&D). Buongiorno was most recently CEO of A&D engineering and IT services provider Tsunami Solutions, and he has previously held leadership roles at StandardAero and Pratt & Whitney. He succeeds Scott Helmer, who will transition to the role of IFS A&D chairman. 

Delta Executive Vice President and President – International Alain Bellemare is assuming an additional leadership role as chairman of the Delta MRO Advisory Board. He will work in close partnership with Delta TechOps Chief of Operations and President John Laughter to provide strategic direction, support and guidance. Bellemare has more than 25 years of aerospace and industrial experience, previously holding leadership roles at The Carlyle Group, Bombardier, United Technologies, Hamilton Sundstrand and Pratt & Whitney.

Ken Channel has been promoted to vice president of business development at Certified Aviation Services (CAS). Channel has more than four decades of aviation industry experience, most recently serving as director of business development at CAS. He has also held senior maintenance management roles at Malabar International, McDonnell Douglas, Boeing and Continental Airlines.

Mike Reporto (pictured left) has been promoted to group president at Launch Technical Workforce Solutions, where he will lead daily operations and staff oversight while continuing his role as chief commercial officer. Reporto has held various leadership roles at Launch since 2016 and previously worked for industry recruiting agency Aerotek.

Launch has also appointed Marco Nogueria (pictured right) as its new vice president of technical development, where he will focus on the company’s Global Access, Career Advancement and Launch Academy programs. Nogueria has more than 30 years of commercial aviation experience, most recently serving as vice president of technical operations at Breeze Airways.

Trading and leasing specialist APOC has appointed Craig Skilton as vice president of components, where he will concentrate on strengthening the company’s foothold in the UK and broadening its footprint in Europe and the Asia-Pacific. Skilton previously held leadership roles at SkySelect and AJW Group. He also founded aftermarket technology hub Digital Flight. 

George Whittier has been appointed to the newly created CEO role at Barnes Aerospace. Whittier was most recently CEO of Fairbanks Morse Defense and has more than two decades of professional experience in the manufacturing and defense sectors. Barnes Aerospace says President Ian Reason will remain with parent company Barnes Group as senior vice president through December to ensure a seamless transition.

HEICO announced April 21 that its chairman and CEO, Laurans Mendelson (pictured left), will become executive chairman of the board of directors. Eric and Victor Mendelson (pictured center and right), who have served as HEICO’s co-presidents since 2009 and as president and CEO of HEICO’s Flight Support Group and Electronic Technologies Group, respectively, will become co-CEOs. They will also continue leading both groups.

Heston Materials has appointed Semih Ozdemir as head of engines at its new Engines Division. The division will initially focus on offering services such as engine teardowns, build-ups, module swaps, light repairs and short-term leases with teardown, for CFM International CFM56-5B and -7B and IAE V2500 engines. Ozdemir has more than a decade of experience in powerplant and engineering leadership roles, most recently serving as director of powerplant at SmartLynx Airlines.

FL Technics has appointed Donatas Dockus as CEO of its Canadian subsidiary, Wright International. Dockus has more than a decade of experience in the aviation industry, previously serving as CEO of FL Technics MRO in China and holding commercial director and vice president of sales roles at other FL Technics subsidiaries. FL Technics says Dockus will help the company expand its presence in the Americas and capitalize on opportunities in Canada’s aviation market.

Tobias Baumgart, formerly chief operating officer at Lufthansa Technik AERO Alzey, has become managing director and head of operations for the Americas at Lufthansa Technik Component Services (LTCS). Baumgart succeeds Michael Scheferhoff, who became president and CEO of Lufthansa Technik Engine Services in October 2024, succeeding Thomas Illner, who became head of the Americas region at LTCS in July 2024.

AerFin has appointed Steven Ades as chief financial officer (CFO). Ades replaces Matthew Clay, who stepped down as CFO March 31. Ades was previously chief strategy officer and finance director at AerFin. The company says Ades “will take on an expanded remit, continuing to oversee strategy and supply chain alongside his CFO responsibilities.”

Stacie Sire has been appointed chief engineer for Boeing India and vice president and managing director of the Boeing India Engineering and Technology Center. Sire most recently served as senior director of engineering for Boeing Fabrication and has held various leadership roles since beginning her career at Boeing as a structural engineer. She takes over from Ahmed Elsherbini, who has taken on the role of senior vice president, general manager and head of Boeing Global Engineering. — by Swaati Ketkar 

STS Aviation Group has announced several new leadership roles. It promoted Ethan Steele (pictured left) to executive vice president, head of commercial. Steele has been with the company for 25 years, most recently leading STS Engineering Solutions. STS also promoted Shane King (pictured center) to president of STS Aviation Services. King has been with the company since 2018, most recently serving as president of aviation services North America. The company has also announced a new military-focused STS Defense Solutions division, which will be led by Executive Vice President of Defense Brian Bento (pictured right). Bento has more than 30 years of aerospace and defense experience, most recently holding leadership roles at companies such as Smartronix, Parsons Corporation, Alion Science and Technology, and MAG Aerospace.

On April 22, STS Aviation Group promoted Chuck Harrison (pictured left) to president of STS Technical Services, its division focused on workforce management and recruitment process outsourcing. Harrison was previously vice president of sales and delivery at STS Technical Services since 2009. He has held various recruiting-focused roles since 2000. Harrison takes over for Rick Koenig (pictured right), who has moved into a role as head of talent for STS Aviation Group. Koenig was president of STS Technical Group since 2011 and has previously held staffing and technical resourcing leadership roles at STS AeroStaff Services and Advantage Technical Resourcing. 

Jimmy Norden (pictured left) will take over as CEO of Taby Air Maintenance (TAM) in spring 2025, succeeding Par Gulle (pictured right), who is retiring after 24 years in the position. Norden began his career as a technician at TAM in 2003 and has held a variety of maintenance roles at airlines, MROs and academic institutions throughout his career before returning to the company as quality manager in February 2024. 

Tarmac Aerosave has appointed Frederic Cadule as its new chief operations officer. Cadule has more than 20 years of experience in aeronautics, most recently serving as operations director for landing gear at Revima. Prior to that he held a variety of roles at Safran, including at Safran Electronics & Defense, Safran Aerosystems, Safran Transmission Systems, Safran Aircraft Engines and Safran Landing Systems.

Longtime Werner Aero Founder, President and CEO Mike Cazaz (pictured left) retired at the end of 2024 after 32 years with the company. He has been succeeded by Toshinori (Tony) Kondo (pictured right), who was most recently Werner Aero’s executive vice president. Prior to joining Werner Aero, Kondo spent 14 years in Sumitomo Corporation’s aircraft and engine leasing business and was a founding member of SMBC Aero Engine Lease.

VSE Corporation has promoted Ben Thomas to chief operating officer, where he will lead the company’s revenue channels, including distribution, MRO and OEM solutions. Thomas has been president of VSE Aviation since 2020 and has previously held roles at Boeing Global Services and KLX Aerospace Solutions.

Gernot Sell was appointed general manager of MTU Maintenance Dallas Feb. 1. Sell has previously held a variety of roles at MTU Maintenance Berlin Brandenburg, most recently serving as vice president of value stream management and external services. He succeeds Nezam Moghadassian, who has retired from the company.

EirTrade Aviation has promoted Lee Carey (pictured left) to chief investment officer and Karl Fitzgibbon (pictured right) to chief operating officer. Carey joined EirTrade in 2016 and was most recently vice president of origination and trading. Fitzgibbon joined EirTrade in 2014 and was most recently vice president of operations.

DASI has appointed Mike Heaton as its new president. Heaton was previously managing director for the Americas at Satair, where he oversaw business in the region covering four sites. He holds more than 30 years of experience in the aerospace aftermarket materials services sector. Previous DASI President Rhod Gibson has transitioned to the role of co-CEO.