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Conference chaired by: Sean Gates, Gates and Partners

Expertise:
Sean specialises in aerospace insurance, reinsurance and liability issues including disaster management and preparedness, and insurance coverage and policy issues. He has acted for airlines and their insurers as lead counsel in respect of several of the most important aviation disasters of the past 30 years. Presently, Sean is managing all legal liability issues arising from the Boeing 777 landing accident at Heathrow Airport in January 2008. Sean is also directing the disaster management of the aftermath of the Santa Barbara Airlines accident in Venezuela in February 2008, the Gol Airlines Boeing 737-800 loss in Brazil in September 2006, and the Helios Airways Boeing 737 crash near Athens in August 2005.

Sean has been closely involved in defending airlines in the DVT (Deep Vein Thrombosis) litigation worldwide. By a recent unanimous decision in the House of Lords, he led the British Airways defence team to a landmark victory which put a stop to all DVT claims in the UK. He has also been involved in advising airlines and their insurers in respect of DVT litigation in Australia, the USA, and a number of other countries in Europe and South America.

Since 1998, Sean has been the Legal Adviser to the International Union of Aviation Insurers, an organisation comprised of the world's leading aviation insurers, whose members write 90% of the worldwide aerospace insurance. Sean represents the IUAI at meetings for the proposed replacement for the Rome Convention on Surface Damage; and was the principal Observer at the Montreal Convention in 1999. As Legal Adviser, Sean is in the unique position to report on developments in the insurance world for the benefit of his airline clients.

David Best, Chief Commercial Officer, Signature Flight Support

Operating from Signature Flight Support’s Global Head Office in Orlando Florida, David has commercial responsibility in Signature’s $800m global FBO business encompassing revenue management, sales, marketing, franchises and joint ventures within the network of over 100 locations. Prior to his current role he was Managing Director for the Signature locations in Europe, Middle East, and Africa. He has successfully and significantly grown Signature's FBO network throughout this region over the past four years from three locations to the current twenty three FBO businesses, taking revenue from £7m to £100m.

Before joining Signature, David was responsible for creating an FBO network in Europe and was involved in numerous acquisition and joint venture activities, this was in his capacity as Commercial Director - Execair and as Business Development Manager for the Menzies Aviation Group, in the commercial ground handling sector. Prior to aviation, David worked in the Scotch Whisky Industry holding roles in marketing, supply chain logistics and customer service.

A graduate of the University of Strathclyde with a bachelor's degree in economics and a master's of business administration, David, aged 43, is married with three young children and has recently relocated from Scotland to Florida.

Claudio Camelier, Embraer
Claudio Camelier is the Vice-President of Market Intelligence for Executive Aviation at Embraer, in São José dos Campos, Brazil. His group is responsible for product strategies, market analysis and forecast, sales support and promotion and communications strategies. With the Company since 1998, Mr. Camelier previously held positions in Embraer’s Airline Market Intelligence and Customer Support organizations. Prior to joining Embraer, Mr. Camelier dedicated eight years to the aviation industry in Brazil, in the fields of flight operations and performance engineering, airport and navigation fees and aviation fuel management. Mr. Camelier received his Aeronautical Engineering degree from the Instituto Tecnologico de Aeronautica (ITA - Brazilian Air Force Institute of Technology) and holds an MBA in Aerospace Industry Administration from the Fundação Getúlio Vargas university in São Paulo, Brazil.

Stewart Cordner, Vice President Avro Business Jets, BAE Systems Asset Management

Stewart entered the aviation business by joining British Aerospace in 1985 as technical apprentice.

Over the past 23 years Stewart has enjoyed a global career with British Aerospace and now BAE Systems in regional commercial aviation. His wide management brief has encompassed manufacturing, customer support and latterly Sales and Asset Management, Stewart has spent most of that time in various management positions overseas in Colombia, USA, China and Europe supporting and developing regional operators.

In addition to his dual duties at BAE SYSTEMS, Stewart is also the Vice Chairman of the Supervisory Board for CST AVRO Berlin, a JV Regional Aircraft Simulator Training business with Lufthansa Cityline.

He is also a Member of the Board of the European Regions Airlines Association (ERA).

William Curtis,

Will is well known as an established character within the executive jet industry and more widely recognised as a top aerobatic display pilot. Will, who holds a UK CAA Airline Transport Pilot Licence, has also been involved in executive jet and air taxi operations since 1991. He started his career as an air survey and air taxi pilot. Working in UK, Europe and Poland, this was a formative time in his career.

Most recently he has worked as CEO at Rizon Jets. Now reaching the end of his two year fixed term contract with Rizon, Will is handing over to his successor and looking forward to a well earned break before resuming work.

Peter Edwards, CEO, Jet Aviation Management

Peter G. Edwards is a Graduate of the University of Southern California, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations.

He has over 30 years experience in the Aerospace Industry, including Ai.Research (1981 – 1986) where he served as a contract manager; Gulfstream Aerospace (1986 – 1995) where he last served as vice-president Sales and Marketing for the new Gulfsteam V program; Bombardier Inc (1995 – 2005) where he last served as president Business Aircraft Division and Jet Aviation AG (2007 – present), a division of General Dynamics, where he serves as President.

Mr. Edwards has also served as consultant and advisor to the global airline training provider CAE; is Executive Advisor to Supersonic Aerospace International (SAI), which is engaged in the development of a quiet supersonic transport aircraft for business use; is a member of the Board of the General Aviation Manufacture Associates (GAMA), where he chairs the International Advisory Committee and is a past member of the World Economic Forum, held in Davos, Switzerland.

Mr. Edwards was born in Columbia, Ohio in 1956, and resides in Zurich, Switzerland with his wife and three children.

Oscar S. Garcia, Chairman, InterFlight Global Corporation

Oscar Garcia is the founding Partner, Chairman and CEO of InterFlight Global Corporation (IFG) which he started in 1992. InterFlight Consulting (IFC) is an IFG’s wholly owned subsidiary firm formed in 2002. In addition, he is a Senior Consultant, Board Advisor and Project Manager in the areas of Strategy, Finance, Sales and Operations, with experience in setting up and expanding production, design and sales networks for aircraft, aerospace components and avionics in Europe and the Americas.

Oscar is affiliated and an active member of the International Civil aviation Organization (ICAO), the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Latin American Aerospace Association (ALA) and others. He has acted as an expert witness on behalf of large aerospace corporations and he is a regular aerospace media commentator in Latin America.

Matthew Harvey, Denton Wilde Sapte

Matthew Harvey is a partner at Denton Wilde Sapte LLP. Matthew specialises in asset finance. He has extensive experience in financing corporate aircraft and helicopters. Since October 2005, Matthew has acted on the financing of over 100 helicopters. Matthew has experience of both lease and loan transactions and has dealt with a wide variety of aircraft registers. His clients include GE, Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland plc, HSBC and Lloyds Bank.

Andrew Hoy, Executive Director, ExecuJet Aviation Group AG

Andrew Hoy was born in England in 1970 and was educated privately in Bedford until 1988 where he gained his initial flying training and passions, with the RAF cadets. For the following two years Andrew attended the local de Montford University to study Mechanical Engineering following which he spent three years in design engineering for a large multinational company.

Andrew began his sales career in commercial print and packaging with rapid progression into the role of Senior Sales Consultant. In 1994 Andrew was headhunted by a reprographic house and began side shifting into a more technical sales role. Late in the following year Andrew completed his flying training and issue of his Airline Transport Pilots Licence in 1996 before living and primarily working on flying Lear25 aircraft for a private owner in California. Andrew was also both a qualified Helicopter and fixed wing instructor, training both foreign students in the USA, and helicopter students in the UK to commercial level and onwards to a professional flying career.

Having spent two years in accident investigation and running an international aircraft spares company, in 1999, Andrew joined Gold Air International to pursue his long term flying career and growing to become a Training Captain on Lear 45 aircraft. He was appointed flight safety officer before being offered the position of Commercial Manager for the same organisation. In 2004 Andrew joined Bombardier Skyjet International as Head of Operations, and was later promoted to the Board of Directors in Skyjet, responsible for the strategic growth of the company and the close management of a large team of operations staff across three continents, as well as being directly involved in managing client relationships and closing a number of aircraft sales transactions to Skyjet clients.

Andrew later joined ExecuJet in 2007 in a new post as Executive Director, Group Sales. Now as Managing Director, his role at ExecuJet Andrew is based in Zurich, travelling regularly visiting both clients, and his teams around the world.

Brian Humphries, EBAA

Steve Jones, Managing Director, Oxford Airport

Adrian Jones, BlackStar

Adrian Jones worked for UK Customs & Excise for 10 years, carrying out numerous roles in Customs Imports, Headquarters, Intelligence and, of course, VAT. After leaving Customs, Adrian qualified as a Chartered Tax Advisor and spent a number of years providing specialist VAT advice to yacht owners and other professionals in the yacht industry. Subsequently Adrian has worked in-house with a large Trust and Fiduciary company ensuring the integrity of their structured yacht ownership solutions. More recently Adrian has set up BlackStar VAT Services, part of the BlackStar Group and has returned to his first professional role of providing VAT advice to the yacht sector.

Guy Lachlan, BBGA

Guy Lachlan is Chief Executive of the British Business & General Aviation Association (BBGA); an independent Organisation which aims to represent the interests of General Aviation Operators, Manufacturers and Traders in the United Kingdom and in Europe. Members typically include Air Taxi operators, professional operators of Corporate Aircraft, Fixed Base Operators, Aircraft Maintenance Organisations, suppliers and manufacturers of aircraft and spares, aviation-related Training Organisations, companies supplying or supporting the Industry and other providers in the General Aviation Sector.

Before joining BBGA, Guy was Director of Honeywell Aerospace’s Business & General Aviation Aftermarket business, based first in Phoenix Arizona and then the Czech Republic. He joined Honeywell in 1996 from Marshall Aerospace in Cambridge England, where he was Business Unit Manager for the companies’ Gulfstream and Citation maintenance unit.

He is a graduate in Mechanical Engineering from Oxford and Birmingham Polytechnics, and is married with three children.

David Macdonald, Air Partner plc

David Macdonald, Sales Director at Air Partner Private Jets, is a respected authority on business aviation having worked in senior positions in the industry for 22 years.

David joined Air Partner plc, the only company in the aviation industry to hold a Royal Warrant, in 1995 and is responsible for the development of the group’s private jets client base covering Europe, the USA, Middle East and Far East. With its headquarters at London Gatwick, Air Partner is a leading provider of private aviation services to industry, commerce, governments and high net-worth individuals worldwide. The company provides a full range of private jet services from bespoke ad hoc charters and the Air Partner JetCard membership programme to aircraft purchase consultancy services and jet management and maintenance for those who decide to buy their own aircraft.

Prior to holding his current position, David was responsible for the development and implementation of Air Partner’s sales and marketing strategy across its 22-office network. It was at this time, in 2004, that Air Partner was awarded a Royal Warrant as Supplier of Aircraft Charter to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Originally from Perth, Scotland, David graduated with BSc (hons) from Aberdeen University in 1987 and has undertaken subsequent post-graduate management study at Hertfordshire University and the Cranfield University School of Management. Prior to joining Air Partner he was the UK Operations Manager at the Lynton Group’s UK head office for eight years with commercial and operational responsibility for what, at the time, was the UK’s largest commercially operated fleet of executive jets and helicopters.

David was born in 1965 and is married with two children. He was awarded a Royal Air Force flying scholarship while at school and at Aberdeen University was a member of the Aberdeen Dundee and St Andrews University Air Squadron flying out of RAF Leuchars in Fife. However, upon graduation, David decided to pursue a career in civil aviation. His hobbies include spending time with his family, skiing, hill walking and playing league hockey for his local team in Horsham, Sussex.

Nick Perkins, Director, Bombardier

Nick Perkins, senior director, advanced product development, Bombardier Aerospace, was born in 1952 in London, England, and graduated from Southern Alberta Institute of Technology with diplomas in Mechanical Engineering in 1977, and Aeronautical Engineering Technology in 1978.

Mr. Perkins began his aviation career at Conair Aviation in 1978 with responsibility for designing special applications equipment and aircraft modifications for aerial firefighting.

He joined Canadair Limited in 1981 (later part of Bombardier Aerospace) as an advance design engineer working on a series of aircraft projects. He assumed positions of increasing responsibility across Bombardier Aerospace, notably in advance design for the pioneering Global Express ultra long-range business jet, and as engineering director for the CRJ200, CRJ700 and CRJ900 airliner family. In 2006, he was appointed director of CRJ product development with overall responsibility for all design and methods engineering.

Mr. Perkins was named to his current position in January, 2008, with overall responsibility for Advanced Design, Project Management and Product Development Processes, as well as Bombardier’s engineering center-of-excellence in Bangalore, India. Nick Perkins is based at Bombardier Aerospace headquarters in Montreal, Canada.

David Poltorak, Managing Director, European Division, ARINC

Mr. Poltorak joined ARINC in 1990 and is currently the Managing Director of ARINC’s EMEA operations, based in England. He has led a variety of transportation-related initiatives, most recently as President of Aeromobile, an ARINC-Telenor (Norway) joint venture company formed to provide mobile phone services on commercial aircraft. He continues in this role. Prior to this, Mr. Poltorak led the successful launch of ARINC Direct, the company’s highly successful business aviation services division. Mr. Poltorak formerly managed ARINC’s commercial aviation business, delivering products and services to the world’s airlines.

Mr. Poltorak has significant international experience, including a lead role in expanding ARINC’s air-to-ground communication services into China and Southeast Asia – services which are used by corporate and commercial customers alike. He also led successful efforts to establish long term business agreements and relationships with partners in China and Thailand. Prior to joining ARINC, Mr. Poltorak held engineering and research positions at Jaycor and at the Westinghouse Defense Center. He received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Virginia in 1984 and an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from The Johns Hopkins University in 1989.

Stephen Shergold, Denton Wilde Sapte

Stephen Shergold is Head of the Environment and Safety team and a partner in the firm's Energy and Infrastructure department. He regularly advises on pollution liability regimes, consents and authorisations, waste management, renewable energy, international climate change mechanisms, resource efficiency, nuisance, habitat protection, health and safety and product liability.

Stephen advises clients on the regulatory structures for the waste, cleantech, oil and gas (onshore and offshore), water, pharmaceutical and nuclear sectors. His practice covers projects, transactions and contractual matters including civil claims, criminal prosecutions and judicial review. Stephen also advises both Governments and privates companies on the development of environmental law regimes in emerging markets. Stephen is ranked as a Tier 1 Leading Individual in Chambers.

Cdr. Bud Slabbaert, St Gallen Airport

Bud is a specialist in business aviation development in the Airport and FBO scene. Some of his contentions are that “Nothing flies without an airport” and “Every passenger arriving on a business jet is a potential investor in the region”. Bud is a leader of thought. On his quest for new ways, progress, and competitive advantages he will question the answers, the traditional patterns and the existing templates. His panoramic view on issues and the extensive network that he has carefully built, support his abilities to bring people together and be a project pioneer. He is the typical agent who is assigned to special missions.

Bud consults to several airports, writes a weekly article for the BlueSky Newsletter, and is the initiator/chairman of the BA-Meetup, a conference for business aviation professionals with a new concept that is held February 24-26, 2010 in Lyon, France. He is a lateral entry specialist who first studied Business Administration (emphasis marketing communication) and later International and Intercultural Communication. He is fluent in four languages. He has held several management positions. Throughout his professional activities, contract and conditions negotiations, and strategic communication are his specialties and he has proven to be very successful in international or multi-cultural settings.

Greg Thomas, PrivatAir

Greg Thomas joined PrivatAir in 1994 as General Counsel and acting as Secretary of the Board of Directors. In 1998 he became a Member of the Executive Committee of the Board, and was appointed COO in December 2000 and CEO in February 2003. Greg is also one of the Board directors of Geneva Airport and a member of the EBAA Board of Governors.

Before joining PrivatAir, Greg qualified as a solicitor with Messrs Wilde Sapte, a London law firm.

Umberto Vallino, Marketing Manager, Cannes Airport

Toennies von Limburg, Bank of America

Mr. von Limburg joined the Leasing Group in the Frankfurt office of Bank of America in January 1999. Until 2004, he worked in the origination, arranging and structuring of Big Ticket Lease transactions. In 2005 he started the international business for Bank of America's Corporate Aircraft Finance Group - with more than USD 6bn in loans and leases the largest bank-owned corporate aircraft lessor/financier.

Prior to joining Bank of America, Mr. von Limburg worked for a regional aircraft manufacturer, where he co-ordinated the company's sales finance activities for all customers outside the US market. Mr. von Limburg holds a B.A. in European Financial Management from the University of Wales, UK and a M.A. in Business Administration from the University of Muenster, Germany.

Simon Williams, CAA

Simon Williams is a Flight Standards Officer within the Commercial Aviation Section of the UK Civil Aviation Authority Flight Operations Division. In addition to Regulatory Compliance work he has specific responsibility for Flight Safety matters and also for Business Aviation. He works on many UK Flight Safety groups and is Co-Chair of the UK Level Busts Working Group. A key responsibility is his role as Chairman of the recently established Business Aviation Safety Partnership (BASP) a cross industry group set up specifically to achieve incremental improvements in Business Aviation safety.

Before joining the CAA, Simon flew B757s for a large charter operator based at London Gatwick. Prior to that Simon served in the Royal Air Force flying helicopters in Search & Rescue and Special Operations roles, was a Training Captain and Tactics Instructor, retiring from the Service at the rank of Squadron Leader.

He is a graduate in Business Studies from Thames Valley University and is married with 2 children.