Nominees to the NBAA Board of Directors (2017)

August 5, 2017

The following are candidates nominated by the NBAA Nominating Committee. Board elections will be held during the Annual Meeting of Members to be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, NV, on Oct. 11, 2017. Review the NBAA Bylaws for more information on the nomination process.

Shelly Lesikar deZevallos
Principal, Independent Mortgage Company. Inc.

Shelly Lesikar deZevallos is a principal at Independent Mortgage Company and president of West Houston Airport, a privately owned, public use general aviation airport operated by her family for two generations. She also teaches as an adjunct professor with Oklahoma State University

deZevallos has been a member of the NBAA Local and Regional Group Committee, the National Academy of Sciences Transportation Research Board Government Interrelations Committee, and the Transportation Research Board, and is a founding member and president of Texans for General Aviation. She served her native Houston area as a committee member on the Houston-Galveston Area Council and a Board Member of The Woman’s Club of Houston, and has been involved in numerous charitable efforts including the Pink Ribbons Project and World Vision.

She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Texas, her EMBA from Texas A&M and her Doctorate of Education in Aviation and Space Science from Oklahoma State University. She is an active pilot with her glider, SEL and MEL ratings along with her IFR and commercial certificate, and has over 4,000 hours of flight time.

She and her husband live in a hangar with their twin daughters and their airplane.

Elizabeth Dornak
Manager, Flight Operations, DuPont

Elizabeth Dornak is the manager, flight operations, for DuPont.

In addition to serving on the NBAA Board of Directors since 2007, she has experience with NBAA’s Operations Committee and was a member of the Certified Aviation Manager Governing Board. With extensive international experience, she was selected to serve as the NBAA Board’s representative to the International Business Aviation Council (IBAC).
Dornak is type rated in Gulfstream, Hawker and Citation aircraft and holds an ATP certificate with over 8,000 hours of flight time. She is a graduate of Purdue University and has completed the Aviation Safety Certificate Program at the University of Southern California.

Ronald Duncan
President, CEO and Co-Founder, General Communication, Inc.

Ronald Duncan is one of the founders of General Communication, Inc. (GCI), Alaska’s largest telecommunications provider, and has been president and CEO since 1989. Prior to starting GCI, Duncan founded and was president of an Alaska-based cable television company.

He received a Bachelor’s degree in economics from Johns Hopkins University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He holds a commercial pilot’s license with SEL&S and MEL ratings and is type rated in CE-560, IA-1125, G-100 and CL604 aircraft. In 25 years of flying, Duncan has accumulated 8,000 hours, more than half of which are in turbojets. Duncan formerly served as chairman of the NBAA Board of Directors.

Milt Hobbs
Managing Director, Global Aviation, JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Milt Hobbs became managing director of global aviation for JPMorgan Chase & Co., based out of Westchester, NY, in 2006. Prior to this, he had worked for various aviation companies in a wide range of roles – including base manager, chief pilot and director of flight operations – during a 40-year aviation career that has seen him record over 13,000 flight hours and visit more than 60 countries and all 50 states.

Hobbs serves the general aviation community as chairman of the Westchester Aviation Association and previously as chairman of NBAA’s Operations Committee. He has been a member of the Aviation Director’s Roundtable, Signature Aviation Customer Advisory Board and the FAA Rulemaking Committee, and has written, received and maintained FAA exemptions for night landing currency and one-engine inoperative ferry flights.

In his spare time, he is the proud owner of a 1964 S-35 Bonanza. Milt and his wife Lisa have two grown children (Lindsay, a police officer and Corey, a captain on a Washington, DC-based Gulfstream G-650) and four grandchildren.

Monte J.M. Koch
Vice Chairman and Co-Founder, Auction.com, and Manager, Falconshare LLC

Monte Koch is vice chairman and co-founder of Auction.com, the largest on-line marketplace for residential and commercial real estate. Koch joined Auction.com after a long career in investment banking, most recently at Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., where he served as that firm’s global head of real estate investment banking. He also is the founder of Falconshare LLC, an owner and operator of jet aircraft and a Business Member of NBAA.

With over two decades of Wall Street experience, Koch has advised on multi-billion dollar merger transactions in virtually every major industry, and has specialized in the lodging, gaming and real estate sectors throughout his career. As the manager of Falconshare LLC, Koch is an experienced owner, operator and avid pilot of piston, twin turboprop and jet aircraft, as well as helicopters. He holds an ATP license and is type rated in the Falcon 10. Koch graduated from The College of William & Mary with a BBA in management.

Mark McIntyre
Chief Pilot, MENTE, LLC

Mark McIntyre is the chief pilot for Mente LLC, a Part 91 business aviation operation based in Seattle, WA.

After learning to fly in high school, he began his aviation career with Kenmore Air, starting as a lineman and advancing to floatplane flight Instructor and charter pilot, before moving to Nordstrom, Inc., where he spent 18 years advancing from co-pilot to chief pilot. In 1997, he helped found the Mente LLC operation.

He has been active in business aviation throughout his career, serving on the Bombardier Global Advisory Board, and as a member of the Chief Pilots Roundtable and the NBAA International Operations Committee. He is also a founding member of the Pacific Northwest Business Aviation Association.

McIntyre graduated from Claremont McKenna College with a dual major in political science and psychology. He was one of the first 22 Certified Aviation Managers recognized by NBAA and has spoken several times at the NBAA International Operations Conference.

Lloyd “Fig” Newton
Member, Board of Directors, L3 Technologies Inc.

Lloyd “Fig” Newton retired in 2000 from the United States Air Force as a four-star general. Serving for more than three decades, Newton flew 269 combat missions in Vietnam, flew with the U.S. Air Force Demonstration Team “The Thunderbirds,” served as a congressional liaison to the U.S. House of Representatives for the Air Force and led the Air Education and Training Command, which consisted of 13 bases, 43,000 active duty personnel and 14,000 civilians.

After leaving the Air Force, Newton worked at Pratt & Whitney as executive vice president of international military programs and business development until 2006. In addition to L3 Technologies Inc., Newton serves on the boards of Torchmark Corporation and the National Defense University. He currently serves as the vice-chairman/treasurer of the NBAA Board of Directors.

Jim Schwertner
President & CEO, Schwertner Farms

Jim Schwertner is president and CEO of Schwertner Farms, Inc. and was appointed by Texas Gov. Rick Perry in 2009 to serve on the Board of Regents of the Texas A&M University System. He holds an ATP, is type rated on the Cessna Citation CE-525S and holds a single-engine sea rating. Schwertner is also chairman of the board of Schwertner State Bank and a partner in the Lockhart Livestock Auction and the Mid Tex Livestock Auction in Navasota, TX.

He has extensive non-profit governance experience, having served on the boards of organizations such as Texans for General Aviation, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the Capitol Area Diabetes Association. He has also been appointed to represent industry on groups including the Texas Aviation Advisory Board and the National Beef Board.

Richard Walsh
Vice President, Aviation, American Express

Richard Walsh is currently the vice president of aviation for American Express, where he is responsible for leading all facets of the aviation operation.

Prior to his appointment at American Express, Walsh served as vice president of global aviation and travel security services for Hewlett Packard Enterprise. He also worked as vice president of aviation and business continuity for Cardinal Health and spent 20 years with United Airlines in multiple training and flight operations leadership roles.

He is past chairman of the NBAA Safety Committee and currently serves on the Southern Illinois University Aviation Management Advisory Board. He has accumulated over 17,000 hours of diverse flight experience and is type rated on seven different turbo-jet aircraft.