People of the Industry

Raphael Haddad, President, Jetcraft Commercial
Location: Toronto, Canada

Describe a typical day or week in your role.

I usually wake up at 5.30am and check my emails and messages, go for a run, then get back to work. During the day I have a lot of conference calls with the teams or I’m meeting with customers.

Tell us what you enjoy most about your role.

It’s the deal. The thrill of the deal. Scoring a deal gives me extreme satisfaction and working with a good solid team.

Describe what you are most proud of in your professional journey.

I’m very proud of what we have accomplished at Jetcraft Commercial. We started in 2015 and if we look back over the last few years at what we have been able to accomplish, I’m very proud of that.

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Jaden Jonson, Sales Manager, Americas, Jetcraft
Location: Minnesota, U.S.

Describe a typical day or week in your role.

A typical day for me at Jetcraft is split 50 percent between being in contact with my colleagues and other people within the industry. Constantly on the phone, emailing, or some form of communication. While the other half of my day is working on deals, sourcing, finding new prospects, and working out current closings.

Describe what you are most proud of in your professional journey.

I would say I’m definitely most proud of the connections I’ve made and the network that I have built. The team that I have behind me really supports me in utilizing the skills that I have grown up with. So, I’d have to be the network that I’ve created.

Tell us how Jetcraft’s global network of offices and specialists benefit clients.

Jetcraft’s resources allow me to better utilize our whole company’s data. Our network and connections give our clients a very personalized touch, while still having the global aspect. It incorporates the data that we’ve collected worldwide so I can specialize it to meet my client’s very specific needs.

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Gerald Hooper, Sales Director, West coast U.S., Jetcraft
Location: California, U.S.

Describe a typical day or week in your role.

Typically, I’m a very early riser. I’ll get up anywhere between 6 – 6.30 am and get my coffee. Usually, my dog likes to follow me. Then the first thing I do is log on to Salesforce and check the opportunities that might have come in overnight on some of the aircraft that I’m tracking.

Tell us what you enjoy most about your role.

Every deal is different, every problem is different, and every transaction is different. I really enjoy the complexities and the variety that goes along with working with Jetcraft.

Describe what you are most proud of in your professional journey.

In my professional journey, I’m most proud of the accomplishments, and the accounts that I’ve fought for and won, and the problems that I’ve solved for my clients over the years.

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Derek Long, Sales Director Mid Atlantic U.S, Jetcraft
Location: Georgia, U.S

Describe a typical day or week in your role.

A typical day for me would be reaching out to clients to give any updates surrounding acquisitions or listings that we have going on, reaching out to referral sources, as well as, reviewing the overall market to make sure we’re on top of any new changes.

Tell us what you enjoy most about your role.

The thing that excites me about the role that I am in is twofold. One, the people that we meet on a daily basis. It’s really the movers and shakers of the world. And of course, the aircraft. Beautiful machines with amazing technology.

Describe what you are most proud of in your professional journey.

The thing that I enjoy most about when I look back at my professional journey is, regardless of where you start in life, if you have hard work and determination, you can get where you want to be.

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Chris Holligsworth, Sales Director, South Central U.S., Jetcraft
Location: Texas, U.S.

Describe a typical day or week in your role.

There is no typical day. There are constant changes in what we do for our clients depending on what they ask us to find for them. What we do is source and sell aircraft for people, and as information changes on a daily basis, we are constantly looking for the most up to date data to deliver to our clients.

Tell us what you enjoy most about your role.

The thing I most enjoy about my role at Jetcraft, is delivering on client’s expectations and exceeding them.

Describe what you are most proud of in your professional journey.

I’m most proud of being part of a company that aligns with my personal goals. Since we all have the same goals and ambitions, it feels great to be a part of a group like that.

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Samantha Parkhouse, Sales Manager, Northern Europe, Jetcraft
Location: London, UK

Describe a typical day or week in your role.

No day is the same but my responsibilities include bringing in new leads and nurturing existing leads for opportunities to bring in new deals.

Tell us what you enjoy most about your role.

What I love most about my role is being emersed in the world of aircraft. I’ve always been very passionate about flying and aviation throughout my career, so just being around the aircraft on a daily basis, talking about the aircraft, marketing the aircraft and selling the aircraft.  I also love meeting new people, networking and discussing new opportunities with them.

Describe what you are most proud of in your professional journey.

I think so far, I am most proud of my development and where I have come at this stage. From getting my PPL at age 21, to having done marketing for Jetcraft and now in sales for Jetcraft. Transitioning through different areas around aviation but learning as I go.

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Alejandro Noriega, Sales Director, Central America, Jetcraft
Location: Mexico

Describe a typical day or week in your role.

A typical day for me starts with calling clients in the morning, following up with new leads and then following up with deals that are currently in the pipeline. I often then have meetings in the afternoon with new clients, for example.

Tell us what you enjoy most about your role.

What I enjoy most about my role is the connection I have with my clients. I have a really good relationship with my clients, so I enjoy helping them get exactly what they are looking for.

Describe what you are most proud of in your professional journey.

What brings me the most pride is definitely just getting the job done. In this business it is very difficult to sell an aircraft, so being able to get the job done is definitely my biggest reward.

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David Monacell, Executive Vice President, CFS Jets

Explain your role within your organization?

My role with Mitch McCune is to oversee the day-to-day operations of CFS Jets. Myself primarily, I’m responsible for the growth and development of the sales team.

Describe a typical day in your role.

Explaining a typical week or day is a real challenge, I’m engaged in the sales process and every deal is different. As well, other challenges present themselves in different projects or anything else that we are emersed in. It would be a challenge to have two weeks that were identical.

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The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day (on 8 March) is ‘Inspire Inclusion’. Ahead of the day – which celebrates women’s achievement and promotes a more equal society – we caught up with one of Jetcraft’s senior women, Sales Director Laurence Vidal.  

In this month’s Q&A, we take a sneak peek from Laurence’s broader interview to explore how she began her aviation career and what women can do to take the next step in the aviation industry.  

Can you summarize your aviation career so far?

I started my career as an engineer at Dassault Aviation in the south of France. This was a very technical role in the flight test centre that involved working closely with mechanics on aircraft certification.   

In 2012, I had become interested in business aviation sales and moved to Brazil to pursue this, spending around eight years at Bombardier. At the beginning of last year, I took up the Sales Director role at Jetcraft overseeing South American territories including Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay.  

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