Leadership at MD Helicopters

Meet the committed team earning your trust daily

EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP TEAM

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Brad Pedersen

PRESIDENT

Ryan Weeks

Chief Financial Officer

Fred Kaplan

Chief Pilot

Dennis Banks

Vice President, Global Human Resources

Cheryl Bazzell

Vice President, Quality Assurance

Rick Caplette

Vice President, Aftermarket

Daniel Searcy

Vice President, Operations and SUpply Chain

Todd Heussner

Senior Director, Sales

Luis Trejo

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Chairman of the Board

Edward Dolanski

Board Member

GEN (ret.) Gustave Perna

Board Member

Paul "Flip" Huffard

Board Member

Daniel Avitabile

Board Member

John Greene

We are committed to our customers.

“MD has always done an amazing job at helping me learn, answering all my questions, and providing great training! Great people here!”

Chief Executive officer

Brad Pedersen

Brad has more than 40 years of industry experience delivering accelerated growth and financial performance in leadership positions at Boeing Rotorcraft, Sikorsky Aircraft, Breeze-Eastern, and other aerospace and defense companies. He was previously the Chief Executive Officer of Breeze-Eastern, Director of Advanced Programs R&D, Canadian Maritime Helicopter Project, and UH-60M Program Manager at Sikorsky. He has also held leadership positions at Boeing including Director of International Apache Programs, Ordinance Programs, Advanced Programs and Flight Test Engineer. He began his career at Hughes Helicopters and has almost 20 years of direct experience with the MD Helicopter product lines. Brad has led the turnaround of several private and publicly-owned companies in his career. He holds an MBA from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.


“MD Helicopters has been an iconic name in the rotorcraft industry, and we will build on this rich heritage to serve and support our customers worldwide. Our immediate focus is to dramatically improve customer support, foster strong supplier relationships, and implement an aggressive aircraft sales plan.”

President

Ryan Weeks

Ryan came to MD Helicopters after working for Bell/Textron for more than 25 years in various roles, including as the leader of aftermarket product support and aftermarket business optimization for Bell Helicopter and as Chief Engineer for all Bell Commercial Products. Most recently, he led Honeywell Aerospace’s Marketing and Product Management, Avionics for the past three years. Ryan holds a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering from Tennessee Tech University and an MBA from Wayne State University.

Chief Financial Officer

Fred Kaplan

Fred has over 35+ years of experience in defense and aerospace, aviation and consulting industries, as well as CEO, COO, and CFO roles in public and private sector environments. Fred held positions with progressive levels of responsibilities for Eastern Aero, Patten Co., Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport Authority, Priva Technologies and City of Chicago, and the Department of Aviation. Fred has his MS in Finance from the University of Illinois and his BS in Commerce with a major in Finance from Depaul University.

Chief Pilot

Dennis Banks

Dennis has over 37 years of aviation experience of aviation service. His passion for helicopters started with the U.S. Army, Where he served for 25 years and retired as a Chief Warrant Officer 5 (CW5) as a Standardization Instructor Pilot. After retirement, he performed duties overseas as a Lead Pilot and Country Standardization officer with DynCorp on the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) contract for five years. Dennis was the Chief Pilot for a 133 operator in Texas for a few years before starting his tenure at M.D. Helicopters as an Instructor Pilot. He developed and implemented the M.D. Helicopters military training program for training within the U.S. and overseas, and now brings his passion and dedication to training for both commercial and military customers as the Chief Pilot.

Vice President, Global Human Resources

Cheryl Bazzell

Cheryl joined MD Helicopters in 2014 with more than 30 years of aerospace experience and a proven track record in leading human resources initiatives. She worked her way up the leadership ranks at Rockwell Collins first as Vice President of Business Partners, then as Vice President of Human Resources Operations, and finally as Vice President of Total Remuneration – Compensation and Benefits before coming to MD. Cheryl is responsible for setting world-class human capital strategies and overseeing the day-to-day activities of Talent Acquisition, Compensation & Benefits, Employee Relations, Learning & Development, Compliance, and Employee Engagement. She has a BS degree from Montana State University and an MS in Human Resource Management from Chapman University.

Vice President, Quality Assurance

Richard (Rick) Caplette

Rick has more than 35 years of experience in quality assurance and control and mission assurance management in a range of aerospace environments. Prior to joining MD Helicopters, he held positions ranging from Quality Management to Field Service Representative to FAA Aerospace Engineer. Rick spent time in the U.S. Army as a helicopter repairman and worked on a variety of aircraft and space vehicle products over more than 14 years with McDonnell Douglas/Boeing Corporation. He is currently responsible for the day-to-day oversight and strategic direction of MD’s quality programs for both commercial and military production aircraft. Rick holds a BS degree in Professional Aeronautics from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, and he has an FAA Airframe and Power Plant license along with an FAA private pilot fixed wing license and training toward a rotor wing pilot license.

Vice President, Aftermarket

Daniel Searcy

Dan is leading our Aftermarket business. Dan is responsible for continuing to grow the aftermarket business and the tactics for executing the plan, working closely with supply chain and operations. Before this role, Dan was the Sr. Director of Aftermarket Customer Engagement. Dan began his career with MD Helicopters in September 2014 and has held positions with increased responsibilities in Aftermarket and Finance. Before joining MD, Dan worked for US Airways and JP Morgan Chase. Dan holds a BS in Aeronautics from Embry Riddle University.

Vice President, Operations and Supply Chain

Todd Heussner

Todd is leading our manufacturing and supply chain strategies. He will be responsible for achieving the company’s performance targets and executing operational and supply chain capabilities. Before this position, Todd was the Sr. Director, Supply Chain. Todd brings a wealth of experience in U.S. Army logistics and civilian experience working for Leidos, Ernst and Young, and Georgia Iron Works. Todd holds an MS in Logistics Management from the Florida Institute of Technology, an MS in National Security and Strategy from the U.S. Army War College, and a BS in Political Science from Stetson University. Todd also holds a Six Sigma Green Belt and is a Certified Professional Logistician (CPL).

Senior Director, Sales

Luis Trejo

Luis is a sales and business development professional with over 15+ years in the aerospace industry. He’s held varying roles ranging across operations, supply chain, and sales functions during this time. His experience in the acquisition and sustainment of aircraft has allowed him to achieve success in managing the execution of sales of new and preowned aircraft as well as the aftermarket support, in established and emerging markets both domestically and internationally at companies such as Able Aerospace, Textron Aviation, and Bell. Luis holds both a BS and MBA degree from Arizona State University (Go Devils!).

Chairman of the board

Edward Dolanski

Fortune 50 business executive with 30+ years of experience leading organizations through performance turnarounds and into sustained growth. Dolanski’s experience includes President, Boeing Government Services, President & CEO Aviall (a Boeing company), and Vice President, Raytheon Aircraft Company (Hawker Beechcraft Customer Support / Aftermarket).

Board Member

GEN (ret.) Gustave Perna

Board Member (chair, governance & compliance committee): served as Chief Operating Officer for Operation Warp Speed, in which he co-led the partnership of government, academia, and industry to successfully accelerate the development, manufacturing, and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics for the Nation. As Commander of U.S. Army Materiel Command (AMC), one of the Army’s largest commands with over 190,000 military, civilian and contractor employees, he was responsible for installations, logistics, sustainment, and materiel readiness around the world.

Board Member

Paul "Flip" Huffard

(chair, audit committee): 30+ year restructuring veteran with extensive financial management experience including as Senior Managing Director at Blackstone’s Restructuring and Reorganization Group.

Board Member

Daniel Avitabile

Board Member: President and Chief Risk Officer of MBIA Corp.

Board Member

John Greene

Partner and Portfolio Manager at Bardin Hill Investment Partners.