Steven Abreu-Hill is the Audit Manager for the International Standard for Business Aviation Handling (IS-BAH). As an accredited IS-BAH auditor, Steven is an accomplished aviation and ground handling operations professional with 17 years of combined experience in emergency response, safety, security, environmental, meteorology and SMS program development. Steven earned both a B.S. degree in Applied Meteorology and M.S. degree in Aeronautics Safety and Management from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and is also a FAA Licensed Aircraft Dispatcher. Based in Houston, Texas, Steven helped coordinate emergency management programs for Houston Hobby airport (HOU) and George Bush International Airport (IAH) and served as an emergency management point of contact for FBOs at both HOU and IAH airports.

Nuno Aghdassi obtained his Aerospace Engineering degree from the University of London in 1998. He continued his studies at Cranfield University in the UK where he obtained his Master’s degree and developed a keen interest in aviation safety and aircraft accident investigation. While at Cranfield, he wrote a thesis concerning the on-board use of Portable Electronic Devices (PEDs) and their implications on flight safety and obtained wide-ranging industry support for his research into the then emerging issue.

Despite starting his career in Spain, Nuno was soon hired by Embraer to set-up their regional air safety department at the company’s European headquarters in Paris. In this role, he created a dynamic, day-to-day flow of safety information between Embraer, its operators and the authorities within the scope of the corporate Safety Management System (SMS). Responsible for the regions of Europe, Africa and the Middle East, Nuno was primarily in-charge of Embraer’s air accident investigation activities and often nominated as the adviser to the Brazilian Accredited Representative. However, considering the latter’s “non-traveling” status he was directly involved with the accident investigation agencies and developed an excellent relationship based on integrity and cooperation, during the course of over 70 investigations. Nuno played an important role in helping Embraer achieve a greater international presence and exchange of information with the wider safety community through representation at key international aviation safety forums.

Before returning to Portugal in 2007, Nuno was invited to join the group that carried out the human factors investigation into the Zoufftgen head-on rail collision, in October 2006, on behalf of the transportation safety authorities of France and Luxembourg. He was also involved in developing and delivering human factors training on behalf of Airbus.

In 2008, Nuno joined NetJets Europe as Flight Safety Assistant Manager but was soon promoted to the Head of Flight Safety position. At NetJets, Nuno has lead the safety team and developed the company’s SMS to industry-leading standards. His current priorities include expansion of the Flight Data Monitoring programme to include the new aircraft types joining NetJets’ fleet, the implementation of a new Global Safety Data Management System and the roll-out of the company’s Fatigue Risk Management System. Additionally, his other responsibilities include readiness of the Emergency Response Plan (ERP) and safety investigations. Nuno is leader of EASA’s EOFDM Working Group C, an active member of EASA’s CAT Aero CAG safety forum (representing the European Business Aviation Association) and represents NetJets at the European Society of Air Safety Investigators.

Nuno is a visiting lecturer at Cranfield University, is involved in aviation safety and EC funded research projects through his own consultancy firm and holds professional membership from the Flight Safety Foundation (FSF) and the International Society of Air Safety Investigators (ISASI).

Robert Baltus' aviation experience spans nearly 20 years advising and supporting senior management and executive Boards of a variety of aviation related companies. He has worked for aircraft management, fractional and charter operators and has built strong relationships with the leading business aviation companies in the industry.  A business aviation specialist, Baltus is experienced in start-ups, fleet selection, training and strategic change management.

As Chief Operating Officer of the EBAA, Robert oversees a team of experts to monitor and provide analysis on European aviation policies, and is responsible for member engagement with events such as EBACE, EBAA Safety Summit and AirOps.

He has a business management degree from HES Amsterdam and an MSc in Air Transport Management from Cranfield University, was a JAA Accountable manager and is a Commercial Pilot rated on the Boeing 737.

Steve Cass serves as the director, Technical Sales Support, at Gulfstream Aerospace. In this
capacity, Steve is responsible for supporting the worldwide new-aircraft sales organization with
technical information and tools. In addition, Steve assists with new product development
programs and is a member of the Environmental Strategy Team at Gulfstream.
Steve joined Gulfstream’s preliminary design group in 1992, where he worked on the GV
program and special mission aircraft. Over the past 30 years at Gulfstream, Steve has held
various positions in engineering, marketing, sales and communications. Before coming to
Gulfstream, Steve worked at Rockwell International, North American Aircraft in conceptual
aircraft design.
Steve has a degree in aerospace engineering from Cal Poly, Pomona and is an associate fellow
of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).

Eduard graduated in 1996 from the Polytechnic University of Bucharest as aeronautical engineer and started his career in 1997 in the Romanian CAA in Bucharest, where he dealt with various topics: environmental protection, internal audit and operator certification. In 2006 Eduard joined EASA where he was in charge of the coordination of the EU SAFA Programme. Since 2015, Eduard was managing the Air Operations Standards Section in EASA, which is responsible for drafting requirements addressing the entire spectrum of air operations. During the 2020-2021 he was in charge of the project RNO – Return to Normal Operations, a project launched by EASA to support the European member states and industry to cope and recover swiftly and safely from the COVID19 crisis. Since July 2020, Eduard is the Head of the Air Operations and Aerodromes Department that is responsible for rulemaking and standardisation in the flied of air operations and aerodromes, SAFA Programme, TCO and also for the oversight of EU operators for which the Agency is acting as Competent Authority.

In addition to supporting the daily running of the IS-BAO™ Programme, Stéphane represents IBAC and advocates for business aviation at various authorities, working groups and industry initiatives worldwide such as the ICAO Safety Management Panel, the EU Ramp Inspection Programme, EASA, etc.  
 
Before joining IBAC in 2017, Stéphane held various positions in both manned and unmanned aviation, including at NCA and Qualified Entity levels, such as flight/cabin crew member, flight dispatcher, safety & compliance monitoring manager, quality auditor/manager, lead auditor (IS-BAO™, IS-BAH™, US DoD, etc.). 
 
Stéphane holds certificates in safety/risk management and business management from the USC Viterbi School of Engineering and ICHEC Business School. He just completed the MSc programme in Human Factors and System Safety at Lund University with a thesis titled “SMS in micro and small air operators: mission possible?”.

Simon is responsible for the Training & the Standards for Shell Aircraft based in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Simon joined Shell Aircraft in 2008 in Calgary, Canada as Performance/Training Captain. Subsequently he moved to The Netherlands to join the corporate fleet.

With Shell Aircraft he has worked with his team to develop fit for purpose Fatigue risk management, EFB, FDM, Aircraft Performance, Peer Support, Human Factors, training framework, SOPs and a departmental working and operating culture with a team proud to deliver. He keeps looking for opportunities to improve and develop based on SMS principles of plan do check and act.

Simon has spent time operating in the high artic, Antarctic, East/central Africa. His aviation background has been relief, Cargo, Airline and Corporate Flight operations.

John started his aviation career in the RAF, serving as an Engineering Officer on the Tornado aircraft and within various staff roles in aviation safety, spending the last 6 years working in the field of occurrence reporting and investigation.  He joined EASA in 2011 as Safety Analysis Coordinator responsible for collaborative safety analysis initiatives between the NAAs of the EASA Member States.  In 2014, he became the Head of the Safety Analysis and Performance Section, which provides safety intelligence to support the European Plan for Aviation Safety and leads collaborative safety risk management with NAAs and industry.  

Colin Gill

Colin’s career started  as an air traffic controller in the Royal Air Force and he subsequently held managerial positions including developing and delivering the Safety Management System for all RAF air traffic control and air defence units.

In 2007, Colin moved into civil aviation safety regulation, holding several roles in the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), culminating in being a member of the CAA Safety Strategy Team. During this time he was the chair of the ICAO ATM OPS Panel, a member of various EASA and Eurocontrol drafting and working groups, and led many UK safety programmes including the London 2012 Olympics Aviation Safety Project.

Colin was appointed to his current position of Isle of Man Deputy Director of Civil Aviation in 2016. He is responsible for the Isle of Man’s aviation safety and security legislation, policy and oversight activities, including the Isle of Man Aircraft Registry.

Johan Glantz, FRAeS, is currently Senior Manager Safety and Regulatory Affairs at the EBAA.

Retired from an airline career late 2017 as a Training and Check Captain flying for Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) on the B737NG fleet. His commercial career started in SAS in 1989 as an FO on DC9 and he has since then flown B737NG, A340 and A330 as FO and MD80 and B737NG as Captain. He has been involved in training as a simulator instructor and examiner as well as line training. Prior to SAS, Johan was a career officer with the Royal Swedish Navy, serving both on Surface Warfare Ships and Anti Submarine Helicopters.

Before joining EBAA and beside flying, Johan held positions as Executive Board Member Technical Affairs at the European Cockpit Association, chaired the Swedish Flight Safety Committee, was a member of the SAS internal investigation and emergency response teams, was active within IFALPA as an expert in Accident Investigation, Safety Management and Flight Data since early 2000.

He has academic studies in Human Factors/CRM from University West, Sweden and the Air Safety Management program, Ciry University, London.

Joel HENCKS
- Managing Director; Partner, AeroEx, GmbH - Switzerland
- Member; EASA Rulemaking Group OPS, FTL & SMS
- Fellow; Center for Aviation Competence - University St. Gallen
- Auditor; International Business Aviation Council (IBAC)
- Member; ICAO Operational Safety Data – Industry Study Group
- External Expert Operations & Horizontal Disciplines; EASA
- Board Member; FRMS Forum
- Board Member; Swiss Aerospace Cluster
- Advocacy Commitee; European Business Aviation Association

Joel HENCKS is the Managing Director of AeroEx GmbH, an aviation consulting company based
in Switzerland offering a wide range of services to both commercial and non-commercial
aviation organizations.
With several decades of experience in many sectors of the aviation industry, AeroEx support
their customers in the implementation and realization of international aviation requirements,
Safety Management Systems, compliance monitoring and auditing. AeroEx additionally
provides workshops and seminars on a variety of aviation-related topics to management
personal and employees of the aviation industry.
Since 2006, Joel Hencks has been a member of the EASA rulemaking group OPS.001 and was
chairing the EASA OPS Review Group 02. These working groups developed the Implementing
Rules Air Operations for Europe. Since 2012 Joel Hencks is also member of the EASA
Rulemaking Groups Flight & Duty Time for Air Taxi and SMS Cross Domain.
In 2016 Joel Hencks has been appointed by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
to participate in an Industry Study Group on Operational Safety Data (SIMS-OSD-ISG).
Furthermore, Joel Hencks is an avocational lecturer for Aviation Regulation, Safety
Management Systems and Compliance Monitoring at the Center for Aviation Competence
(CFAC-HSG), University of St.Gallen.
Joel Hencks is a professional pilot. He flew for different airlines, air ambulances and on-demand
air charter operators.
Beside his airline transport licence, he is holding a technical degree in electronics and is an
International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO) accredited auditor.

“Achim holds currently the position of Chief Pilot Netjets Europe and is responsible for Flight and Cabin Crew and daily operations, including oversight of the Operation Control Centre and Flight Dispatch.

Achim started his flying career in 1988 with the German Air Force, where he flew several military jets operational and instructional, including two tours at ENJJPT, USA and NFTC, Canada. During this time, he held various positions like Chief Flying Instructor, Stan Eval Pilot, Flight Safety and Flight Ops Officer, TRI/TRE and Maintenance Check Pilot.

In 2008 he joined NetJets as a business jet pilot, relocated to Lisbon in 2018 to join the NetJets training department as CFI, and in 2019 the operations department, first as Head of Flight Operations and then as Chief Pilot. He is currently rated on the Challenger 650.

The main challenges in his present role are to keep the balance between operations and safety and to keep crews and office staff motivated in these demanding and uncertain times.”

April 2016-currently: CEO Japat AG & Captain Falcon 7X

February 2004-March 2016: NetJets Transportes Aéreos S.A. (Chief Pilot Global 6000, fleet implementation manager, NPFO, Deputy NPFO, Chief Pilot Cessna Citation, Assistant Chief Pilot Hawker 800) & Captain Global 6000, Citation XLS & Hawker 800.

February 1991-January 2004: Netherlands Royal Navy – Pilot Lockheed Orion P3C, Ops manager HATO airbase Curacao, Safety Officer SQN. 320

October 1989-January 1991: Fokker Aircraft Services

August 1988-September 1989: Training for Air Traffic Controller in Amsterdam

August 1984-July 1988: BSc Aeronautical Engineering

Jarno is a senior inspector of flight operations. Mostly he is working with business aviation AOC operators but also NCC and SPO operators. He is Embraer 170/190 type rated but haven't actually flown much as an airline pilot due loss of medical. He started working as a licensing inspector in Finnish CAA 2011. He has also worked with ATO's before becoming OPS inspector.

Davide Martini serves since March 2016 as Senior Cybersecurity Expert at EASA, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency.
His recent work spans various aspects of cybersecurity in the aviation domain, from coordinating the development of a European cybersecurity in aviation strategy, managing the foundation of a European Centre for Cybersecurity in Aviation (ECCSA) and contributing to the development of the EASA regulatory framework for the management of information security risks in aviation. He also engages in high-level education as a guest lecturer on subjects related to cybersecurity in aviation.
Prior to his current role, Davide spent more than 15 years in the aviation industry. Before joining EASA, he served as Engineering Manager for Leonardo - Helicopters Division, where he was responsible for the development of systems and services supporting aircraft’s operations, ranging from mission analysis, flight planning, health and usage data analysis, maintenance schedule optimisation, as well as field loading of avionic software.
He holds a master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Milan.

Jeremie Neveux is Senior Expert Airworthiness at EASA. He has recently led the rulemaking effort for the introduction of SMS in Part-145. He was also involved in the introduction of SMS in Part-CAMO, and in this role, he developed the ‘Guide for transition to Part-CAMO and Part-CAO’ published on the EASA website.

He is currently responsible to prepare the future regulatory framework for the Continuing Airworthiness of drones. Before joining EASA in 2008, he was working at Airbus in the A319/A321 Hamburg Delivery Centre and then in Toulouse as leading expert in the A330/A340 Maintenance Programme development (MRBR).

Jeremie is graduated from Mechanical Engineering.

Michal has been working at ABS Jets in Prague for the last 15 years and is currently the company’s Director of Ground Operations. He manages the Operations Control Centre and FBOs in both Prague and Bratislava. Skilled and enthusiastic, Michal enjoys creating new solutions, optimizing existing operations, and keeping pace with the dynamic field of aviation. He obtained a PhD in Transportation Studies and is very keen on creating opportunities for students and cooperating with universities. In 2019, Michal received the NBAA’s Business Aviation Top 40 Under 40 award.

Jesper Rasmussen has been director for Flight Standards in EASA since 2017. He is responsible for the development of regulations and oversight (standardisation) of EU National Authorities in the domains of Aircraft Maintenance, Production, Air Operations, Aircrew & Training and Aerodromes. His responsibilities also cover approval & oversight of production, maintenance and training organisations mainly outside the EU.

Prior to joining EASA Jesper Rasmussen was the deputy director general in the Danish transport authority, where he since 2012 has been responsible for aviation safety as well as railway safety.

Before entering into aviation, Jesper Rasmussen occupied for 20 years other posts in the Danish central government administration in the Ministry of Transport and Ministry of Industry. Jesper Rasmussen has a Ph.d in social sciences.

Jose Rubinho is Safety & Compliance Manager of the Spanish business aviation handling company United Aviation Services since 2018.

With wide experience in commercial aviation handling (Iberia -Flight Dispatcher-, LTU/Luft Transport Unternehmen -Station Manager-, Ryanair -Duty & Ramp Manager- and Jet2 -Station Manager-) in airports as important as Ibiza or Mallorca, he made the step to Business Aviation in 2011 with Ibizair, a well-known company of the United Aviation group, the pioneer since 1979 with the most extensive network of business aviation handling services in Spain.

He currently combines his responsibilities of Safety & Compliance in United Aviation, implementing and maintaining SMS at all 14 airports in its network, with those of Sales & Key Account Manager, so he handles a deep knowledge of the Business Aviation handling sector both operationally and commercially.

Colin is the Head of Safety for Lilium, an exciting company developing the first electric VTOL jet; he is responsible for leading the development and implementation of the safety management systems, and enabling the effective leadership of its safety performance.  After almost 20 years in the Royal Navy where he led teams working on some old (Sea King HC4) helicopters and not so old ones (Merlin HM1) as well as time at sea (lumpy) the desert (hot) and headquarters (most challenging!) he took his budding passion for safety leadership and culture into civilian life, working for Baines Simmons, a specialist aviation safety consultancy before then taking on the role as Group Safety Director for the Thomas Group Airlines, and then as Safety Director for Flybe, a regional UK airline.  He is passionate about the role of leadership and mindset in helping teams perform safely across the aviation spectrum – in words we can all get stuck into!

Fernando is a Regional Director, Training Operations at FlightSafety International, where he provides operations support to the company European learning centres. His duties also include the role of Deputy Head of Training and Chief Flight Instructor for EASA ATO 012. He has extensive experience as instructor and examiner, currently holding EASA Senior Examiner, Examiner and Synthetic Flight Instructor qualifications.

For the past 14 years, Fernando has been conducting or directing pilot and instructor training. He was part of the team that conducted the EASA CS-FSTD Issue 2 update and rolled out UPRT training for instructors at FlightSafety.

Among other qualifications, Fernando is an experimental Test Pilot graduated from the Empire Test Pilot School, holds a Master (MSc) in Human Factors and Safety Assessment in Aeronautics awarded by the Cranfield University, a Professional Certificate in Corporate Finance by the Columbia University X and a Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification by the Project Management Institute.

In his past life, he carried out operational and flight test duties in fast jets, including F-16 Block 50, F-5E and A-37 in the Chilean Air Force

Günther is the CEO and co-founder of the ASQS Group which is an innovative software provider in the field of aviation safety-, compliance- and risk management with offices in Vienna, Bangkok and Calgary.

After graduating from the University of applied sciences in the field of aviation management in Graz, Austria, he joined Tyrolean Airways in the Quality Management Department. He was there already responsible to develop a first audit software for the internal quality management. From 2006 until 2017 he was the Quality / Compliance Monitoring Manager at Global Jet Luxembourg and Global Jet Austria and responsible for Operations and Continuing Airworthiness.

In 2009 and founded the company ASQS – Advanced Safety and Quality Solutions with two partners with the target to develop a web-based application to support the implementation of Safety Management System (SMS) in the aviation industry. Today the application called IQSMS (Integrated Quality and Safety Management System) is used by more than 290 aviation companies on 6 continents.

Mr. Joan Serra is a Regulatory Affairs Manager for GAMA based in the Brussels office. Having joined GAMA in March 2022, he is responsible for coordinating the association’s activities related to regulatory requirements and policies in Europe governing the design, certification, operation, training and maintenance of general aviation aircraft. This primarily involves working with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), and the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), to support the development of new and revised regulations. He also provides support and service to GAMA’s members based in Europe or with specific interests in European aviation regulation and policy and international coordination.

Before working for GAMA, Joan spent several years within the airline industry, where he managed regulatory affairs and flight standards. He held several positions at Evelop Airlines, both in Spain and the Dominican Republic, where he most recently served as project lead for the obtainment of an Air Operator Certificate for a Part 121 Caribbean-based carrier.

Joan’s professional background also includes a graduate traineeship at the International Cooperation Department of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), and an internship at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in Montreal.

Joan holds a MS of Air Transport Management from the French National Civil Aviation School (ENAC), a MSc. of Economic Policy and Public Economy, a Bachelor of Laws, and a Bachelor of Business Administration. He is actively pursuing a Private Pilot’s License (PPL).

Etienne currently works as aviation underwriter at Axis Capital, an specialty insurance company. He is specialised in Business Aviation and has been active both on lead and non-lead placements.  

Before joining Axis, Etienne works for 7 years at Flyinggroup, one of the leading business aviation operator in the Benelux. He was specifically in charge of the charter activity worldwide.  

Etienne holds a Master in Air Transport Management from the French Civil Aviation University (ENAC) and is now a visiting lecturer there on Aviation insurance, & corporate aviation topics.

His experience combines business aviation charter operation, risk management and insurance.

Working with EASA since November 2012, initially as an air operations regulations assistant until 2021, in charge of the implementation support for Part-NCC, focal point for ICAO Annex 6, and project manager of several rulemaking tasks in the Air OPS domain. Since 2021: EASA Ground Handling Expert, involved since the beginning in the EASA Ground Handling Roadmap; project manager of Rulemaking Task RMT.0728 developing the ground handling (EU) requirements.

Before November 2012: 9 years in the Ground Ops departments of 2 air operators as ground ops manuals&procedures manager, emergency response manager, and dangerous goods instructor.

Cengiz worked as a certifying staff in different airlines and maintenance organisations both in Turkey and in the UK from 1991 to 2002. He then held roles in Safety and Quality Departments in SR Technics UK Ltd and Flightline, a UK charter airline. Before he joined City University London as a Senior Lecturer and Wake QA as a part-time IOSA auditor in 2008, he was the nominated post holder for ‘Continuing Airworthiness’ in Flightline. Over the last 14 years, Cengiz had the opportunity to take part in IOSA audits of over 50 different airlines in North and South America, Asia, Middle East, Africa and Europe. In September 2015, he joined the ‘Cranfield Safety and Accident Investigation Centre’ and became the Course Director MSc Airworthiness in 2017. Since July 2019, he has been holding the position of ‘Quality Manager’ at the Cranfield University’s National Flying Laboratory Centre, which is a SPO Authorised Saab340B operator.

Cengiz has been a member of the UK Flight Safety Committee since 2010 and joined the ‘Executive Board’ as the Vice Chairman in 2015. Since 2021, he remained in the Executive Board as a non-executive member. Cengiz also has been representing the International Federation of Airworthiness (IFA) in European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) Collaborative Analysis Groups for Commercial Air Transport and the Human Factors since their inception in 2016.

Cengiz currently holds BEng (Hons) Degree in Aircraft Engineering from Kingston University and MSc Air Transport Management from City University London. He chose the topic of ‘Risk Culture in Commercial Air Transport’ for his PhD research, which he is currently continuing at Cranfield University.

Maxime started flying gliders at the age of 13 in the Belgian Ardennes. After graduating high school, he started his commercial pilot training and simultaneously started working for a major flight training organisation, holding various functions, including Safety Manager.

After having spent almost 10 years in the airline pilot training industry, period during which he also followed various aviation-related and management courses, Maxime started his career in the business aviation industry by joining ASL Group in Belgium, both as a pilot and as Safety Manager, ending up being responsible for 2 AOCs and 2 CAMO organisations. Nowadays, Maxime has established his own aviation management and consulting firm, specialized in safety management, project management and innovation. He also flies as Captain on the Embraer Legacy 450 and 500.

Maxime is the proud father of a 7-year-old boy, got recently married, and is passionate about music, philosophy, martial arts, motorbikes, sailing and foreign cultures.

Juergen Wiese was appointed EBAA Chairman in September 2016. With over 35 years of experience in aviation, Juergen Wiese is currently the Aviation Director for BMW’s corporate aviation operations including EASA approved Part 145 and Part CAMO organizations.  Juergen began his aviation career as an officer in the German Air Force, serving in the Air Crew Selection Program for Air Force and Navy in his

last assignment. After working as a flight instructor and developing and managing a start-up air charter business he joined BMW AG in 1995. He also served as the Managing Director of BMW’s Global Corporate Travel Service for more than six years.