Fin Bonset
Senior Manager
The Louis Berger Group/Global Aviation Services
Date of Birth: 12/5/1975
Years in Aviation: 16
Fin Bonset’s grandfather was an expert airplane modeler and took him to Amsterdam Schiphol to watch airplanes every weekend. “I fell in love with aviation when I was 4-5 years old,” says the senior manager of The Louis Berger Group/Global Aviation Services.
Bonset started his aviation career after six years of college at the Florida Institute of Technology where he obtained both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees (in addition to his FAA commercial pilot license for multi-engine aircraft and instrument rating). During this time, Bonset got his start in aviation working for Palm Beach County, Fla. as a noise abatement intern. This foot in the door eventually led to a junior airport planning position with a smaller domestic firm where he first started immersing himself into airport master planning. Utilizing his international background, Bonset acquired positions with international firms and quickly rose to senior airport planner levels working on projects in various countries within Latin America. Domestically he was able to work for airports including Southwest Florida International Airport and Orlando Executive Airport.
After several years of consulting, Bonset decided to give back, and for three consecutive years fulfilled a full-time position as a professor of aeronautics at the Florida Institute of Technology. Bonset still teaches at Florida Tech as an adjunct professor and has helped more than 1,000 students pursue their aviation careers, both as a mentor and faculty advisor.
After a return to consulting, Bonset ran his own consulting company where he had dual roles: as CEO and project manager for a multitude of international airport planning projects, and as director of Marketing, Sales and Development for software company, Simtra AeroTech, out of Sweden.
Bonset, now works as a senior project manager for The Louis Berger Group where he is responsible for international projects and business development. Current projects with Louis Berger include work in Brazil, Colombia, Namibia, Israel, and Phoenix.
Bonset spends his free time with his wife and their boxers, Gage and Mollie, and often can be spotted flying a Cessna 182, surfing, fishing or brewing beer.
He tells those hoping to make their mark on aviation to: “Try something new within your field every two years and never get stuck doing one type of skill. A background in multiple disciplines will always allow you to excel and give you the ultimate freedom of developing your own direction in your career.”
