Arsen Melconian

Tecom Industries, Inc., Thousand Oaks, Calif., appointed Arsen Melconian president. Melconian most recently was Tecom’s vice president of engineering and chief technology officer. He joined the company in 2002 as director of engineering.

Prior to Tecom, Melconian was employed by Litton Integrated Systems Division, where he was responsible for the development of communication and navigation systems for FAA, the U.S. Department of Defense and foreign governments.

Embry-Riddle Appointments

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University announced executive appointments at its Prescott, Ariz., campus.

Dan Carrell was named interim chancellor. He came to the university in 1986 as a member of the enrollment management team and director of development at the Prescott campus. He was chair of the flight-training and aeronautical science departments, as well as director of business and administration. Before Embry-Riddle, he was senior counselor and adviser at the Defense Language Institute and chief instructor and deputy director of the Department of Combat Operations at the U.S. Army School of the Americas, Fort Gulick, in Panama.

Jerry Kidrick was named chair of Prescott’s flight department after 32 years as a U.S. Army aviator. Kidrick will manage flight training, instructor pilots, fleet maintenance and safety.

TrueNorth Appointments

TrueNorth Avionics, Ottawa, Canada, named two national sales managers.

Pat Gordon, formerly of Bendix/King, AlliedSignal, Edmo and Sandel, will serve as national sales manager for the central United States. Jay Faria will hold a similar post for the southeastern United States, Latin America and the Caribbean.

Robert Blaha

Aspen Avionics, Albuquerque, N.M., named Robert Blaha director, OEM and international sales. Most recently, he was manager of sales in the Western region.

Blaha, who joined Aspen in 2007, was previously with Honeywell, where he served as area sales manager for the Southwest United States. He also held sales positions at Macaw Electronics and SCI/Midland International.

ATCA Elections

The Air Traffic Control Association (ATCA) elected Monte Belger, vice president of transportation systems at Lockheed Martin, as its chairman of the board. Belger joined Lockheed Martin Transportation and Security Solutions in 2003, following a 30-year career with FAA. Belger is secretary of the Aero Club of Washington; a member of the RTCA Air Traffic Management Advisory Committee; chairman of the Aerospace Industries Association Air Transportation System Committee; and chairman of the AIA Civil Aviation Council.

Other ATCA board members elected include Northeast: Mike Headley, Apptis; East: Jeff Griffith, Washington Consulting Group; Southeast: Robert Coulson, Harris Corp.; North Central: Jim Crook, retired, U.S. Air Force; South Central: Joe Kisicki, Diversified International Sciences Corp.; Western: Mike Perie, retired, FAA; Canada, Caribbean, Central and South America, Mexico: John Crichton, Nav Canada; Europe, Africa, Middle East: Steve James, NATS; Pacific, Asia, Australia: Bob Gardiner, ACMAT Consultants.

Michael O’Keeffe

Michael O’Keeffe, senior vice president at Banyan Air Service, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., was appointed board chairman for the National Aircraft Resale Association (NARA).

O’Keeffe joined Banyan in 1996 and has served in a variety of managerial positions since, including vice president of aircraft maintenance, general manager and director of operations.

The National Aircraft Resale Association is a professional trade association made up of firms that specialize in aircraft sales and brokerage.

Vanderlei Anjos da Silva

DAC International, Austin, Texas, named Vanderlei Anjos da Silva sales manager for Latin America. He most recently was involved in avionics sales for Lider Taxi Aereo and has a background in the various Brazilian market segments, including general aviation, business aircraft, military, regional and heavy transports. He will be based in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

ATO Appointments

FAA’s Air Traffic Organization (ATO) named Lynn Ray director of System Operations Airspace and Aeronautical Information Management. Ray’s job includes overseeing the management of aeronautical information and airspace, environmental programs, Notice to Airmen services, unmanned aircraft systems authorizations and the development of performance-based navigation procedures. Ray spent the last year on assignment to the Joint Planning and Development Office.

ATO also appointed Dennis Roberts director of Flight Services Program Operations. Roberts will manage flight services provided by FAA, including in Alaska. Roberts has been serving as FAA regional administrator for the Northwest Mountain Region since 2006.

Avidyne Appointments

Avidyne, Lincoln, Mass., named Jeremy Cunningham regional sales manager for the Northeastern United States. A veteran of the U.S. Navy, Cunningham most recently was the director of business development for AeroSolutions Group, a corporate aircraft sales and acquisition firm in Manassas, Va. Before that, he was operations manager for Atlantic Coast Airlines at Washington’s Dulles International Airport.

Avidyne also appointed Leslie Fischer regional sales manager for the Western Region of the United States. Fischer’s experience includes two years at Boeing as a human factors specialist designing user interfaces for manned and unmanned air and ground vehicles for the U.S. Army’s Future Combat Systems program.

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