Richmond-based
CHC Helicopter has recruited a new executive with significant turnaround
experience to run its flight-services operations, the company announced
Tuesday.
John
Graber, a longtime executive with American Airlines and a veteran of Operation
Desert Storm, the 1991 action to liberate Kuwait, has been appointed president
of CHC Helicopter Services, where he will report directly to company CEO Bill
Amelio.
Company
spokesman Pieter Uni said one of Graber’s immediate tasks will be to help CHC
merge its two flying divisions, which operate some 250 aircraft in about 30
countries around the world, into a single operation.
“One
of the things we’re hoping to accomplish with this is we’re trying to reduce
the overlapping of functions between regions,” Uni said. “We have ambitious
growth plans for the segments and all of CHC,” Uni added. “And like any
organization that has expanded in part by acquisition, great opportunities for
streamlining operations occur.”
Amelio,
who took the helm of CHC in August of 2010, said Graber is a leader with “a
wealth of experience tackling the challenges we will face as CHC Helicopter
grows.”
Graber,
who holds an MBA from the University of Notre Dame, comes to CHC immediately
from the Ohio-based air-freight company ABX Air where he profitably
restructured the firm following a drop in customer demand.
“As
an experienced helicopter pilot and army aviator, Mr. Graber is also very
knowledgeable about helicopter operations and shares CHC’s commitment to
safety, which makes him a well-rounded choice for this position,” Amelio said
in the news release.
Graber
is one of two recent appointments at CHC. The company has also brought in Doug
Yakola, a senior adviser from the consulting firm McKinsey & Co. to serve
as an interim chief financial officer to take the place of former CFO Rick
Davis, who is stepping down.