Bill was Editor-in-Chief of Business & Commercial Aviation from 2000 to 2020. During his stewardship, the monthly magazine received scores of awards for editorial excellence.
He is the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement in Journalism Award from the National Business Aviation Association; the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Aerospace Media Awards; the Aviation Journalism Award from the National Air Transportation Association; and an Aerospace Journalist of the Year Award for Business Aviation.
Previously, Bill served as Managing Editor of Aviation Week Television. He was the top editor for both Flying and Professional Pilot magazines, as well as a member of the senior editorial staff at Reader's Digest. He also managed communications for FlightSafety International.
Bill has authored or co-authored three aviation books, was an essayist for National Public Radio, wrote aviation documentaries for The Discovery Channel and has written for numerous publications including The New York Times, Smithsonian Air & Space, Popular Mechanics and The Associated Press, among others.
An active aviator, Bill holds a Commercial Pilot license, along with multiengine, instrument, seaplane and glider ratings.
A former officer in South African Air Force, where he learned to fly, Olver specialized in intelligence, experience that helped him succeed as an IT executive following his move to civilian life. In 1993, he cofounded ExecuJet, a business aviation charter, maintenance and management company, in Johannesburg, which quickly grew into a multinational organization. He moved headquarters to Switzerland and in September 2006 acquired Grob Aerospace. This breakfast interview in New York City was delayed several hours by a missed flight.
THIS YEAR, MY TWINS head off for college. That simple sentence gives me pause. Aside from the economics closeted within it like that proverbial 800-pound gorilla -- Senior Editor George Larson, also the father of twins, once described the situation as "God's version of a practical joke" -- there's the looming sense of time passed, opportunities missed, roles ending, chapters closing and a generation moving on. Home life will never be the same again.
President and CEO, Commemorative Air Force, Midland, Texas A former U.S. Army captain and OH-58 pilot, after leaving the service Brown began a career in marketing and management. In 1998, he combined his aviation passion with business skills by becoming the Experimental Aircraft Association's chief marketing officer. After four years he launched his own business, which continues. Brown assumed his current position at the Commemorative Air Force in 2007.
