Management Team
John Uczekaj, President and CEO
Aspen Avionics’ President and CEO, John Uczekaj, has over 30 years of experience in the avionics industry, starting out as an engineer at Boeing and moving into key management positions at Sperry and Honeywell. While at Honeywell, John was made Executive VP and General Manager of the Aerospace Electronics Systems division, including the Bendix/King line of general aviation (GA) avionics. Immediately prior to joining Aspen, John was President and COO of The NORDAM Group, an aviation parts manufacturer and maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) company. John now brings his unique blend of broad avionics experience and world-class management expertise to grow Aspen Avionics into a key player in the general aviation industry. Mr. Uczekaj holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Oregon State University and an MBA from City University, Seattle, Washington. John is a licensed private pilot and flies a Diamond DA40.
Peter Lyons, Founder, Vice President of Product Management
After graduating as a Mechanical Engineer with honors from the Royal Military College of Canada, Peter Lyons, has had a distinguished career in the aerospace field. Peter is an instrument rated pilot and former military C-130 navigator with diverse experience in program/product management, flight test engineering, certification, systems safety, and avionics system engineering. Peter’s work and responsibilities have spanned a range of increasing responsibility for managing teams and cradle-to-grave product development efforts. Peter led the successful flight test program for the first prototype light jet aircraft at Eclipse Aviation, and previously was Product Manager for the autopilot, maintenance system, and integrated avionics processor system product lines at Rockwell Collins. With his keen insight into identifying market needs, and managing technology development projects, testing, regulatory compliance, and safety matters, Peter offers Aspen Avionics the leadership, experience, and talent to execute the Aspen's vision and achieve its corporate objectives.
Todd Hauge, Chief Financial Officer
Todd has more than 20 years of finance and accounting experience, most recently at WorkRite Ergonomics, Inc, where he was the company’s President, directing all financial functions and activities for the corporation. In addition, Hauge oversaw the development, sourcing, and launch of new products with market leading features and lower costs, leading to lower price for the consumers. Prior to WorkRite, Todd held senior level finance positions at Vestor Holdings, Inc., a private equity fund, and Deloitte & Touche where he was Senior Manager, Emerging Business Services. Todd graduated Summa Cum Lude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Arizona State University. He is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of Financial Executives International; American Institute of Certified Accountants; and New Mexico Society of Certified Public Accountants.
Kyle Farley, Vice President of Manufacturing
Kyle was most recently Vice President of Manufacturing Operations for S-TEC, where he directed all aspects of manufacturing including production, manufacturing/test engineering, supply chain management, facilities and export compliance. Prior to S-TEC, Kyle worked in a variety of manufacturing and production positions, including Perry Equipment Corporation, where he managed purchasing and production. He has a BS in Business Management from the University of Phoenix.
Mark Ferrari, Vice President of Sales and Customer Support
As Vice President, Business Aviation Sales and Marketing for The NORDAM Group, Mark was responsible for revenue results of $350 million. Prior to NORDAM, he had a successful tenure at Honeywell’s Business Regional & General Aviation division where he began as a sales representative and worked his way up to Director of Aftermarket Sales. Mark is a Six Sigma Green Belt and a private pilot with an instrument rating.
Brad Hayden, Vice President of Marketing
Brad comes to Aspen with nearly 20 years of experience managing global, high tech marketing programs for companies such as Megahertz, US Robotics, 3Com and Informix. Always looking for new ways to leverage leading-edge communication technologies to sell and support innovative products, Brad was an early implementer of online marketing programs that engaged customers and generated revenue, building one of the Internet’s premiere corporate Web sites in 1994. Most recently he directed Outbound Marketing programs for EFI, a digital print technology provider, where through personalized marketing and advertising campaigns he increased lead generation by 300% over a two year period. Prior to leaping into the high tech world, Brad literally grew up in the avionics industry, working as a repairman and a dealer from a young age in his family’s avionics sales and service business. Brad has a BA from the University of Utah, and is a licensed private pilot.
Gus Kyriakos, Vice President of Engineering
Gus brings considerable engineering experience to Aspen Avionics, most recently from Avidyne Corporation where he was Director, Communications, Navigation, and Surveillance Engineering as well as the company’s Melbourne, Florida Site Manager. Prior to his tenure at Avidyne, Kyriakos worked for Rockwell Collins in Cedar Rapids where he was a Senior Director in Engineering. Kyriakos holds five patents for RF and digital design for radar altimeters and six patents for RF and signal processing for TCAS. In addition, he is the youngest recipient of the Volare Award, presented by the Airline Avionics Institute.
Mark Lee, Vice President of Business Development
Mark comes to Aspen with a variety of marketing leadership and management experience driving innovation for leading aviation, software and telecom manufacturers. Prior to Aspen, Mark served as Director of Marketing and Sales for the D-JET personal jet at Diamond Aircraft and also provided marketing leadership and support for the company’s piston aircraft. He worked for nearly 12 years at Microsoft Corporation in a variety of product management and other marketing roles primarily in the Windows client, server and embedded operating systems groups. Mark also worked for more than 10 years at Nortel in its enterprise and public networks divisions. Mark earned an MBA from Vanderbilt University and a broadcasting undergraduate degree from Western Kentucky University. He is also a multi-engine rated, private pilot.
Peter DiFanti, Director of Sales
With more than 20 years of aviation sales experience, Pete comes to Aspen Avionics from The NORDAM Group where he was Director of Sales for the eastern United States. Prior to that, he worked for Honeywell Aerospace’s Business Regional & General Aviation division where he was a regional team leader managing sales also for the Eastern United States. Pete is a Six Sigma Green Belt and an instrument rated pilot with over 2500 hours of flight time.
Investors
The investor team, who are also represented on the Aspen Avionics board, represent a cross-section of firms with successful experience in building viable companies across several industries. The team recently announced a Series B funding round and includes the following members:
