Jet Aviation Makes Changes in its EMEA and Asia Management Team

April 9, 2009
Charles Celli announced as new head of completions EMEA and Asia and general manager of Jet Aviation Basel.

BASEL, SWITZERLAND – Jet Aviation has restructured its EMEA and Asia management organization following an announcement that André Wall, chief operating officer of EMEA and Asia operations will step down next month. Concurrently, Jet Aviation announces the appointment of Charles Celli as the new head of completions EMEA and Asia and general manager of Jet Aviation Basel, starting his new assignment this month. Jet Aviation's EMEA and Asia senior staff, including the aircraft management and charter divisions and the MRO and FBO lines of business, will now report directly to Peter G. Edwards, president of the Jet Aviation Group.

As of this month, Celli will begin his new assignment based in Basel, Switzerland. In his role as general manager, he will be responsible for facility management, supply chain management, and quality, and will represent the company externally to authorities and the local community. For the completions line of business his functions include narrow and wide-body outfitting and refurbishment in addition to the Dassault Falcon completions line. Major undertakings will also include the development of the Boeing 787 product line, and the evaluation of the Airbus 350 and Boeing 747-8 programs.

Celli started his professional career at McDonnell Douglas and continued later with the Boeing Company in Long Beach, CA, in various managerial functions, working the last two years as director of product quality verification commercial programs. In 2000, Celli joined Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation first as director of completions in Dallas and later was promoted to director of service center operations in Savannah, GA. Since May 2003, he served at the company's site in Dallas as vice president and general manager. Celli is a graduate of California State University Long Beach and holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Notre Dame. He also holds an FAA Airframe and Power Plant License.

Jet Aviation's EMEA and Asia operational senior staff members include industry veterans Jürg Reuthinger, senior vice president aircraft management' Martin Bernegger, senior vice president aircraft charter; Christof Späth, senior vice president MRO and FBO services; and Celli, who will now report to Edwards. In June 1983, Reuthinger joined Jet Aviation and successfully managed the company's two FBO and line maintenance facilities in Jeddah and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia for six years before he took over aircraft management services in 1999. Bernegger has been with Jet Aviation from 1991 to 1998 and re-joined the company in 2000 when he was appointed to head the company’s charter division. Both are based in Zurich, Switzerland.

Späth, who is based in Basel from where he manages the MRO & FBO lines of business, joined Jet Aviation from an aerospace company in July 2008.

André Wall joined Jet Aviation in February 2007, when the Permira Funds held Jet Aviation as a portfolio company. Under his leadership, Jet Aviation successfully reorganized and streamlined the EMEA and Asia organization by lines of business, expanded its presence to Moscow and Beijing, and opened the company's completions wide-body hangar in Basel in spring 2008.

"I am very pleased to welcome Charles Celli to Jet Aviation. He brings a wealth of experience and know-how to the company, having successfully managed a large completions facility during the past six years," says Edwards. "Jet Aviation's completions business in Basel underwent a rapid growth during the last few years and Charley's major focus will be on driving world-class project execution and quality, while maintaining the highest customer satisfaction throughout the completions experience.

"I wish André Wall all the best in his future endeavors and would like to thank him for his energy and commitment in managing the EMEA and Asia operations during the past two years."

For more information visit www.jetaviation.com.