People of the Industry

Vincent Rey, Senior Design Director & Co-owner – M&R associates design

How long have you been at your current organization?

I started M&R 11 years ago with another designer, Florent Magnin. Each of us have over 20 years of experience working in design departments of major completion centers and aircraft manufacturers which is a major strength when it comes to designing VVIP aircraft. The organization headquarters is located in Geneva and we have now offices in Basel and Paris.

What are your responsibilities within your organization?

I am co-owner and Senior Design Director at M&R, which means I perform design project management and oversee all design related activities.

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Francisco Zozaya, Director of Pre-Owned Aircraft Sales, Aerolineas Ejecutivas

How long have you been at your current organization?

I started working for ALE in November 2004, 13 years ago. I was 20 years old and undergoing my 2nd year of Industrial Engineering at the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City.

What are your responsibilities within your organization?

I’ve always been on the sales / commercial side of the business. Today I run the Preowned aircraft sales & acquisitions business unit (AlePreowned), overseeing Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean, along with our partnership with Jetcraft for that same territory.

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Danie Joubert, Vice President Sales – Africa, Jetcraft
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa

How long have you been at Jetcraft?

I joined Jetcraft towards the end of May 2017, so I have been with Jetcraft for a little over a year.

What are your responsibilities within the global Jetcraft team?

I am primarily responsible for Aircraft Sales in Africa.

Describe a typical day or week in your role.

My days are never the same. While pursuing sales leads, I am very focused on establishing Jetcraft as a primary, ‘go-to’ entity for potential buyers or sellers of Aircraft in my region. I am regularly reaching out to the African customer base and emphasizing the different value added perspectives and services that the Jetcraft team can bring to a buyer or seller. I spend a lot of time making introductions, prospecting for new customers and educating the market and trust this awareness campaign will bring them to our doors when they actually have a need.

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William Borgsmiller, President/CEO, ACI Jet

How long have you been at your current organization?

I founded the company in 1998 so ACI Jet has been around for 19 years and I was there at the start.

What are your responsibilities within your organization?

I am the President and CEO. My main focus is to ensure that we are providing integrity, professionalism, and top notch customer service and overall excellence in all phases of operations.

Describe a typical day or week in your role.

I spend most of my week at our headquarters in San Luis Obispo working with the leaders of each of ACI’s Business Units (Flight Operations, Maintenance, and FBOs). I also spend 1-2 days each week at our new FBO Facility in Orange County at John Wayne Airport.

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Chad Anderson, President – Jetcraft
Location: Minneapolis, MN

How long have you been at Jetcraft?

I started at Jetcraft on April 1, 2005 as a sales person, so I’ve been with the company over 12 years. I remember the date because John Ames (my boss) came in on my first day and advised me the job offer was an April Fool’s Joke. I was newly married and we had our first born (Max) on the way, so my heart skipped a beat! I eventually became the Sr. VP of Sales, and am now President.

When I first started in 2005 the market was booming. This lasted until late 2008 when Jetcraft and the entire industry was challenged with the crash of our economy. We emerged in early 2009 as current day Jetcraft with the addition of Jahid as a shareholder and a move toward globalization. I became President shortly thereafter.

What are your responsibilities within the global Jetcraft team?

I oversee management and continuous development of our Sales, Transaction Management, Finance, Marketing, Administration, and Aircraft Operations teams worldwide. And, just as important, I focus on continuous development of our valued clientele, both the existing group and those to come in the future. I see myself as the Business Development Officer for whoever needs help regardless of their role in our company.

Describe a typical day or week in your role

My day is always different, but it really varies whether I’m on the road or in the office. If I’m on the road, the focus is on the client or key vendor that I am traveling to see. Most travel is based around a client or organizational objective, so I stay focused on that during my time away. If I am in the office, I start my day in Salesforce.com, which gives me a barometer of deals that are pending and maturing, offers being made, etc. From there I see where my focus ought to be for the day and what is needed. In the evenings I head home for some time with my wife and kids (Max is 12, Ava is 10). They are young enough that they still think I’m cool so they like to hang out with us in the evenings. My son is learning to play lacrosse so I like to practice with him, and my daughter loves to dance so we get a lot of evening dance recitals in our living room.

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Dan Kilkeary, former Sales Director – Northeast US, Jetcraft
Location: New Jersey

How long have you been at Jetcraft?

I started with Jetcraft on October 31, 2016. I immediately attended NBAA and was able to meet much of the Jetcraft team.

What are your responsibilities within the global Jetcraft team?

I am a Sales Director and cover the Northeast US – essentially Ohio moving east to Virginia and north to Maine.

Describe a typical day or week in your role.

I start around 5:15am and check any e-mails that may come in from colleagues in Europe or other parts of the Globe. Then I go to the gym at 6am. From there I come home and trade a few other e-mails while I help get my 3 kids organized for the day. Around 8-8:30 I head to my office where I spend most of the day either on the phone or visiting clients in any given area – either looking for new opportunities or supporting existing clients.

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Daniel Cheung, Owner & CPA, Aviation Tax Consultants

How long have you been at your current organization?

My business partner and I started Aviation Tax Consultants in the fall of 2003.

What are your responsibilities within your organization?

Working with my colleagues at ATC, I am ultimately responsible for all of our clients’ tax compliance matters, handling IRS and state sales tax audits. In addition, I am the traveling / marketing face of the firm, attending numerous industry functions and speaking at aviation conferences.

Describe a typical day or week in your role.

Whether I am in the office or on the road, I spend most of my time on the phone speaking or corresponding on emails with clients, CPA’s, prospects and aircraft salespersons. I spend a significant amount of time traveling and networking with business aviation professionals around the country.

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Aoife O’Sullivan, Partner, The Air Law Firm

How long have you been at your current organization?

We set up the firm in November 2015 as a boutique aviation law firm mainly to focus only on aviation and be more flexible in terms of client needs such as fixed fees. Clients we had been working with for many years agreed to support us and we haven’t looked back since.

What are your responsibilities within your organization?

Pretty much everything! I run the business with my partners and we do everything from ordering the stationary to advising clients on aircraft ownership, finance and trading structures. I guess my main role is to keep the business coming in and make sure we are doing everything we can to help clients and give a fast and professional service.

Describe a typical day or week in your role.

There is absolutely nothing typical about this role or the work we do. I split my time working from home or at the office in Mayfair. There seems to have been a swing back to face to face meetings so the work involves a lot of travel, literally to anywhere I am directed to go! Many of our clients are based in or pass through London and our Mayfair office is very central so I tend to walk to meetings where possible. Our client base is very varied and on any given day, I may spend the morning with a HNWI advising on their aircraft purchase, lunch with a financier to agree a financing structure, the afternoon drafting documents and answering emails and then dinner with some industry friends or new clients. The ability to respond to emails and calls on the go is a necessity in this line of work as people tend to expect a quick turnaround. We are lucky to be very busy so delegation is a skill I have had to become very good at without affecting our partner led personal service to the clients.

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Yvonne Kwok, Accounting/Administrative Officer, Jetcraft Asia
Location: Hong Kong

How long have you been at Jetcraft?

I have been working in the Jetcraft Asia office for one year and two months.

What are your responsibilities within the global Jetcraft team?

I am the Accounting/Administrative Officer for the Jetcraft Asia office. My responsibilities within Jetcraft are to provide accounting and administration support to the Asia team. I also assist with coordinating travel plans for anyone on the asia sales team.

Describe a typical day or week in your role.

I spend my typical day preparing accounting reports, payroll, and tax filing to Inland Revenue Department. I work closely with the accounting team in our Headquarters in Raleigh, NC, USA. I also assist with the air-tickets and hotel arrangements for the members of the Asia team since they travel often.

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