Aug. 21, 2025
In the latest NBAA Thought Leadership Webinar: “Leading the Way – Bizav Legends Share Their Stories,” experts with different backgrounds in the industry inspired attendees with their career stories and how they give back to the business aviation community.
“These people have left an indelible mark on business aviation and helped to create a community and awareness that allows business aviation to thrive,” NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen said in opening the webinar, which was sponsored by Mesinger Jet Sales and moderated by CEO Jay Mesinger.
Gary Dunn, President, Aviation Partners, Inc.
Dunn discussed business aviation’s evolution as evidenced by the introduction and proliferation of the winglet, and talked about how his company played a significant role in its certification on business aircraft. Now the company looks to other aerodynamic enhancements that could be part of business aviation’s future, he said.
Dunn attributed his success and that of Aviation Partners, Inc., to the legacy of the company’s founder, Joe Clark. “I learned everything I know about aviation by being the guy who was prepared to do it,” he said.
Dunn highlighted the importance of supporting aviation museums, air shows and other events to educate and inspire future generations.
Joan Sullivan Garrett, Founder and Chairman, MedAire
In describing her company’s beginnings, Garrett said, “I don’t take anything for granted. I knew there was a need for this service, but didn’t know if it would fly.”
She recognized the need for solutions to help laypeople in remote situations solve medical emergencies. Some of those solutions were new, updated medical kits, training and telemedicine, long before it was mainstream.
The former flight nurse pitched her idea to the airline industry, which showed little interest. She then surveyed the Fortune 100 companies and found an almost 40% positive response. As a result, she immersed herself in business aviation.
Mesinger asked Garrett about starting a company at a time when business aviation was mostly comprised of men.
“It was daunting, years ago walking into a Flight Safety Foundation event in Williamsburg, VA, in a roomful of suits and as one of two women. I never saw it as a disadvantage – when I knocked on a hangar door, someone answered, because I was different,” Garrett said.
With millions of calls under MedAire’s belt, Garrett collects and shares data to help improve the industry, crunching data and understanding implications for travelers.
Garrett says successful organizations can’t just rest on their laurels.
“You’ve got to evolve with the industry or be out in front of it,” Garrett said. “Dreams don’t come true – dreams are made true. Being humble opens the opportunity for growth.”
Greg Evans, Chairman of the Board, Universal Weather and Aviation
Evans followed in his father Tom’s footsteps.
Tom Evans, a former Air Force and airline meteorologist, founded what was then Universal Weather in 1959. One day, he noticed DC3s and twin Beechcraft aircraft with company names painted on the side. Business aircraft were somewhat unusual at the time, so he asked the operators their biggest challenge: low dispatch reliability due to lack of reliable, accessible weather information.
Tom Evans took a calculated risk and launched Universal Weather, working during the day as a TV meteorologist to support his family while dispatch reliability improved, and the business aviation industry grew.
Greg Evans frequently followed his dad to work, beginning his own education in weather as a child. As business aviation expanded internationally, he saw a need for trip planning service and as a teenager, began international trip planning.
Now Greg Evans considers Universal Weather and Aviation to be a hospitality organization, combining weather services, trip planning, catering and FBOs to provide a full customer experience.
“Universal was always the topic at the dinner table,” said Greg Evans, who continued that traditional with his own children. His 26- and 29-year-old daughters both work with the company.
This integrated approach helps keep the “Universal love blanket” around the customer around the world, he explained, adding he continues to advocate for business aviation access around the world.
Alasdair Whyte, Co-Founder, Corporate Jet Investor
Whyte and his wife Louisa launched Corporate Jet Investor in 2010. Originally in financial journalism focusing on airlines and airline finance, and his wife in event planning, the two realized they could bring quality financial journalism and conferences to business aviation.
Whyte explained why transactions are so important to the industry and why, as a result, he now focuses on brokers and dealers.
“Nothing really happens until an aircraft gets sold,” he said.
“Business aviation transactions are a team sport. You need a great attorney, you need a great tax advisor – we bring these people together in person at our events,” said Whyte. “This is really a global cottage industry. You get to work with people around the world. It is a completely different experience bringing an aircraft into Brazil than into China and that’s what makes it so fun.”
International Business Aviation Council Ltd.