Vern Raburn, founder and CEO of very light jet manufacturer Eclipse Aviation, Albuquerque, N.M., stepped down, under terms of a new round of financing for the company. Eclipse Roel Pieper will become acting CEO effective immediately, the company said. According to an Eclipse statement, Raburn will provide counsel to Pieper and will assume the vice chairman role at ETIRC Aviation, assisting in the global expansion of the Eclipse 500. "As founder and CEO, Vern can be credited with creating the now prevalent very light jet category and achieving what the industry did not think possible. Under his leadership, the company has delivered more than 230 Eclipse 500 aircraft and introduced the coveted Eclipse 400," Pieper said. "It is now time to take the company to the next level of growth and operational excellence."