EXECUTIVE STAFF John F. Risko - Chairman & CEO Jose Leon -Senior Vice President Marlene Hernandez -Senior Vice President of Finance Garry Failler -V.P. Operations and Engineering David Torres -V.P. Sales and Marketing - USA Ian Matthews -Vice President Marketing and Sales -NZ

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		Jose Leon, Senior Vice President During his 28 years of employment at AeroThrust Mr. Leon has managed a number of responsibilities and has been instrumental in developing some of the systems and procedures which separate and distinguish AeroThrust as a leader in the overhaul and repair of JT8D’s. With an industrial engineering background, Mr. Leon managed and coordinated the development of a time study process, which reduced Turn Around Time (TAT) and saved over 35% of the cost of engine related man-hours. Armed with a strong knowledge of the repairs processes and a time study background, he then managed and supervised the inspection, machine shop, plating, painting, welding and plasma departments. Mr. Leon’s knowledge of internal systems procedures and capabilities provided AeroThrust with one of the must sophisticated Production Control systems in the industry. In conjunction, Jose was also responsible for the areas of inventory and vendor repairs management. In the early 90’s, Mr. Leon was instrumental in developing and managing the AeroThrust fleet of engines for sale and lease. Today, Jose is a seasoned professional with a vast amount of both formal and practical knowledge of the industry systems, pricing, and market trends. Mr. Leon holds an MBA from Nova Southeastern University and currently serves the new AeroThrust as the Senior Vice President. Return to Top
		Marlene Hernandez, Sr. Vice President – Finance, Administration, and MIS Ms. Hernandez came to AeroThrust in 1991 as the Project Leader and Account Manager of an independent contractor engaged by AeroThrust at that time to design and implement all the information systems which included materials management, accounting, production and engineering data. She never left. Ms. Hernandez was hired full-time by AeroThrust and served the company as Controller where she directed financial functions and activities including payroll, treasury and cash management, financial reporting, government cost accounting, tax issues, billing, accounts receivable and payable and credit collections and budgeting. In 1998 Marlene was promoted to Vice President of Finance and Administration, and in 2000, with the sale of AeroThrust, Marlene’s responsibilities were broadened to encompass the MIS area. Prior to her tenure at AeroThrust, Marlene held Treasury management positions at Gamble Skogmo Inc. of Minneapolis, and at Aristar, Inc. of Miami, Florida. Marlene holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia and an MBA degree from Florida International University where she graduated with honors. Return to Top
		Garry Failler, Vice President -Operations & Engineering Mr. Failler joined AeroThrust in January, 2004 as VP, Sales & Marketing and primarily focused on Customer retention and new Customer opportunities. He presently holds the position of Vice President of Operations & Engineering.  He is responsible for daily Production Operations, Engineering, Records and Technical Publications. Garry has been in the aviation industry for 25 years and has extensive experience in both airline operations and engine maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) operations. In April 2004, Garry Failler had assumed the responsibilities of Vice President Engineering & Quality Assurance, together with the responsibilities of Business Development. Mr. Failler formerly held the position of Vice President, Engine Maintenance at Air Canada in Montreal where he was directly responsible for the daily operations of the company’s Engine Maintenance Center, which handled the repair and refurbishment of Air Canada and Customer engines. His focus on Customer service was first and foremost and his extensive engine experience includes the CFM56, CF6, CF34, JT8D, JT9D, PW4000, RR Trent 700 and several Auxiliary Power Unit types. He was also appointed Six Sigma Master Black Belt for Air Canada Technical Services and had primary responsibility for driving performance and productivity improvements. In the early 90’s, Garry held a senior Engineering position at Bombardier Aerospace in Montreal, where he was responsible for coordinating aircraft systems design for the new CRJ-700 aircraft. Prior to that, he served 10 years as Propulsion Engineer at Canadian Airlines International in Toronto where he was responsible for the airworthiness and reliability of power plants installed on company aircraft. Garry holds diplomas in both Aeronautical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Return to Top
		David Torres, Vice President of Sales and Marketing  Mr. Torres joined AeroThrust in 1995 as a Production Control Coordinator and was quickly promoted Production Control Manager. In this position he established work priorities for production managers and over 300 company-wide employees. He successfully led a team of Production Control Coordinators in obtaining a consistent 45-day turn-around-time. Later on in his career at AeroThrust he moved into Customer Service. Working with customers, Mr. Torres quickly recognized the importance of meeting customer’s requirements in terms of specification, turntime, and cost. Now eleven years later, Mr. Torres is Vice President of the Sales & Marketing Department. Mr. Torres holds an A&P license from George T. Baker Aviation School and an MBA from the University of Miami.
		Ian Matthews, Vice President Marketing and Sales - NZ Mr Matthews joined AeroThrust on 18 September 2006 as VP Marketing and Sales with responsibility for new business development, customer retention and growth. Ian comes to AeroThrust with 33 years experience in the aviation industry with Air New Zealand across both airline and engine maintenance operations. Ian’s last position prior to joining AeroThrust was General Manager Sales and Customer Service with the engine shop joint venture in Christchurch NZ between Pratt and Whitney and Air New Zealand. He had held this position for 5 years from the joint ventures commencement in April 2001. Prior to that Ian held a number of senior positions in Air New Zealand across a range of disciplines including Finance, Purchasing and Sales and Marketing. Return to Top