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The voting members of the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) re-elected nine individuals to the association’s board of directors during an annual meeting held virtually. Each director will serve a three-year term that will conclude at the annual meeting in 2023.
Matt Byrd serves as president and CEO of Hillwood Aviation, associated with The Perot Group of companies, focusing on real estate, investments and aviation related business opportunities. Byrd has held a variety of positions within The Perot Group Companies for the past 20 years, including seven as president and CEO of Gulf Alliance Company, A Perot Company, based in Abu Dhabi. Byrd served for 33 years in the United States Air Force, where he flew as an air demonstration pilot with the Thunderbirds, an instructor pilot in the F-117A Stealth Fighter, the A-10 Thunderbolt II and T-38C Talon. Byrd served three tours in the Middle East, where he flew combat missions in the F-117 during Desert Storm. Byrd received a Bachelor of Science from the United States Air Force Academy and Master of Science from Troy State University. He is a graduate of the Air Command and Staff College and the Armed Forces Staff College. He holds FAA ratings of commercial pilot, airplane single engine/multi-engine, instrument and CFII. Byrd is a member of The Dallas Committee on Foreign Relations, U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council and previously served as Chairman of AmCham Abu Dhabi and Chairman of AmCham MENA. Byrd serves as Vice President of The Falcon Foundation Board of Trustees (US Air Force Academy) and DynCorp International FZ, LLC.
Shelly Lesikar deZevallos is a principal at Independent Mortgage Company and president of West Houston Airport, a privately owned, public-use general aviation airport operated by her family for two generations. She is an active pilot with her glider, SEL and MEL ratings along with her IFR and commercial certificate. DeZevallos is a member of the FAA’s Safety Oversight and Certification Advisory Committee. She has participated in the NBAA Local and Regional Group Committee and is active with the National Academy of Sciences Transportation Research Board. She also serves Texas on the TxDot Aviation Advisory Commission and her native Houston area as part of the San Jacinto Girl Scouts of America Leadership Council. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Texas, her EMBA from Texas A&M and her Doctorate of Education in aviation and space science from Oklahoma State University.
Elizabeth Dornak is the director of aviation at DuPont. In addition to serving on the NBAA Board of Directors since 2007, she has experience with NBAA’s Operations Committee and was a member of the Certified Aviation Manager Governing Board. With extensive international experience, she has also served as the NBAA board’s representative to the International Business Aviation Council (IBAC). Dornak is type rated in Gulfstream, Hawker and Citation aircraft and holds an ATP certificate with over 8,500 hours of flight time. She is a graduate of Purdue University and has completed the Aviation Safety Certificate Program at the University of Southern California. Dornak currently serves as chair of the NBAA Board of Directors.
Ronald Duncan is one of the founders of General Communication, Inc. (GCI), Alaska’s largest telecommunications provider, and has been president and CEO since 1989. Prior to starting GCI, Duncan founded and was president of an Alaska-based cable television company. He received a bachelor’s degree in economics from Johns Hopkins University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He holds a commercial pilot’s license with SEL&S and MEL ratings and is type rated in CE-560, IA-1125, G-100, CL604 and BD 700 aircraft. In more than 40 years of flying, Duncan has accumulated 8,000 hours, more than half of which are in turbojets. Duncan formerly served as chair of the NBAA Board of Directors.
Monte Koch is a retired partner at BDT & Company and member of Rickyman LLC. He has advised clients and invested in a broad range of industries, including real estate, lodging, aviation and technology, with a diverse background in both institutional and entrepreneurial settings. With more than 25 years of investment banking experience, he served as chairman of M&A for the Americas and Global Head of Real Estate Investment Banking at Deutsche Bank. In late 2012, Koch left Deutsche Bank to serve as co-founder, co-CEO and later vice chairman of Ten-X/Auction.com, the largest online marketplace for residential and commercial real estate transactions. Koch is a director of publicly-traded Choice Hotels. He holds an ATP license and is type rated in the Falcon 10, G-IV, G-V and Boeing 747-400. He also holds helicopter and seaplane ratings. Koch graduated from The College of William & Mary with a BBA in management. He is currently the vice chair/treasurer of the NBAA Board of Directors.
Mark McIntyre is the director, flight operations for Mente LLC, a Part 91 business aviation operation based in Seattle, WA. After learning to fly in high school, he began his aviation career with Kenmore Air, starting as a lineman and advancing to floatplane flight Instructor and charter pilot, before moving to Nordstrom, Inc., where he spent 18 years advancing from co-pilot to chief pilot. In 1997, he helped found the Mente LLC operation. He has been active in business aviation throughout his career, serving on the Bombardier Global Advisory Board, and as a member of the Chief Pilots Roundtable and the NBAA International Operations Committee. He is also a founding member of the Pacific Northwest Business Aviation Association. McIntyre graduated from Claremont McKenna College with a dual major in political science and psychology. He was one of the first 22 Certified Aviation Managers (CAMs) recognized by NBAA and has spoken several times at the NBAA International Operations Conference.
Lloyd “Fig” Newton retired in 2000 from the United States Air Force as a four-star general. Serving for more than three decades, Newton flew 269 combat missions in Vietnam, flew with the U.S. Air Force Demonstration Team “The Thunderbirds,” served as a congressional liaison to the U.S. House of Representatives for the Air Force and led the Air Education and Training Command, which consisted of 13 bases, 43,000 active duty personnel and 14,000 civilians. After leaving the Air Force, Newton worked at Pratt & Whitney as executive vice president of international military programs and business development until 2006. In 2018, Newton was honored as the recipient of the Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy for his extraordinary achievements as a history-making military aviator and his continuing contributions to the advancement of aviation education and advocacy. Newton serves on the board of L3 Harris Technologies, Inc. and formerly served as chair of the NBAA Board of Directors.
Charlie Precourt is the vice president and general manager of the Propulsion Systems business at Northrop Grumman. He also serves as vice chairman of the Board of Directors for the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) and the chair of the Safety Committee for the Citation Jet Pilots Association. Precourt, who retired as an Air Force colonel in 2000, graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1977 with a degree in aeronautical engineering. He was an F-15 pilot, instructor, and flight commander, and a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School. He has over 11,000 hours in over 90 different types of aircraft, and is type rated in several Citation aircraft models and exhibition warbird jet aircraft. A veteran of four space flights and member of the Astronaut Hall of Fame, Precourt held several management positions within NASA, including deputy program manager for the International Space Station, chief of the Astronaut Corps, and director of operations for NASA at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia.
Jim Schwertner is president and CEO of Schwertner Farms, Inc. and was appointed by former Texas Gov. Rick Perry in 2009 to serve on the Board of Regents of the Texas A&M University System. He holds an ATP, is type rated on the Cessna Citation CE-525S and holds a single-engine sea rating. Schwertner is also chairman of the board of Schwertner State Bank and a partner in the Lockhart Livestock Auction and the Mid Tex Livestock Auction in Navasota, TX. He has extensive non-profit governance experience, having served on the boards of organizations such as Texans for General Aviation, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the Capitol Area Diabetes Association. He has also been appointed to represent industry on groups including the Texas Aviation Advisory Board and the National Beef Board.
