Leadership Team

George Bye - Founder, Chairman and CEO

Mr. Bye has two decades of experience as an aerospace entrepreneur, manager and executive. In early 2007 he founded Bye Aerospace, the parent company of Bye Energy, Inc. and Bye Engineering LLC. Previously, Mr. Bye developed and led Aviation Technology Group and holds an Airline Transport Pilot rating with over 4,000 flying hours in aircraft, including the supersonic Northrop T-38 and the C-141B strategic transport.

Charles B. Johnson - Chief Operations Officer

Mr. Johnson has a lifetime of distinguished aerospace leadership, including recent service as President of ATG from 2004 to 2007, and President and Chief Operating Officer of Cessna from 1997 to 2003.  He holds an Airline Transport Rating with over 14,000 flying hours.  He is type rated in a large number of business jets including most of the Cessna Citations.  He also has 1,000 flight hours as a USAF F-105 fighter pilot, where he flew combat missions in Southeast Asia.

John W. Brown - Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Brown has corporate financial responsibility for Bye Aerospace. He also oversees all operations in New Mexico, and is a member of the Board of Directors for Bye Aerospace. Mr. Brown has 30 years of senior management experience in corporate finance, investment banking and private equity investment, including as Chief Operating Officer of PricewaterhouseCoopers Securities, LLC.

Diane Garcia - Chief Marketing Officer

Ms. Garcia is responsible for managing the company's image among media, investors and business partners. In addition, she manages Bye Aerospace's relationships with government representatives and has a strategic advisory role to the CEO. Ms. Garcia is a member of the Bye Aerospace Board of Directors and serves on the Boards of four other Denver-area companies. In addition, she represents Buckley Air Force Base in Gen. Robert Kehler's civilian advisory group for Air Force Space Command.

Scott Chesnut - Executive Vice President

Mr. Chesnut is responsible for company administration including information technology, media and human resources. He oversees all operations in Arizona and is also a member of the Board of Directors for Bye Aerospace. Mr. Chesnut was previously the Vice Commander of the Air Force District of Washington where he had unique oversight of homeland security and interagency operations for the Washington D.C. National Capital region. Mr. Chesnut is an Airline Transport rated pilot with over 7,000 total flying hours, including USAF F-111, KC-10, C-5 and Gulfstream V, and over 30 civil general aviation aircraft.

J. Thomas McKinnon, Ph.D. - Chief Scientist

Dr. McKinnon is Chief Scientist and technical lead on thermal conversion activities, plus a consultant on hybrid aircraft technology development. He is an Emeritus Professor with the Chemical Engineering Department at Colorado School of Mines, where he taught from 1990 to 2009. Dr. McKinnon is co-author of six patents.

Eric Snelgrove - Vice President Legal Affairs

Mr. Snelgrove is responsible for reviewing company policy, risk management, contracts, and securities and for coordinating with outside counsel. He is an attorney and member of the Colorado bar, and also holds an Airline Transport Pilot license with over 9,000 hours of flight time and is type rated in the B737, B757, and B767 aircraft. Mr. Snelgrove began his flying career as a U.S. Air Force pilot flying the OV-10 and F-15 aircraft in the Asian and Alaskan theaters.

Debra Wilcox - Senior Vice President

Ms. Wilcox is an attorney with an extensive business background. She currently serves on the Colorado Aeronautical Board overseeing the 74 airports in the State of Colorado and the Citizens Advisory Committee for FasTracks. She was recently selected by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to participate in their 2009 Executive Energy Leadership Program, and is a member of ASTM.   

Darrel Watson - Vice President Quality Assurance

Mr. Watson's 30 years of industry experience includes consumer electronics, military products and the production of general aviation products ranging from single engine piston aircraft to business jets. He was previously Director of Quality Engineering for Raytheon Aircraft Corporation and later joined Adam Aircraft as Vice President of Quality Assurance and Compliance Management.

Dick Ulman - Director of Engineering

Mr. Ulman is responsible for establishing the engineering development plan. His career as a senior aerospace engineer includes recent and previous work with Boeing in program management and integrated product teams to ensure a comprehensive, uniform approach to risk-management that integrates all team functional groups, subcontractors, and government entities. He is an Airline Transport rated pilot with type ratings in Boeing 757 and 767 aircraft.

Bruce Gillit - Vice President/Project Manager, Aerospace Materials

Mr. Gillit's duties include engineering design and respective project planning. He is an experienced engineering manager in program and project management with an expert knowledge of aircraft structures certification with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). He specializes in engineering, design, manufacturing, materials and processing of composite aircraft structures.