Mr. Steven Udvar-Hazy heads the team covering Technical, OEM relations, Procurement and New Aircraft Management functions. Prior to this current position, he held a variety of positions in Airline Marketing, Strategic Planning and Contracts. For five consecutive years from 2016-2020, he was recognized as one of the top 40 executives under 40 years of age in the commercial aviation industry by Airline Economics. Mr. Udvar-Hazy is a licensed pilot and is type-rated on the Boeing 737.
Mr. Chris Quilty began making his footprint in the satellite & space sector as a trusted authority, media pundit, and twice-recognized Wall Street Journal "Best on the Street" analyst more than two decades ago while serving as a sell-side analyst for Raymond James. Mr. Quilty initiated coverage on the space industry in the mid-2000s and has subsequently published hundreds of company-specific, macro, sector, and thematic research reports. Leveraging his vast space industry knowledge and a commitment to thought-leading research, he co-founded Quilty Space (formerly Quilty Analytics) in 2016. In this capacity, he is regarded as a valued source of industry insight across all verticals of the space ecosystem — from manufacturing and launch through satcom, EO, hardware, and downstream analytics. Mr. Quilty is a frequent advisor to the full range of satellite & space investors and stakeholders, from leading prime contractors and government agencies to satellite operators and technology companies.
After nearly two decades in the industry, Mr. Courtney Miller has a breadth of experience spanning operations, sales, fleet and network planning, cargo planning, market forecasting, and data analytics. Recently, he was with Bombardier Commercial Aircraft where he coordinated aircraft transactions with both lessors and airlines in a sales capacity. Deeply committed to using analytics to find different perspectives, he led Bombardier's Americas airline analysis team for seven years, responsible for building analytical models and business cases in support of aircraft transactions. Prior to joining Bombardier, he spent time building expertise in cargo network planning and forecasting with DHL. His career began as a pilot for Comair Airlines in Cincinnati where he worked in local ALPA leadership, chairing the analysis committee.
Mr. Arjan Meijer joined Embraer in April 2016 as Vice President of Commercial Aviation for Europe, Middle East, Russia and Central Asia. Appointed Chief Commercial Officer of Embraer Commercial Aviation in January 2017, based in Amsterdam, he oversaw worldwide sales, marketing, customer support and primary customer relationships. In June 2020, he was appointed President & CEO of Embraer Commercial Aviation. Prior to April 2016, he spent 15 years at KLM Royal Dutch Airlines on the engineering, technical services and fleet development aspects of the company. His last role was Managing Director of KLM UK Engineering Limited — a wholly-owned AFI KLM E&M subsidiary specializing in maintenance solutions for regional and narrow-body aircraft fleets.
Mr. Glenn McDonald has 12 years of consulting experience, working first at AeroStrategy, then at ICF. Also, he has supported and managed many different projects, covering corporate strategy development and execution, acquisition search and transaction support, market analysis, cost and performance benchmarking, technology assessment economic development, and regulatory analysis and development. Mr. McDonald manages AeroDynamic Advisory's transaction advisory projects and has managed several projects helping OEMs develop aftermarket strategies. Previously, he has held positions at Gulfstream Aerospace, GE Aviation, and at Collins Aerospace.
Mr. Kevin Matthies leads the world-class hardware organization across multiple industries, including Aerospace, Defense, Automotive, Heavy Machinery, Industrial and Consumer Electronics. With complete P&L responsibility, he leads the vision, strategy, and end-to-end execution teams. Mr. Matthies has deep experience as a senior executive leading high-performing teams in large enterprises in aerospace and defense. During the last decade of his career at Spirit AeroSystems, he served in roles ranging from Senior Vice President and Chief Engineering Officer / Chief Quality Officer, Senior Vice President, Fabrication, Vice President / General Manager of the 787 program, and VP of Airbus programs. Mr. Matthies also led the management of Spirit's Boeing programs as Senior Vice President and General Manager, overseeing a $3 billion P&L and a team of nearly 4,000 personnel with a focus on program direction, factory operations, and customer relations. Prior to Spirit, he spent more than 26 years at Raytheon.
Mr. Jerrold Lundquist, over a 40+ year consulting career, and as one of the most tenured Senior Partners at McKinsey & Co., has provided strategic advice and counsel to CEOs, their Boards of Directors, and senior management, on topics ranging from organization and governance to business strategy, mergers and acquisitions, and operational improvement. Also, he is the Chairman of the Board of Master Fluid Solutions — a manufacturer of specialty chemicals used in advanced metalworking and manufacturing. Prior to McKinsey, he was a Vice President of Emery Air Freight Corporation with responsibilities for Planning, Pricing and Worldwide Facilities. In 1985, he was selected as one of 13 White House Fellows serving the Secretary of Transportation and the White House. Mr. Lundquist has served on the immediate staffs of the Secretary of the Air Force and the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, and in several staff roles on Capitol Hill.
Mr. Victor Caruso has over 25 years of combined investment banking and private equity experience, following nearly a decade of other professional experience, which includes service as an officer in the U.S. Navy. Also, he has completed a range of investment banking engagements and played a senior role in numerous private equity investments. His professional experience spans across both sell-side and buy-side M&A roles on behalf of private equity firms, public corporations and private company clients. Prior to joining Kroll, he spent over a decade in private equity, and before that nearly a decade in M&A investment banking.
Mr. Jay Carmel has 15 years of experience providing strategy development and M&A advisory services to A&D corporations and financial sponsors. Mr. Carmel primarily supports aircraft OEM equipment suppliers, aftermarket service companies, start-ups and investors who are active in the commercial aerospace industry. In addition to his expertise in traditional aircraft technologies, he focuses on areas most exposed to disruptive innovation, including advanced air mobility and its enablers, such as aircraft propulsion, autonomous flight, and aviation connectivity. Having led over 200 project engagements during the course of his consulting career, he has helped multiple aircraft system manufacturers and start-ups close successful business case investments for new products and market entry strategies. Also, he has provided due-diligence support for industry clients and financial sponsors on dozens of M&A transactions, covering supply chain areas such as aerostructures, engine components, actuation, avionics, parts distribution services, and aircraft maintenance. Prior to joining Renaissance, he was a Principal at Oliver Wyman and had previously led the commercial aerospace consulting practice at Avascent.
Mr. Kai Arndt is responsible for the strategic and operational development of the Montana’s Aerostructures business segment. From 1988 to 2019, he was with Airbus at key locations in Hamburg and Stade. At the Airbus plant in Hamburg, he was responsible for the development and marketing of specific system components. Mr. Arndt reorganized the entire quality management program at the Stade plant and set new standards with numerous optimization measures in the area of QM in the Airbus Group. In 2014, he was appointed Division Manager of Finance & Controlling and a member of the Airbus Germany Finance Committee. In 2016, he took on the overall responsibility for the Airbus location in Stade. In addition, he was appointed CFO of CTC GmbH in Stade where he was responsible for managing the production and supply chain for the entire location. After successful management and further development of the plant, especially in the areas of quality and environmental management as well as the establishment of an efficient procurement and supply chain, he succeeded in establishing the Airbus location in Stade as a benchmark in the area of LEAN management/production. In 2019, he took over management of the Finance Department at Premium Aerotec and was a member of the management board until joining Montana Aerospace.
Ms. Anita Antenucci has three decades of experience in investment banking and has amassed expertise in corporate strategy, M&A and financing. Additionally, she has collaborated with a broad spectrum of Fortune 500 and international corporations, start-ups, innovators, private equity groups and family offices. Her M&A clients have included the world's largest aerospace and defense companies, such as General Dynamics, L3Harris, Lockheed Martin, and TransDigm and the most accomplished industry investors, such as AE Industrial, Carlyle, J.F. Lehman, Huntsman Family Investments and Veritas Capital. Prior to founding 3Wire, she spent 20 years at Houlihan Lokey, where she built and led the Aerospace, Defense, and Government practice, along with starting the firm's Business Services and Transportation practices. Prior to Houlihan Lokey, she was a founding member and Co-President of Quarterdeck Investment Partners (later Jefferies Quarterdeck) — a boutique M&A merchant banking firm in ADG industries.
Mr. Michael Richter focuses on companies in the defense, commercial aerospace and homeland security sectors. For almost 35 years, he has managed more than 300 investment banking transactions totaling more than $300 billion in transaction value including mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, IPOs, as well as public and private placements of debt. Previously, he was President of Jefferies Quarterdeck where his group completed more than 100 transactions in the sector. Prior to Jefferies Quarterdeck, he was a Managing Director and Head of CIBC World Markets' Aerospace & Defense Investment Banking Group, and also served as the Head of its San Francisco office.
Mr. Nicolas Lemoine leads Procurement Operations, Flying Part Services, Strategy & Transformation and General Procurement for Airbus Americas. Since 2017, he has been based in Herndon, Virginia at Airbus Americas Headquarters. In his last position, he was the Head of Supply Chain Development for Airbus Procurement Operations in the United States, Canada and Mexico, where he led a team that supports the Airbus North America supply chain for the Airbus commodities of Aerostructures, Cabin, Systems & Equipment and Materials. Mr. Lemoine has extensive experience in Sales, Purchasing & Operations Management through his previous consulting and Airbus positions in France, Sweden and Germany.
Mr. Jeffrey Carpenter is responsible for both the contracting/sourcing and the category management functions for raw material and standards. Previously, he was Category Leader for Materials and Standards for the Boeing Enterprise. In this role, he was responsible for creating and deploying Category Management strategies for Materials and Standards across the Boeing Enterprise. With his move to Boeing Commercial Airplanes Supply Chain, he retains the Enterprise function as well. During his time at Boeing, he has held several leadership roles in Supply Chain and on the 787 program. Also, he was Director, Supplier Management, responsible for the Italian supply chain, which produced major structural assemblies for Boeing Commercial Airplane programs. Prior to that position, he led Raw Material & Fastener Procurement and Distribution for all commercial airplane programs.
Mr. Peter Zimm leads strategy, market positioning, and operations improvement consulting projects for aerospace companies and has delivered scores of projects for OEMs, Tier 1s, sub-tier suppliers and raw materials companies across the world. Mr. Zimm is an internationally-recognized market expert in aerospace raw materials, aircraft components, manufacturing process technologies, and aircraft emissions. Prior to joining Charles Edwards, he was a Principal at ICF Aviation's Aerospace & MRO practice. His career began at Timken Aerospace where he held various business development, marketing, and sales management positions and co-architected the company's aftermarket entry strategy.
Mr. Peter Neuberger serves as President and CEO of Unite Performance Metals. UPM is an O'Neal Industries owned company — the largest US family-owned group of metals service companies with aerospace focused members TW Metals and Skillcraft alongside UPM. UPM provides Titanium, Nickel and cobalt alloys and engineered stainless steel material in all forms to jet engine, airframe, deep space, alternative energy and medical customers globally. Prior to this role, he served as President of three different metals manufacturing companies. Mr. Neuberger started his career in channel management for global conglomerate Saint-Gobain and went on to lead multiple supply chain management and outsourcing companies. As a result of these experiences at both manufacturing and supply chain companies, he is uniquely suited to lead UPM's growth in both specialty processing and aerospace supply chain services.
Mr. Patrick Marous has been the CEO of thyssenkrupp Aerospace, partner for the world's leading aerospace companies and their supply chains since August 2018. His particular expertise is in supply chain management, the strategic use of digital tools, and change management. Mr. Marous is leading thyssenkrupp Aerospace through a significant transformation, remodeling it via a cloud-based technology, developing a data-driven business model, and introducing transparency in all internal and external processes. In a career spanning over 20 years, he has also gained a wealth of experience in M&A, private equity, materials distribution, strategy and business development, marketing, and procurement.
Mr. Langdon Holzman has over 20 years of experience in the aerospace, defense and industrial sectors, focused on middle market corporate finance transactions. Prior to co-founding Banbury Private Capital, he was Managing Director and Head of the Aerospace Investment Banking practice at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey. Previously, he headed the Aerospace Investment Banking Practice at Wells Fargo Securities and worked in the Industrials group at Credit Suisse First Boston. Mr. Holzman serves on the board of directors of Dynamic NC, TES and Axius Group.
Mr. Mesh Feigenbaum held several Engineering leadership and R&D positions before transitioning to business development, strategy and executive leadership roles. This strong grounding in technology has been a cornerstone of his ability to thoroughly understand and strategize complex aerospace businesses. As executive vice president of global hard alloy products for a large Chinese multinational, he led the 'Western Experts' development of a $3 billion greenfield investment in new aerospace rolling, forging, extrusion and associated hard alloy cast house facilities. Mr. Feigenbaum is a proven, growth oriented, globally-focused leader with international experience with leading corporations.
Mr. Cliff Collier is a seasoned executive, leading Charles Edwards' Operations & Supply Chain activities. In this capacity, he helps aerospace companies assess and realize cost and efficiency improvements and also leads operations due diligence projects. Mr. Collier has over 30 years of experience in Supply Chain, IT and Human Resources management from Vought Aircraft Industries and Triumph Aerostructures where he was responsible for $2B of annual spend. During this tenure, he led a complete restructuring of company benefit plans, rescued a failed SAP implementation, and created a cross-company corporate procurement organization in a highly decentralized aerospace company. His skill is particularly in turnaround and start-up operations, communicating change and getting buy in from the relevant stakeholders, and has successfully managed both large and small organizations.
Mr. William Alderman has completed more than $1 Billion in mergers and acquisition-related transactions. Prior to 2001, he worked for a decade on Wall Street and for the industry — predominantly working on M&A transactions in the middle market of the A&D industry. His past employers include Fieldstone Capital, BT Securities, General Electric and Aviation Sales Company. Mr. Alderman has served on the boards of UFC Aerospace, now a unit of Boeing; Cox & Co., an ESOP-owned manufacturer of de-icing systems; Breeze Eastern Corporation, now a unit of TransDigm, Telos Corporation and DLH Corporation.
Ms. Karin Burns is responsible for developing strategy for Commercial Engines & Services, developing new service offerings, providing tools to enhance value recognition for products, competitive analysis and forecasting — spanning from passenger demand through aircraft and shop visit demand. Prior to her 2022 promotion, she spent two years as Marketing Intelligence and Operations Leader for GE Aviation, focused on strategic marketing analytics, competitive intelligence, forecasting and pricing for the commercial business. Ms. Burns joined GE Aviation as Government Pricing leader in 2016 and became Executive Director of Government Business in 2018. Previously, she was part of the Financial Management Program at NBC Universal.
Mr. John Cuomo was appointed Chief Executive Officer and President of VSE Corporation in April of 2019 and brings over 20 years of experience in the aerospace distribution and services market industry. Previously, he served as Vice President and General Manager of Boeing Distribution Services, Inc. Prior to Boeing's 2018 acquisition of the Aerospace Solutions Group of KLX Inc., he served as its Group President and General Manager of that business. From April 2000 to 2014, he served in multiple roles and functions at B/E Aerospace (the parent company of KLX until 2014), including Vice President & General Manager and Senior Vice President, Global Sales, Marketing & Business Development.
Dr. Kevin Michaels has 37 years of professional experience, including more than 600 consulting engagements for leading aviation and aerospace companies across the globe. In 2001, he co-founded AeroStrategy and successfully grew the consultancy until its acquisition by ICF International in 2011. Earlier, he was Director, Strategic Development at Rockwell Collins Government Systems and a Principal with The Canaan Group — a consultancy that co-founded the MRO Conference series with Aviation Week Network. Dr. Michaels is a globally recognized expert in the aerospace manufacturing and MRO sectors and has significant functional expertise in corporate and business strategy, M&A advisory, technology and market assessment, and cluster development. His experience spans commercial and military markets. Dr. Michaels authored AeroDynamic: Inside the High-Stakes Global Jetliner Ecosystem, winner of the 2019 Choice Outstanding Academic Title Award. In 2021, he was the recipient of the Annual Gilbert W. Speed Award for leadership across the global aerospace supply chain. Currently, he is co-authoring Time Machines: A Modern History of Business Aviation with his colleague Richard Aboulafia.
Dr. Ronald J. Epstein actively covers Aerospace, Defense and Multi-Industrials with large aerospace components listed in the United States, Canada and Brazil. In the Institutional Investor All-America Research poll, he was ranked as a top-three analyst in Aerospace & Defense Electronics for the last 15 years and led the #1 team for the last eight years. Dr. Epstein is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, a Technology Advisor to United Airlines Ventures, on the Board of Regents of the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, an Affiliate Professor at the University of North Carolina and is a mentor for the Techstars Space Accelerator. Previously, he worked as a research scientist in applied aerodynamics technology at Boeing Phantom Works. He was also an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, teaching fluid dynamics and control systems.
Mr. Kenneth Herbert is a Managing Director and Senior Aerospace & Defense Analyst at RBC Capital Markets. Prior to RBC, he was the senior A&D analyst at Canaccord Genuity and Wedbush Securities. From 2003-2009, he ran the Aerospace & Defense consulting practice at Frost & Sullivan and was an associate to the No.1-ranked machinery analyst at Salomon Smith Barney from 2000-2003.
Prior to launching The Air Current in June 2018, Mr. Jon Ostrower served as Aviation Editor for CNN Worldwide, guiding the network’s global coverage of the business and operations of aviation. Following four and a half years at the Wall Street Journal, he joined CNN. Based first in Chicago, then in Washington, D.C., he covered Boeing, aviation safety, and the business of global aerospace. Previously, he was editor of Flight Blogger for Flightglobal and Flight International Magazine, covering the development of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and other new aircraft programs from 2007 to 2012. Mr. Ostrower is an instructor at the University of Southern California in the Viterbi School of Engineering's Aviation Safety and Security program.
Mr. Bob Lange was appointed to his current position in 2018. His team is responsible for market research and forecasting, business analysis and benchmarking to support Airbus Strategy. In over 30 years at Airbus, his responsibilities have alternated between marketing Airbus and its products towards the outside world and acting as the Voice of the Customer internally in the field of product development. Mr. Lange held marketing account responsibilities in North America and Asia, followed by Product Marketing responsibility for A330/A340 and A380 and led the Cabin Interiors Marketing team. Prior to his current role, he was VP Marketing and subsequently led the Product Strategy team. His career began as a Future Projects engineer in the military transport segment.
Ms. Joanna Speed specializes in bringing together prominent aerospace industry executives to expose the issues, confront challenges, and answer questions facing stakeholders. She recently served as Chief Growth Officer of an alliance of distribution companies, providing supply chain solutions to the A&D industry, and previously was the Managing Director, Aerospace and Defense Events for the Aviation Week Network — which included the SpeedNews Legacy — where she led the launch and execution of multiple marketing strategies and audience engagement platforms. During her prior tenure, she emerged as a thought leader for pioneering forecasting and intelligence forums in the A&D arena. In 2022, she played a pivotal role in the successful launch of AeroOne — a groundbreaking initiative for the Aerospace Industry Association of Michigan to unite aerospace OEMs and suppliers. Joanna is a recipient of the Service to the Flag Award for Industry by Women In Defense and serves as the current President for the Women In Defense Greater Los Angeles Chapter — a subsidiary organization under the National Defense Industrial Association. Also, she is a member of the Board of Directors of LeFiell Manufacturing, and is an advisor to Association for Corporate Growth (ACG). Recently, she was recognized by Business Insider as one of the top 15 most influential women in aerospace.
Ms. Sheila Kahyaoglu covers the Aerospace and Defense sector, in addition to the Airlines sector. She joined in March 2012. Ms. Kahyaoglu was ranked #1 in Institutional Investor's All-America Research poll in 2022 after being #2 in 2021 and 2020 and Runner-up in 2019. She was ranked Rising Star in the 2015 and 2014 polls. Before joining Jefferies, Ms. Kahyaoglu was a research analyst at Credit Suisse, covering the Electrical Equipment and Multi Industry (EE/MI) space. From 2005 to 2008, she was a Leveraged Finance analyst at JPMorgan.
Mr. Richard Aboulafia joined AeroDynamic Advisory in January 2022. Since 1988, he has tracked aircraft programs, markets, and companies as an analyst and consultant and now manages consulting projects in the commercial and military aviation field and analyzes broader defense and aerospace market and industry trends. Mr. Aboulafia has advised numerous aerospace companies, including most prime and many second- and third-tier contractors in the US, Europe and Asia. Additionally, he advises numerous financial institutions on aerospace market conditions.
