Lloyd 'Fig' Newton Of L3 Technologies Is The New Chair

The voting members of the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) today re-elected nine individuals to the association’s Board of Directors during an annual meeting held during NBAA’s Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE). Additionally, Lloyd “Fig” Newton, of L3 Technologies Inc., succeeded Paul Anderson, of UTFlight, as chair, and Elizabeth Dornak, of DuPont Aviation, will serve as NBAA’s new vice chair/treasurer.

Leadership on NBAA’s Associate Member Advisory Council (AMAC) also changed today, with Todd Duncan, of Duncan Aviation, replacing Greg Evans, of Universal Weather & Aviation, as chair and Sheryl Barden, of Aviation Personnel International, becoming vice chair. As leaders of AMAC, Duncan and Barden will serve as the Associate Member Advisors on the board of directors.  

Lloyd "Fig" Newton retired in 2000 from the United States Air Force as a four-star general. Serving for more than three decades, Newton flew 269 combat missions in Vietnam, flew with the U.S. Air Force Demonstration Team “The Thunderbirds,” served as a congressional liaison to the U.S. House of Representatives for the Air Force and led the Air Education and Training Command, which consisted of 13 bases, 43,000 active duty personnel and 14,000 civilians. After leaving the Air Force, Newton worked at Pratt & Whitney as executive vice president of international military programs and business development until 2006. In addition to L3 Technologies Inc., Newton serves on the boards of Torchmark Corporation and the National Defense University. He joined the NBAA board in 2010, and his term as chair will conclude in 2019.

Elizabeth Dornak is the manager, flight operations, for DuPont Aviation. In addition to serving on the NBAA Board of Directors since 2007, she has experience with NBAA's Operations Committee and was a member of the Certified Aviation Manager Governing Board. With extensive international experience, she was selected to serve as the NBAA Board's representative to the International Business Aviation Council. Dornak is type rated in Gulfstream, Hawker and Citation aircraft and holds an ATP certificate with more than 8,000 hours of flight time. She is a graduate of Purdue University and has completed the Aviation Safety Certificate Program at the University of Southern California. Her term as vice chair will conclude in 2019.

Todd Duncan became chair of Duncan Aviation in 2007. Prior to holding that position, he served many roles at the company, including vice chair; president, component services and vice president, component services. Duncan is a private pilot with instrument and multi-engine ratings. Along with his wife, Connie, he is active in several philanthropic activities, including leadership work at the Boys & Girls Club of Lincoln and Lancaster County, the Lincoln Community Playhouse and Nebraska AIDS Project. Duncan has served on boards or committees of the National Air Transportation Association, the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce, Nebraska Wesleyan University and others. Duncan graduated from Nebraska Wesleyan University with a degree in business administration and studied in the Stanford Executive Program in 2007. He has been a member of the board since 2015 and his term as AMAC chair will conclude in 2019.

Sheryl Barden has spent a lifetime in aviation, having grown up in and around the business aviation recruiting firm Aviation Personnel International, where she now serves as the company's president and CEO. Barden and her team manage hiring practices for flight departments. Barden is a leading authority on hiring and leadership development practices and is a frequent industry speaker. She's an active member of the Society for Human Resources Management, Flight Safety Foundation, Women in Corporate Aviation and the International Women's Forum. She earned an MBA from the Masagung School of Business at the University of San Francisco and a B.S. in management with an emphasis in personnel management from Pennsylvania State University. Her term as AMAC vice-chair will conclude in 2019.

In addition to Dornak and Newton, the following directors also were re-elected to three-year terms: Shelly deZevallos of Independent Mortgage Company, Inc., Ronald Duncan of General Communications, Inc., Milt Hobbs of JPMorgan Chase & Co., Monte Koch of Falconshare LLC, Mark McIntyre of Mente LLC and Jim Schwertner of Schwertner Farms.

Shelly Lesikar deZevallos is a principal at Independent Mortgage Company and president of West Houston Airport, a privately owned, public use general aviation airport operated by her family for two generations. She also teaches as an adjunct professor with Oklahoma State University. She has been a member of the NBAA Local and Regional Group Committee, the National Transportation Research Board Government Interrelations Committee, and is a founding member and president of Texans for General Aviation. She served as a committee member on the Houston-Galveston Area Council and a board member of the Woman’s Club of Houston. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Texas, her EMBA from Texas A&M and her Doctorate of Education in Aviation and Space Science from Oklahoma State University. She is an active pilot with glider, SEL and MEL ratings along with IFR and commercial certificates, and has more than 4,000 hours of flight time. She joined NBAA’s board in 2016.

Ronald Duncan is one of the founders of General Communication, Inc. (GCI), Alaska’s largest telecommunications provider, and has been president and CEO since 1989. Prior to launching GCI, Duncan founded and was president of an Alaska-based cable television company. He received a Bachelor’s degree in economics from Johns Hopkins University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He holds a commercial pilot’s license with SEL&S and MEL ratings and is type rated in CE-560, IA-1125, G-100 and CL604 aircraft. In 25 years of flying, Duncan has accumulated 8,000 hours, more than half of which are in turbojets. Duncan joined the board in 2005, and formerly served as chair.

Milt Hobbs became managing director of global aviation for JPMorgan Chase & Co., based out of Westchester, NY, in 2006. Prior to holding that position, he had worked for various aviation companies in a wide range of roles – including base manager, chief pilot and director of flight operations – during a 40-year aviation career that has seen him record over 13,000 flight hours and visit more than 60 countries and all 50 states. Hobbs also serves the general aviation community as chair of the Westchester Aviation Association and previously as chair of NBAA’s Operations Committee. He has been a member of the Aviation Director’s Roundtable, Signature Aviation Customer Advisory Board and the Federal Aviation Administration Rulemaking Committee. In his spare time, he is the owner of a 1964 S-35 Bonanza. Hobbs joined NBAA’s board in 2016.

Monte Koch is vice chair and co-founder of Auction.com, the largest on-line marketplace for residential and commercial real estate. Koch joined Auction.com after a long career in investment banking, most recently at Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., where he served as that firm's global head of real estate investment banking. He also is the founder of Falconshare LLC, an owner and operator of jet aircraft and a business member of NBAA. With more than two decades of Wall Street experience, Koch has advised on multi-billion-dollar merger transactions in virtually every major industry. As the manager of Falconshare LLC, Koch is an experienced owner, operator and avid pilot of piston, twin turboprop and jet aircraft, as well as helicopters. He holds an ATP license and is type rated in the Falcon 10. Koch graduated from The College of William & Mary with a BBA in management. He joined NBAA’s board in 2005.

Mark McIntyre is the chief pilot for Mente LLC, a Part 91 business aviation operation based in Seattle, WA. After learning to fly in high school, he began his aviation career with Kenmore Air, starting as a lineman and advancing to floatplane flight Instructor and charter pilot, before moving to Nordstrom, Inc., where he spent 18 years advancing from co-pilot to chief pilot. In 1997, he helped found the Mente LLC operation. He has been active in business aviation throughout his career, serving on the Bombardier Global Advisory Board, and as a member of the Chief Pilots Roundtable and the NBAA International Operations Committee. He is also a founding member of the Pacific Northwest Business Aviation Association. McIntyre graduated from Claremont McKenna College with a dual major in political science and psychology. He was one of the first 22 Certified Aviation Managers recognized by NBAA and has spoken several times at the NBAA International Operations Conference. McIntyre joined the board in 2016.

Jim Schwertner is president and CEO of Schwertner Farms, Inc., and was appointed in 2009 to serve on the Board of Regents of the Texas A&M University System. He holds an ATP, is type rated on the Cessna Citation CE-525S and holds a single-engine sea-plane rating. Schwertner is also chair of the board of Schwertner State Bank and a partner in the Lockhart Livestock Auction, and the Mid Tex Livestock Auction in Navasota, TX. He has extensive non-profit governance experience, having served on the boards of organizations such as Texans for General Aviation, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the Capitol Area Diabetes Association. He has also been appointed to represent industry on groups including the Texas Aviation Advisory Board and the National Beef Board. Schwertner joined the board in 2013.

Re-elected to a two-year term as director was Rich Walsh of American Express.

Richard Walsh is currently the vice president of aviation for American Express, where he is responsible for leading all facets of the aviation operation. Prior to his appointment at American Express, Walsh served as vice president of global aviation and travel security services for Hewlett Packard Enterprise. He also worked as vice president of aviation and business continuity for Cardinal Health and spent 20 years with United Airlines in multiple training and flight operations leadership roles. He is past chair of the NBAA Safety Committee and currently serves on the Southern Illinois University Aviation Management Advisory Board. He has accumulated over 17,000 hours of diverse flight experience, and is type rated on seven different turbo-jet aircraft. Walsh joined NBAA’s board in 2013.

(Source: NBAA news release)

FMI: Board Roster