Strategic Advisory Council

Bye Aerospace's Strategic Advisory Council consists of distinguished industry professionals from across the country. The Strategic Advisory Council for Bye Energy is listed below.

Focus on Bye Aerospace

Emanuel Anton
Principal, Anton Law Group

Emanuel Anton has a varied national business practice, serving a broad range of midsize businesses and the high net worth families who depend on them. As a former economist and marketing executive to Fortune 100 companies, Anton brings a practical business goal-oriented approach to his practice. He currently acts as General Counsel to over 40 companies, including dominant defense contractors, aerospace and technology companies, contractors, manufacturers and service businesses in connection with a broad range of transactional, general and litigation matters, including regulatory and compliance issues. Anton currently serves on the Foreign Investment in the U.S. Committee, International Trade Steering Committee and Export Controls and Economic Sanctions Committee of the American Bar Association’s Section of International Law and Practice.

H. H. “Bugs” Forsythe, Major General (Ret.) U.S. Air Force
Senior Fellow, Joint Forces Staff College

Retired Air Force Maj. Gen. H.H. “Bugs” Forsythe serves as a Senior Fellow at Joint Forces Staff College. He retired from the Air Force in May 2006, where his last military assignment was a command position with Central Air Force Command. Gen. Forsythe graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy and has served on active duty, in the Air National Guard and the Air Force Reserve. His military duties included instructor pilot, flight commander, weapons officer, operations officer, squadron commander and operations group commander. Over his military career he had over 4,500 hours in various military aircraft. In his civilian occupation, he flew for United Airlines for over 29 years. He has flown as a corporate pilot, charter pilot and Learjet test pilot, and has more than 16,000 civilian flight hours.

Albert J. Givray
Partner, Davis, Graham & Stubbs LLP

Mr. Givray is a partner at the Davis, Graham & Stubbs law firm in Denver. He specializes in aviation, commercial finance, cross-border transactions, and intellectual property, with emphasis in:  aircraft finance; aircraft leasing; related regulation; aviation antitrust; the manufacture, purchase, lease, operation, maintenance, marketing, and sale of aviation products; strategic acquisitions and divestitures of businesses to obtain/sell aircraft assets and related intellectual property; and programs and strategic alliances to develop, certify, manufacture, market, sell, and distribute new aircraft products and technology-based solutions.  Mr. Givray is licensed to practice law in New York, Oklahoma, and Colorado.

Julien Porcher
Lead, EADS Astrium Earth Observation Services Program

Mr. Porcher is head of EADS Astrium Earth Observation Services Programs, based in Paris. Previously, he was CEO of EADS Air Services where he was responsible for the start-up and development of public private partnerships in the field of defense and security. Mr. Porcher was also previously Deputy to the CEO of EADS Systems, Services and Telecommunications, and Deputy to the CEO of EADS.

Joe Prater
Retired Air Force officer and retired Dean of Instruction at Valdosta Technical College

Retired Air Force officer and retired Dean of Instruction at Valdosta Technical College Joe Prater served in the Air Force for over 26 years, retiring in 1990 with the rank of Colonel. He was an Air Force fighter pilot and combat veteran of Vietnam, and at the time of his retirement was combat-ready in the F-16. His assignments included Europe, The Pacific, Tactical Air Command (now Air Combat Command) and the Pentagon. Prater was a member of the USAF Air Demonstration Squadron, The Thunderbirds, for the 1976 and 1977 air show seasons. He is a graduate of Florida State University and the USAF Air War College. After his military retirement, Prater served as a Vice President of First State Bank and Trust Company in Valdosta, Ga., before joining the leadership team at Valdosta Technical College. He currently serves as Chairman of the Valdosta/Lowndes County Airport Authority.

Paul Schumacher
Retired Lockheed Martin Executive

Paul Schumacher retired from Raytheon Aircraft Co. in 2004 as Vice President of Manufacturing. Prior to that he spent 27 years with Lockheed Martin. The first 24 years of his career were spent in the Lockheed Skunk Works. He hired in on a Supervisor Training Program rotating through all facets of manufacturing holding progressively higher positions eventually becoming Director of Manufacturing. In 1996 he transferred to Lockheed Martin Aeronautical Systems Co. in Marrietta, Ga. as the F-22 Director of Manufacturing. He was promoted to Vice President of Operations in 1997.

Joe Walker
CEO, Dornier Seaplane Company

Mr. Walker is CEO of Dornier Seaplane Company in Punta Gorda, Fla. The first 20 years of his career were with Cessna Aircraft Company, where he started as an aerodynamicist and engineering flight test pilot and rose to Vice President of Worldwide Sales. He then went to Gulfstream Aircraft Company where he was Sr. Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Completions. Under his guidance as President of Adam Aircraft Company, he led the organization that received the Type Certification and the Production Certificate for the A500.

Mason Whitney, Major General (Ret.) U.S. Air Force
Director, Governor's Office of Homeland Security for Colorado

Retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Mason Whitney is Director of the Governor's Office of Homeland Security for Colorado and serves on Gov. Ritter's cabinet. He served as the Adjutant General of Colorado from 2000 to 2007, and retired from the Colorado National Guard in 2007 with nearly 39 years of commissioned service in the U.S. Air Force and Colorado National Guard. Over his military career he had over 6,000 military flight hours, 343 combat missions and 758 combat hours. Besides the O-2A and A-7, he has flown the T-37, T-39 and F-16 aircraft.

Gregg Williams
President and CEO, Williams International LLC

Mr. Williams is President and CEO of Williams International, headquartered in Walled Lake, Mich. Williams International is the world leader in the development, manufacture and support of small gas turbine engines, and a key engine supplier on all Bye Aerospace aviation platforms.

Focus on Bye Energy

Alexandre Couvelaire
President, Euralair

Alexandre Couvelaire, is a well-known leader in European aviation. In 1962, he founded Euralair, a small charter company at Le Bourget that grew into an FBO, MRO, air-charter and scheduled air carrier operating out of De Gaulle. At Euralair, he pioneered two-crew Boeing 737 operations in France and placed the first order for a Boeing 777. He also formed the first fractional ownership cooperate in France, and in the mid-1980s acquired Mooney Aircraft Corporation.

Dr. Marion K. Jenkins
Founder and CEO, QSE Technologies

Dr. Marion K. Jenkins, founder and CEO of QSE Technologies, has held many strategic C-level positions in technology, communications and operations, including Chief Operating Officer of NAREX, which provides artificial intelligence-based software for financial service companies, Executive VP and Chief Technology Officer at FirstWorld Communications, a DSL, Internet services, hosting and data center provider, VP of Sales Operations at Qwest Communications, through their acquisition and integration of LCI International, Chief Information Officer at USLD Communications, an integrated telecommunications provider, VP of Sales and Marketing at American Telco, Inc., a telecommunications company, and Senior Research Engineer with Exxon Production Research. Jenkins received his BS in Mechanical Engineering from Utah State University and his MS and PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University. He is a contributing author to the book, Business Driven Information Technology, which was developed through the University of Colorado-Denver Graduate School of Business, and was published by Stanford Press.

John C. Knudsen
Aviation Attorney, Former Cofounder – Adam Aircraft

Knudsen was Co-founder, President for Government Operations and General Counsel of Adam Aircraft Industries. Before starting Adam Aircraft he was an aviation defense attorney with the law firm of Byrne Kiely & White. Prior to private practice, he spent five years as Trial Counsel with the Federal Aviation Administration in Washington, D.C. Knudsen has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado and a law degree from the University of Puget Sound School of Law. Prior to attending law school, he served as a pilot in the U.S. Navy, flying the A-6 Intruder, A-4 Skyhawk, T-2C Buckeye and T-34. His last Navy assignment was with the Naval Air Reserve as a patrol plane commander in the P-3 Orion.

Ian Massey
Former CFO, Airbus

Ian Massey joined Republic Financial Corporation, a Denver-based investment company, in 2001. As Executive Vice President, he oversaw the development and growth of Republic's Aviation and Private Equity businesses and the development of the Marketing and Communications Group. Massey remains on the Board of Directors for two of Republic's portfolio companies. From 1991 to 2001, he served as the senior financial executive (CFO) at Airbus in Toulouse, France. From 1980 to 1991, he held several positions at British Aerospace (now BAE SYSTEMS), including divisional finance director in the regional aircraft division. For his services in the field of aviation, Massey was awarded the distinguished “Officer of Order of the British Empire” (OBE) designation by the Queen. He is a qualified accountant and a member of the Board of Directors of Vought Aircraft Industries, Inc. and of Pinnacle Airlines, Inc.

Jack J. Pelton
Chairman, President and CEO, Cessna Aircraft Company

Jack J. Pelton is Chairman, President and CEO of Cessna Aircraft Company, the world’s leading general aviation company. He has more than three decades of aviation experience and has a commercial pilot’s license with instrument, multi-engine and seaplane ratings. He also holds type ratings in several Citation business jets, including the Citation X, and a single pilot rating in the Citation Mustang. Jack is a member of the board and past chairman of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, where he continues to serve as chairman of the Flight Operations Policy committee. He also serves on the boards of directors of the National Business Aviation Association, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and Corporate Angel Network. In May, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood named Jack a member of the newly created Future of Aviation Advisory Committee.

John Plaza
President, CEO and Founder, Imperium Renewables, Inc.

Mr. Plaza is President, CEO and Founder of Imperium Renewables in Seattle, Wash., and is a recognized national expert in the field of biodiesel and alternative fuels. He founded Imperium Renewables in February 2004, by building Seattle Biodiesel, the first commercial scale biodiesel production facility in the western United States, utilizing advanced technology which differentiated itself in the market because of its low environmental footprint due to complete capture of emissions and zero water usage.

Richard F. Schaden
Founder, Beyond the Edge

Richard F. Schaden, founder of Beyond The Edge, is an aeronautical engineer, active ATP pilot, businessman, and highly experienced trial lawyer. He is also a founding partner of Consumer Capital Partners, a nationally recognized private investment, concept development, strategic advisory, and causal marketing firm. In addition, he was the founding partner of Schaden, Katzman, Lampert and McClune, a prominent international aviation and public interest law firm. A former officer of Quiznos and related companies, Richard is a leading philanthropist in the areas of family homelessness, oceanic preservation, and public interest law. He contributes to domestic family homelessness and related issues through America’s Road Home, started by Richard and members of his family. He was also instrumental in facilitating the making of the recent eco-thriller, “The Cove,” winner of 46 film festival awards and an Oscar Award Winner for Best Feature Documentary.

Mark Van Tine
President and CEO, Jeppesen

Mr. Van Tine began his career with Lockheed DataPlan, a leading flight planning and weather services company located in Los Gatos, California, which, in 1989, was acquired by Jeppesen. He served as the managing director of DataPlan from 1991 until 1995, before relocating to Denver to oversee Jeppesen's worldwide flight information development, printing and distribution operations, and IT organizations. He has since spent his career working in a variety of different organizations within Jeppesen, including flight operations, customer service, navigation, and information technology. Van Tine was the company’s Chief Information Officer from 1998 to 2002. He was appointed to his present position in January of 2003. As Jeppesen is a subsidiary of the Boeing Company, he also currently is Vice President, Commercial Aviation Services for Boeing. Van Tine holds a Private Pilot certificate and is an active general aviation pilot.