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Jay LaFoy

L-3 Avionics Systems, of Grand Rapids, Mich., named Jay LaFoy president of the company. LaFoy will oversee all aspects of the L-3 Avionics Systems business. LaFoy has more than 25 years of aviation industry experience in the areas of operations, manufacturing and MRO. He joined L-3 Avionics Systems in 1996 as the director of operations and he has held a variety of increasingly responsible positions there, including managing the Florida MRO business, and most recently serving as executive vice president. Prior to that, he held management positions at Goodrich Aerospace.

Matt Cowan

Universal Avionics, Tucson, Ariz., named Matt Cowan as U.S. Southeast Region marketing manager, based in Tampa, Fla. Cowan has more than 14 years of aviation industry sales experience, including positions in regional sales at Cirrus Aircraft and Avidyne.

Ran Eisenberg

Elbit Vision Systems, of Qadima, Israel, named Ran Eisenberg CEO. Eisenberg replaces David Gal, who stepped down as CEO, but will continue as chairman of the board of directors. Eisenberg brings more than 15 years of experience leading international technology companies. He served as the CEO of several companies, including Optibase Ltd., a digital video networking company that he took public in 1999, and most recently Wavion Ltd., a Wi-Fi company.

Bernhard Gerwert, Enzo Casolini

The Eurofighter consortium, made up of the companies involved in the development of the Eurofighter Typhoon, named Bernhard Gerwert chairman of the Supervisory Board and Enzo Casolini CEO of Eurofighter GmbH, which manages the program on behalf of its shareholders. Gerwert is CEO of Military Air Systems, a business unit of EADS Defence and Security, and a member of the board of EADS Defense & Security. Casolini began his career as an officer in the Italian air force. In 1978, he joined NAMMA (NATO MRCA Management Agency) in Munich, Germany, and was responsible for aircraft equipment qualification. In 1989, Casolini joined Aeritalia (later Alenia Aeronautica), where he worked in the national marketing and sales division. In 2002, he was appointed senior vice president and head of commercial for Military Air Systems, the position from which he now joins Eurofighter.

Don Petersen

Jet Aviation, of Zurich, Switzerland, named Don Petersen president of Midcoast Aviation and head of Jet Aviation’s MRO and completions lines of business in North America. Peterson replaces Kurt Sutterer, who is retiring. Petersen started his career at Motorola as a maintenance technician. He also worked at McDonnell Douglas and Duncan Aviation. In 1996, he was appointed hangar manager at Gulfstream Aerospace in Savannah, Ga., and later was promoted to general manager of the Westfield, Mass., operation. Since 2000, he was vice president and general manager for product support in Appleton Wis., Minneapolis, and Westfield.

Michael Romito

Crane Aerospace & Electronics appointed Michael Romito president of the Aerospace Group. Romito will lead the Aerospace Group sites located in Burbank, Calif.; Elyria, Ohio; Lynnwood, Wash.; and Lyon, France. Before joining Crane Aerospace, Romito served as a consultant to several divisions of Alliant Techsystems, with responsibilities including refining the strategic plan and helping the organizations focus on commercial business development and improved customer service. Before that, he worked with Parker Hannifin Corp., Digital Equipment Corp., and TRW Inc.

William Duncan

SimAuthor, Inc., a subsidiary of the QinetiQ North America Systems Engineering Group based in Boulder, Colo., appointed William Duncan as director of international strategic business development. Duncan is responsible for leading the growth and expansion of SimAuthor’s flight crew training debrief systems, as well as its flight data visualization and analysis products and services. SimAuthor’s software supports military and commercial airline programs designed to improve flight maintenance, operations, safety and training. Before joining SimAuthor, Duncan was director of Teledyne Controls’ Flight Data Monitoring and Analysis Simulation and Services business. Before that, he directed the sales and marketing of Teledyne Controls’ Simulation Products.

Stephen Newell

EMS Technologies named Stephen Newell general manager of its LXE Inc. rugged mobile computer business. Newell joined EMS in 2003, and most recently served as vice president of satcom sales for the company’s EMS Satcom unit. Newell also led the military and government sales group. His key priorities will be to continue the focus on LXE’s distributor channels to market, which doubled in 2008; to enhance product manufacturing; and to improve profitability. The LXE business unit manufactures rugged vehicle-mounted, handheld and wearable mobile computers, used in a variety of supply chain applications.