People of the Industry

Christie Martin-Gray, former Brand Director, Jetcraft
Location: Raleigh, NC, USA

How long have you been at Jetcraft?

My sister Lucy Castle, Jetcraft’s Administrative Director, first introduced me to Jetcraft in 2006. I worked with Jetcraft on an as-needed basis until joining the team fulltime in April 2010 as Marketing Director.

What are your responsibilities within the global Jetcraft team?

My role changed this year to Brand Director, and my primary responsibility is to support the VP of Marketing with planning and executing our corporate branding and paid media strategies. This includes keeping a close eye on accuracy, consistency, clarity and relevance as it relates to our brand to ensure a strong connection with our customers.

Describe a typical day or week in your role.

Priorities can shift quickly, so I start and end each day with a few minutes of assessing priorities and planning. I spend most of my time developing and maintaining brand assets, brand advertising, and some of the sales tools and integrated retail campaigns. Ensuring we adhere to our high standards, deliver on our brand promise and align our brand assets closely with sales objectives involves a myriad of daily activities including strategizing and brainstorming, research, assessing internal documents, directing creative agencies, writing, negotiating media opportunities and so on.

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Tom Hauge, National Sales Director, Wings Insurance
[email protected]

How long have you been at your current organization?

I started at Wings Insurance in February of 2004. Prior to joining Wings I spent a short period of time in the Reinsurance business working for the world’s largest Reinsurance broker.

What are your responsibilities within your organization?

I am the National Sales Director for Wings Insurance. I also take on the role as my firm’s industry focal for many professional aviation organizations that we support and participate in such as National Aircraft Resale Association (NARA) and the numerous aircraft ownership organizations that exist in the turbine aircraft marketplace (Citation Jet Pilots, TBM Owners, Phenom Owners, Meridian/Malibu Owners, Pilatus Owners etc). Finally, I mentor and oversee our sales staff and lead sales initiatives for our aviation insurance product line.

Describe a typical day or week in your role.

A typical day in my role usually involves interaction with my team in preparing insurance renewal proposals for our current client base. In addition to our existing clients – my team usually has anywhere from 3-5 new business opportunities we are working on every week which range from light aircraft up to commercial aviation risks – we do focus heavily on turbine risks which makes up the bulk of our book of business. In a week’s time I typically will have some travel away from home office. My time away from the office generally will involve visiting clients in our company aircraft or traveling to a convention or outing in support of the owner/pilot and professional aviation organizations that we support.

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Peter Antonenko, Chief Operating Officer, Jetcraft
Location: Minneapolis, MN, USA
[email protected]

How long have you been at Jetcraft?

I joined Jetcraft in November 2006.

What are your responsibilities within the global Jetcraft team?

Management of legal and transaction management matters, corporate and transaction strategy, marketing and IT oversight, member of the board of directors, and manage outside counsel.

Describe a typical day or week in your role.

I typically start the day addressing current deals that are either pending or working to become pending. This includes working with the legal, transaction management and sales teams, and coordinating with other members of the board on upcoming opportunities. I’ll also handle delegation of deals to the various transaction management team members and to outside counsel who may be assisting us. Depending on the day, I’ll have meetings with the marketing team to discuss upcoming events or other marketing activities, and if a board meeting is coming up, discuss what if anything we’ll need to present to the board on behalf of marketing. As a transaction-focused organization, much of what I do is centered around getting deals done.

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Devri Pitts, Independent Association Director, NARA

How long have you been at your current organization?

I started working for NARA (National Aircraft Resale Association) in the Fall of 2004.

What are your responsibilities within your organization? 

I am the Independent Association Director. I work closely with the NARA Board and Products & Services Member Advisory Council to provide Association management, membership services, and administrative support. I also plan NARA meeting functions and to oversee and coordinate NARA’s marketing efforts.

Describe a typical day or week in your role.

Each day I communicate with our Board of Directors on current action items, whether that be marketing initiatives, upcoming meetings, committee organization, or Association management details. I also handle the day-to-day member communications including responding to membership inquiries and current member requests, as well as the day-to-day finances that keep the Association humming.

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Jennifer Jewett, Senior Financial Analyst, Jetcraft
Location: Raleigh, NC, USA
[email protected]     +1 919 941 8400

What are your responsibilities within the global Jetcraft team?

I started my Jetcraft career in July 2013. In my role as Senior Financial Analyst, I am responsible for the worldwide accounting and financial reporting aspects of the company. I provide support to the CFO for a variety of accounting matters, including policies and procedures.

Describe a typical day or week in your role.

No day is ever the same. My work tasks vary each day based on the needs of the business. I may have a plan to accomplish something specific when I get to the office, but it may be delayed if I receive urgent requests for financial analysis.   I enjoy being able to support the staff and management team with any financial requests that they have.

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Laetitia Roch, former Sales Engineer, Jetcraft
Location: Geneva, Switzerland

How long have you been at Jetcraft?

I started working for Jetcraft in October 2012 so it has been over three years. As a Sales Engineer I contribute to my Sales Directors success by offering them the technical support needed to best serve their clients.

Describe a typical day or week in your role.

Before hitting my desk, I usually have a glass of warm water with vinegar and honey whilst mentally reviewing my workload for the day (it is actually quite good!). ­During a week, my workload varies from day to day but I am always helping my team. Sometimes I have the chance to travel abroad to help with a viewing, which brings some enjoyable variation to my usual daily routine.

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David Dixon, President – Jetcraft Asia
Location: Hong Kong
[email protected]     +852 2178 1808

What are your responsibilities within the global Jetcraft team?

When I joined Jetcraft in 2012 I was happy to continue working in the Asia region since I have been based here for over 30 years. As President of Jetcraft Asia, the overall direction of sales in the Asia region is my responsibility. Although the region is very large, there are still less business aircraft in the region than in California. There is scope to grow, which is why Jetcraft is here.

Describe a typical day or week in your role.

Being 12 hours adrift timewise with the US and Europe means that I always wake to many emails. One advantage of the time difference is that answers can be forthcoming overnight enabling me to respond quickly to the needs of the day. A key portion of my time is spent looking for buyers that need an aircraft we represent, or sourcing an aircraft that meets the needs of a buyer I am working with. Being located in the region is a major plus – this is not a region where you can work through emails alone. Getting out to meet people is crucial and a major part of the working day.

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Yildirim Demir, Sales Representative, Jetcraft
Location: Istanbul, Turkey
[email protected]     +90 532 616 5462

How long have you been at Jetcraft?

I have been working with Jetcraft for 2 years. I work with all customers in Turkey, assisting them with their aircraft sales or acquisition needs.

Describe a typical day or week in your role.

Every day is different. Sometimes I am on the phone, or sometimes I am going to meetings, but either way I am speaking with my customers. I am there to help them move through the steps of their sale or acquisition from beginning through closing.

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Chris Brenner, former Sales Director, Jetcraft
Location: Minneapolis, MN, USA

How long have you been at Jetcraft?

My career at Jetcraft began in the summer of 2007, so about 8.5 years now. The time has flown by!

What are your responsibilities within the global Jetcraft team?

I was brought on as the Market Coordinator in 2007 when Jetcraft was averaging only 10-15 listings at a time (now our marketing team manages 90-100 listings at any one time). Since then I have worked as a Sales Engineer, Sales Engineer Director and now as the Sales Director for north-central United States and central Canada. I work with clients in my region to help them either sell their current aircraft, or to help them acquire a new one.

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