John Graber

CHC Helicopter has appointed John Graber as president of its Helicopter Services division. He replaces interim president Scott Pinfield. Graber was most recently president of ABA Air and prior to that president of MRO AAR Aircraft Services Indianapolis. He is also a decorated medevac helicopter pilot who served in Operation Desert Storm.

The company also announced that Doug Yakola of McKinsey & Co. is serving as acting as interim chief financial officer, taking over for Rick Davis, former executive vice president and CFO. CHC has yet to name a permanent replacement for Davis, who will be assisting with the transition process.

Bobby Risbourg has joined Precision Aviation Group subsidiary, Precision Heliparts, as regional sales manager for the Gulf region. Risbourg was with Chevron’s Aviation division for 30 years as manager of aviation parts and purchasing. He will be based in Lafayette, La.

John Gallman

Wichita, Kan.-based Mid-Continent Instruments has hired John Gallman as director of its True Blue Power division. He comes from Cessna Aircraft, where he was principal engineer for technology development. Other previous experience includes working at NASA Ames, as well as for Learjet and Raytheon Aircraft.

Mitch Alexander

Damon Cram

Training supplier FlightSafety International has selected Damon Cram as director of marketing for simulation products and services. Cram spent 11 years at CAE as general manager, sales director and business development and sales lead for commercial aircraft training. FlightSafety also promoted Mitch Alexander as manager of its Daleville, Ala., learning center. Alexander fills the position of former manager Ralph Hicks, who is retiring after 26 years with the company.

Will Zmyndak

Chromalloy has named Will Zmyndak director of operations at its facility in Orangeburg, N.Y. Zymndak will lead the advanced coating and repair arm of Chromalloy and support gas turbine activities. Zymndak comes to the company from aerospace unit of Barnes Group Inc., where he was vice president of aftermarket operations.

Kaman Helicopters has hired Jeff Sharbaugh as proposal manager. He will oversee proposals and development projects for Kaman. Sharbaugh’s previous experience includes working at Ducommun Aerostructures, Lord Corp. and Hamilton Sundstrand.

Capt. John Smajdek has taken over as commanding officer of Fleet Readiness Center Southwest (FRCSW), replacing Capt. Fred Melnick. Smajdek served as the executive officer of FRCSW prior to the promotion.

Broomfield, Colo.-based Aircell has named Dennis Hildreth as manager of original equipment manufacturer (OEM) sales. Hildreth was previously principal marketing manager for Rockwell Collins, following 27 years with Hawker Beechcraft.