2021 Board of Directors

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Contact:
Jim Sherman
703-684-6777 x110 
 

 VFS Board Executive Committee 2021-2022 (jpg) 

 

Vertical Flight Society Announces 2021 Board of Directors 
Industry Executives to Lead VFS

Fairfax, Virginia, May 28, 2021  — The Vertical Flight Society, the world’s leading non-profit dedicated to advancing vertical flight, is pleased to announce its Board of Directors for 2021-2022.

The following members were elected to the Board’s Executive Committee for the one-year term of July 1, 2021 – June 30, 2022:

  • Chair: Paul Lemmo, President, Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin Company (previously the Board President)
  • President: Tomasz Krysinski, VP Research & Technology, Airbus Helicopters (previously the Board Secretary/Treasurer)
  • Secretary/Treasurer: Mark Cherry, VP/GM Boeing Vertical Lift (new to the Board)

In addition, Prof. Marilyn Smith, Georgia Tech, is part of the Executive Committee as the VFS Technical Director through June 30, 2022.

VFS members in half of its ten regions elected or re-elected regional directors and vice-presidents for the two-year term of July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2023. (Those new to the Board are marked with an asterisk.)

Asia-Australia Region (all countries in Asia and Oceania):

  • Regional Director: Anna Kominik* - Wisk [New Zealand]
  • Vice President: Dr. Arvind Sinha* - Defence Aviation Safety Authority [Australia]

Europe-Africa Region (all countries in Europe and Africa):

  • Regional Director: Arnaud Le Pape - ONERA  [France]
  • Vice President: Luca Medici - Leonardo Helicopters [Italy]

U.S. Midwest Region (all members in ND, SD, NE, KS, MN, IA, MO, WI, IL, MI, OH, KY & WV):

  • Regional Director: Prof. David Peters - Washington University in St. Louis
  • Vice President: Dr. Charles Svoboda, Jr. - The Boeing Company  

U.S. Northeast Region (all members in ME, VT, NH, MA, RI, CT, NY & northeast NJ):

  • Regional Director: Michael Ambrose - Sikorsky, A Lockheed Martin Company
  • Vice President: Usman Asif - Sikorsky, A Lockheed Martin Company

U.S. Southern Region (all members in AR, LA, MS, AL, TN, SC, GA & FL):

  • Regional Director: Prof. JVD Prasad - Georgia Institute of Technology  
  • Vice President: Mark J. Jeude - Iron Mountain Solutions, Inc.  

The following are currently appointed Directors of the Board:

  • VP Membership: Jon Tatro, Bell (Ret.)
  • VP Washington, DC: John Lindsay, Textron
  • Appointed Director: Robert LaBelle, XTI Aircraft Co.
  • Appointed Director: Thomas Laux, Northrop Grumman
  • Appointed Director: Harry Nahatis, GE Aviation

Non-voting advisors:

  • Civil Helicopter Operations: Gene Munson, The Boeing Company (Ret.)
  • Army Aviation: Randy Robinson, US Army
  • Vertical Flight Foundation: Edwin P. Birtwell, Birtwell Consulting Services

Other elected members of the Board of Directors, who will continue to serve until June 30, 2022, are as follows:

Americas Region (Canada, Central America and South America)

  • Vice President: Chantal Boucher, Bell
  • Regional Director: Kenneth Swartz, Aeromedia Communications

U.S. Mideast Region (including the Philadelphia and Erie Chapters, and surrounding areas)

  • Vice President: Dr. Stanley Orr, The Boeing Company
  • Regional Director: William Sunick, Leonardo Helicopters (AgustaWestland Philadelphia Company)

U.S. Southeast Region (including the Aberdeen, Federal City, Patuxent River, Hampton Roads and Cherry Point Chapters, and surrounding areas)

  • Vice President: Dr. Inderjit Chopra, University of Maryland
  • Regional Director: Dr. Rajneesh Singh, US Army Research Laboratory

U.S. Southwest Region (including the Southwest Chapter and all surrounding areas)

  • Vice President: Layne Merritt, Elbit Systems of America
  • Regional Director: Christos Bais, Joby Aviation

U.S. Western Region (including the Los Angeles, San Francisco and Arizona Chapters, and all surrounding areas)

  • Vice President: Dr. Colin Theodore, NASA Ames Research Center
  • Regional Director: Scott Swinsick, The Boeing Company

Founded as the American Helicopter Society in 1943, the Vertical Flight Society is the global non-profit society for engineers, scientists and others working on vertical flight technology. For more than 75 years, the Society has led technical, safety, advocacy and other important initiatives, and has been the primary forum for interchange of information on vertical flight technology.

The Vertical Flight Society
2700 Prosperity Ave, Suite 275, Fairfax, VA 22031 USA
+1-703-684-6777 | staff@vtol.org | www.vtol.org