Management Team
John Uczekaj, President and CEO
Aspen Avionics’ President and CEO, John Uczekaj, has over 26 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. He is currently working towards his private pilot certification.
Jeff Bethel, Founder, CTO
Jeff Bethel, Aspen Avionics' Chief Technology Officer holds a degree in Electrical Engineering from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Jeff’s proven experience with avionics technologies includes real-time system design, hardware architectures, software architectures, fault analysis, aircraft bus interfaces and human factors for major firms in the avionics industry. Jeff led the development of several successful general aviation avionics products, including leading the design of the MX20 Multi Function Display System at UPS Aviation Technologies. Jeff later led development of Level B software certification at Eclipse Aviation. Previously, Jeff worked for Trimble Navigation, where he was involved with converting commercial off-the-shelf GPS navigation systems to military use. Jeff has had extensive experience in leadership roles in dynamic and fast-paced environments, where there is a continuing need to address complex decisions and develop plans to mitigate risk throughout all stages of product development. Jeff is also a licensed private pilot.
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.
Doug Cayne, Vice President of Marketing
Doug Cayne brings some 20 years of high-tech product and market strategy expertise, and broad and deep pilot experience, to Aspen as VP of Marketing. After graduating from Stanford University with degrees in East Asian Studies and Computer Science, Doug worked for Hudson Institute and McKinsey & Company. He joined Gartner Group as one of its first employees, and helped grow the company from less than $3 million to more than $500 million in revenues. He founded and led Gartner’s Personal Computing business in the 1980s, and its Internet business in the 1990s, helping numerous start-up and established vendors develop and implement their product and market strategies in those areas. Doug was Aspen’s first employee after its founders, working as VP of Product Strategy before being promoted to VP of Marketing. Doug is a multi-thousand hour ATP-rated pilot, typed in CE500, T-33 and L-29 jets. He owns and operates several aircraft, including a pressurized twin, a helicopter and a jet warbird. While he spends most of his time these days in the Flight Levels, he has also done a lot of aerobatics, bush flying and adventure travel, including a round-the-world flight in his King Air.
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.
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.
Constantinos S. (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 Airlines Avionics Institute.
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.
Brad Hayden, Director 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.
Pat Scott , Director of Operations and Program Management
Pat has over 30 years of operations and project management experience in the aerospace, manufacturing, and information technology industries. Pat began his career with TRW where he spent 15 years in increasingly responsible positions managing business operations for program and field sites that were focused on developing technology applications for commercial and defense customers. After leaving TRW, Pat worked with a local Albuquerque technology development firm where he eventually became CEO and successfully implemented a turnaround strategy that resulted in operation and financial stability. Before he came to Aspen, Pat was managing director of a consulting practice that focused on providing client firms with business planning, project management, supply chain management, and cross functional process development systems. Pat has a BS in Economics from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and is an active member of APICS where he holds a CIRM designation.
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.
