Silvano Cassano has been appointed CEO and Ariodante Valeri chief commercial officer of Alitalia. Cassano has been chairman/CEO of shipping company Grandi Navi Veloci, CEO of Benetton Group and CEO of Fiat Auto Financial and Consumer Services. Valeri has been general manager at Grandi Navi Veloci and president/CEO of Targa Services at Gruppo Fiat Auto.
Christian Blanc has become CEO of Tunisia-based Syphax Airlines. He is a former chief executive of Air France and later was an adviser to Middle East Airlines. Blanc succeeds Syphax founder Mohamed Frikha, who has resigned.
Mary M. “Meg” VanDeWeghe has been named to the board of directors B/E Aerospace, Wellington, Florida. She is president/CEO of Forte Consulting Inc. and a professor of the practice of finance at Georgetown University’s -McDonough School of Business. VanDeWeghe has been a senior vice president-finance at the Lockheed Martin Corp.
John Harpool has been appointed national sales manager for Houston-based U.S. Bank Multi-Service Aviation. He was director of sales and marketing for Air Training International, also in Houston.
Scott Harris has been named head of aerospace programs at Northrop Grumman Australia. He was head of customer business for Qantas Defense Services, which was acquired by Northrop Grumman.
Bryan Zidar has become managing director of corporate communications for Alaska Airlines. He was director of corporate communications for T-Mobile U.S.
Greg Marshall (see photo) has been appointed acting vice president-global programs for the Alexandria, Virginia-based Flight Safety Foundation. He was director of FSF’s Basic Aviation Risk Standard program in the Melbourne, Florida, office. Marshall succeeds Rudy Quevedo, who is now director of safety at the International Air Transport Association.
Phillip J. Cagnassola, a member of the board of directors, has become a minority partner in the Paramount Aviation Resources Group, Fredericksburg, Virginia.
A ndreas Otto (see photo) has been appointed chief commercial officer of Austrian Airlines, effective Oct. 1. He has been executive board member for product and sales at Lufthansa Cargo. Otto succeeds Karsten Benz, who will become group infrastructure officer for Austrian parent Lufthansa Group.
Jeffrey D. MacLauchlan (see photo) has been appointed senior vice president-corporate development for Rockwell Collins, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He succeeds Barry Abzug, who plans to retire in December. MacLauchlan held the same position at the Lockheed Martin Corp.
John Riggir (see photo) has become vice president/general manager of Jet Aviation Singapore. Riggir was executive vice president-corporate business development for the Hawker Pacific Group in Singapore.
Chin Feng (see photo) has been named CEO of the Hong Kong branch of Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty, effective Nov. 1. He has been regional manager for financial lines in Asia at the Singapore branch and succeeds Mark Mitchell, who has been appointed regional CEO in Singapore.
Kristyna Smith (see photo) has been elected president of the Boston Professional Chapter of the Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers. She is an aerospace and mechanical engineer at the Draper Laboratory, Cambridge, Masschusetts, working on inertial navigation technology and an airdrop system that autonomously delivers supplies such as fuel, food and water from cargo aircraft to soldiers on the ground.
U.S. Rep. Harold Rogers (R-Ky.) has received the Arlington, Virginia-based Aerospace Industries Association’s annual Wings of Liberty Award “in recognition of his longtime support of the aerospace and defense industry.” He is chairman and a 30-year member of the House Appropriations Committee. Rogers also has served on its Defense subcommittee, and chaired the Transportation, Commerce, Science, Justice and the Homeland Security subcommittees.
Harry Lee (see photo), vice president-corporate contracts, pricing and supply chain for the Falls Church, Virginia-based Northrop Grumman Corp., has received the National Association of Asian American Professionals’ 100 Award. It is given annually to individuals who have made substantial contributions to their profession and the Asian community.
Avic expects to wrap up supplier selection for the MA700 by the middle of October, following its choice of the Rockwell Collins Pro Line Fusion avionics suite for the cockpit of the 78-seat turboprop. Pratt & Whitney Canada and GE’s Dowty will supply the MA700’s engines and propellers, respectively.
Financial analysts at RBC Capital Markets expect Lockheed Martin to soon announce a 15% increase in its planned dividend payment to shareholders to $6.12 a share, as well as increased stock buyback plans. Share buybacks and dividend payouts are at record highs for aerospace and defense companies, as well as across Western stock markets.
NetJets is to begin providing charter services within China following receipt of an air operator’s certificate from the Civil Aviation Administration of China. The Chinese equivalent of FAA Part 135 approval allows NetJets Business Aviation Ltd. to provide ad-hoc charter service with its initial fleet of two Hawker 800s based in Zhuhai. NetJets’ Chinese arm plans to offer aircraft management and block charter as the next steps.
Four years after its launch, the Airbus A320neo has completed its first flight. The aircraft landed back at Toulouse’s Blagnac airport at 2:22 p.m. local time on Sept. 25 after 2 hr. and 22 min.
