Maria Aguirre
Senior Director MRO
Airbus Helicopters
An experienced aviation executive, best-selling author, and leadership coach with 30 years of experience in the MRO industry, Maria Aguirre’s perspective is forged from decades spent on hangar floors and in repair stations. She is currently the Senior Director of MRO at Airbus Helicopters, Inc. and the creator of the C.A.L.M. Framework, a diagnostic tool used to replace toxic command-and-control tactics with radical accountability.
Michael Benton
President
VyClimb Consulting
Michael Benton is President & CEO of VyClimb Consulting with nearly 30 years in helicopter operations across HEMS, SAR, offshore, and military sectors. He has served as an NTSB party member, a board member for NEMSPA and CAMTS, and specializes in improving organizational culture and leadership.
Trevor Bjorklund
Senior Account Executive
DF Steer Inc.
With a background spanning industries, including 15 years in aviation insurance, Trevor Bjorklund has honed his expertise through managing and expanding client bases with major multinational insurance brokerage firms.
Dr. Kodey Bogart
CEO
KB Aviation Solutions, LLC
Dr. Kodey Bogart is an internationally recognized SMS strategist with over 20 years of aviation experience. She consults with aviation organizations worldwide, helping maintenance and operational leaders integrate SMS into daily decision-making, risk management, and performance improvement.
Wilson Boynton
CEO
Advanced Composites Training
Founder and principal instructor for Advanced Composites Training, Wilson Boynton is a licensed AME M1/M2 with Transport Canada and provides composite education around the world. His most memorable training experience is training engineers at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory who were developing the Mars Perseverance rover and Ingenuity helicopter.
Richard Bryson
Technical Capture Manager
Onboard Systems International
Engineer Richard Bryson has more than 35 years of engineering experience, with the last 10 at Onboard Systems.
Reinaldo Caceres
NabuPro
President & CEO
Reinaldo Caceres is an aviation technology leader with over 20 years of experience in flight operations, training, compliance, and organizational management. Combining deep aviation knowledge with software expertise, he leads the development of cloud-based tools that help aviation organizations simplify training, streamline communication, manage documentation, and improve operational oversight.
Beth Christianos
Director of Maintenance
Leading Edge Aerospace
Beth is an AME with 20 years of experience wrenching on helicopters in Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and USA. She serves as the director of maintenance for Leading Edge Aerospace, a Transport Canada Approved maintenance facility in Vernon, BC specializing in providing mobile support for field maintenance.
Doug Downey
Program Lead
Pulsar Informatics
A USFS veteran, Doug Downey is a seasoned executive with over three decades of leadership experience spanning executive safety, risk management, aviation operations, and strategic program development.
Wendell Dunaway
Director of Business Development
Optima Aero
An FAA-licensed A&P mechanic, Wendell Dunaway is a 30-year helicopter maintenance veteran. His employment experience spans engine and airframe manufacturers, MROs, and operators.
Steve Dutt
Director of Aerospace
Kova Engineering Inc.
Steve Dutt is the Director of the Aerospace Division and Director of the Transport Canada Recognized Training Organization (RTO) at Industrial Inspections and Analysis - Canadian Services (KOVA Engineering). He is a CGSB- and ANST-certified MT and PT Level III inspector and a Transport Canada–licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (AME), M2.
Brendon Fitzpatrick
Business Development Manager
Onboard Systems International
Brendan Fitzpatrick has worked alongside the Onboard executive team for 19 years helping support customers.
Eric Harris
Principal Consultant
Infinite Success Safety Consulting
A U.S. Air Force veteran, Eric Harris specializes in designing and implementing ICAO-compliant Safety Management Systems and building just-culture environments that encourage open hazard reporting, stronger teamwork, and true organizational resilience.
Meredith Hedwall
Vice President Customer Success
Pulsar Informatics
Meredith Hedwall works at the front lines of fatigue risk management, turning cutting-edge science into practical systems that protect people and improve performance. She supports senior leaders across government and civil aviation sectors of fixed-wing, rotary-wing operations and MRO organizations.
Hal Hobenshield
CEO
FlyRite.ca
Twenty-five year AME veteran Hal Hobenshield is the president and accountable executive of FlyRite Accessory Overhauls Ltd. Before acquiring FlyRite in 2026, he served as director of maintenance for Slave Air/CanWest and spent 17 years at Northern Lights College as an instructor and program leader.
Peter Jenkins
Former president
FlyRite.ca
AME Peter Jenkins founded FlyRIte in 1996 and served as its president and director of maintenance until selling the company 20 years later to Hal Hobenshield in 2026. Hal is an AME and a program chair at Northern Lights College in Vernon, B.C.
Mike Kunkel
SMS Program Manager,
PG&E
A veteran helicopter and fixed-wing pilot with over 30 years in aviation, Mike Kunkel is the SMS Program Manager at Pacific Gas & Electric and a recognized expert in safety culture and SMS implementation.
James Lawrence
James Lawrence - the Iron Cowboy - is the only person to complete 50 Ironmans in 50 days across all 50 states - and then raise the bar again with 100 Ironmans in 100 consecutive days.
Francois Magnan
Customer Manager
Parker Lord
Francois Magnan has been flying and maintaining helicopters for more than 40 years. He served 27 years with Bell as an engineer in the medium and intermediate helicopter groups, traveling extensively training, delivering briefings, and performing field modifications. He joined Parker Lord in 2014.
Terry Miyauchi
Consultant
TM Consulting
Recently retired from Bell, Terry MiYauchi started flying helicopters in the 1980s with the US Army. His career spans military, government, private, and corporate flying and leadership, from instructor pilot and safety officer to regional aviation manager and commander.
Howie Murray
TC AME & President & CEO
Murray.Industries Ltd.
Howie Murray is a Transport Canada licensed AME with 30 years of experience in rotary wing aerospace systems and the President and CEO of Murray.Industries Ltd. His expertise spans field maintenance, operations, technical leadership, and systems engineering. His work today centers on bridging traditional maintenance practice with emerging tools such as digital workflows, advanced manufacturing, simulation, and artificial intelligence.
Dale Neubauer
Owner
HeliLadder
Dale shares a moving story to emphasize the critical nature of aircraft maintenance, and the serious responsibilities of an aircraft technician.
Faith Ortega
A&P Mechanic
Air Evac Lifeteam
An FAA-rated A&P mechanic with inspection authorization and helicopter pilot, Faith Ortega has been actively maintaining helicopters since 2019. She is a mechanic and maintenance instructor at Ai rEvac Lifeteam in Missouri and the social media influencer behind @HowToHelicopter on Instagram.
Ronnie Ries
Chief Revenue Officer
GPMS
Ronnie Ries is a seasoned aviation marketing and business development leader with deep experience in advanced aerospace technologies and services. He currently serves as vice president of marketing at GPMS, leading global marketing and sales for the company’s Foresight MX Health and Usage Monitoring System.
Jason Simon
Sales & Operations
Emergeco
A manufacturing engineer, Jason Simon has been with Emergco since 2003, leading designs and redesigns of several human external cargo devices. In his current position he is responsible for relationship building and providing direct customer sales and support while continuing to be involved in the design, production and improvement of Emergco products.
Mike Timney
National Account Executive
DMC Tools
A 33-year DMC Tools employee with deep industry expertise and genuine passion, Mike Timney is dedicated to supporting and strengthening relationships with DMC’s customers.
Anneke Tucker
Consultant
Attain Aviation
Anneke Tucker is an FAA-certificated A&P mechanic with Inspection Authorization (IA) and 23 years of aviation maintenance experience, from the flightline to the front office. She is currently a consultant at Attain Aviation, specializing in Part 145 certification, quality systems, workforce development, and human factors in MRO environments.
Dave Vega
Western Technical Sales Manager
Concord Battery
Dave Vega brings decades of aircraft battery technical and customer support experience working with MROs and repair stations throughout the west.
Jamie Wood
Founder and CEO
Atomic Industries Inc.
Founder & CEO of Autonomic Technologies Inc., Jamie Wood is a brain performance expert who works at the intersection of neuroscience, AI, and human performance. She develops science-backed tools that help entrepreneurs, leaders, and innovators sharpen focus, strengthen decision-making, and build resilience in high-demand environments.
Ken Wylie
Founder
Archetypal
After decades of living and working in High Potential Consequence (HPC) environments in the mountains and surviving a 2003 avalanche that claimed seven lives, Ken Wylie brings a deeply human lens to hazard management, leadership, navigating adversity, and organizational transformation.
