Eric Schmidlin
As part of a company-wide expansion of customer service for its Entegra series of flight decks, multifunction displays and traffic advisory systems, Avidyne Corp. has appointed Eric Schmidlin as director of customer service and support. He was previously general manager for Ryan International, before it merged with Avidyne. Prior to working at Ryan, Schmidlin was an operations and project leader at Honeywell. Visit www.avidyne.com.
Dan Colussy
The board of directors of Iridium Holdings llc has named Dan Colussy as interim chief executive officer of Iridium Satellite llc, Bethesda, Md. He will serve in the role until a permanent replacement is found, and takes over from Carmen Lloyd, who has retired. A founding investor and former CEO of Iridium Satellite, Colussy also served as chairman of Iridium Holdings. Visit www.iridium.com.
Rob Penrod
Rob Penrod has joined Adam Aircraft of Englewood, Colo., as vice president of manufacturing. He will lead the company’s transition to full-rate production of its A500 and A700 aircraft. Penrod comes from Bell Helicopter, where, as director of operations, he worked to transition that company’s V-22 Osprey tiltrotor from the development stage to full-scale production. Visit www.adamaircraft.com.
Executive Appointments
United Technologies Corp.’s (UTC’s) board of directors has elected Louis Chꮥvert as president and chief operating officer, as well as a company director. He will join George David, UTC chairman and chief executive officer, in a recently formed Office of the Chief Executive. Steve Finger, currently president of Sikorsky Aircraft, will replace Chꮥvert as president of Pratt & Whitney. Jeff Pino, currently senior vice president of strategy, marketing and commercial programs for Sikorsky, will replace Finger as president. Visit www.utc.com.
Dan Reida
Tucson, Ariz.-based Universal Avionics Systems Corp. has promoted Dan Reida to director of worldwide marketing. Most recently serving as director of airline and military marketing, Reida began working at Universal Avionics in 1989 as a product specialist, and has served in several roles for the company. Visit www.uasc.com.
Mike Spiewakowski
Mike Spiewakowski is the new sales manager for Radstone Embedded Computing’s European ICS Sensor Processing business. Based in Towcester, England, Spiewakowski will lead sales efforts for ICS Sensor Processing’s ADC, DAC, software defined radio and data acquisition products. He was formerly a sales manager for the Tactical Communications Group in Billerica, Mass. Visit www.radstone.co.uk.
Promotions
Stevens Aviation, Greenville, S.C., has promoted Dick Christopher to program manager for Raytheon Hawker aircraft and Jim Williams as service director for Beechcraft aircraft. Christopher is responsible for Hawker modifications and maintenance. He has worked in various roles at Stevens, and prior to joining the company he was a service manager at Raytheon Aircraft’s service center in Little Rock, Ark. A 32-year employee of Stevens, Williams has previously served as avionics shop manager, director of operations and assistant general manager. Visit www.stevensaviation.com.
Mehnert, Marschilok
Melbourne, Fla.-based Harris Corp. has appointed Dana Mehnert as president of its RF Communications division, effective July 1. In addition, Steve Marschilok, vice president and general manager of international products and systems for RF Communications, has been given expanded responsibilities. Mehnert, who was previously vice president and general manager of government operations for RF Communications, replaces Chester Massari, who is retiring in December 2006. Marschilok’s position now includes defense communications in the international market. Visit www.harris.com.
Jeff Moore
Rockwell Collins has appointed Jeff Moore as senior vice president of its Operations division. He replaces Kent Statler, who is now vice president and general manager of the company’s Services division. Visit www.rockwellcollins.com.
Robert Afzal
Aculight Corp. of Bothell, Wash., has named Robert Afzal as director of technology development. He comes from Spectra Systems Corp., where he was vice president of research and development. Afzal also formerly worked for NASA, including as director of the Space Lidar Technology Center. Visit www.aculight.com.
Steven MacLaird
Steven MacLaird is the newest member of the U.S. board of directors of PrismTech, a Burlington, Mass.-based provider of middleware and software defined radio tools. He is a former director of the Pentagon’s Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) program office. Visit www.prismtech.com.
Ron Soret
Landmark Aviation, Tempe, Ariz., has promoted Ron Soret to vice president of operations for its Associated Air Center facility at Dallas Love Field. He was previously vice president of quality, responsible for meeting all FAA requirements for quality compliance. Associated Air Center is part of Landmark. Visit www.landmarkaviation.com.