Introducing the Leadership Team

The initial vision for a trusted and neutral aviation data exchange was conceived over fifteen years ago, but the spark of creation for SkyThread as the best vehicle to bring this vision to industry can be traced back to a chance meeting at the 2019 Paris Air Show in Le Bourget, France. Since that meeting, a core group of senior industry leaders have been working together on the concept, the business plan, technology design, and development roadmap, leveraging extensive first-party industry research and due-diligence.

The planning and organizing has continued through the COVID-19 Pandemic, which brought increased need and urgency for the data exchange. The decision to formalize the company came in February 2021, and SkyThread was unveiled to the industry at the end of May. Now, as we prepare for the launch of our MVP at the end of August, we are excited to introduce our Leadership Team. This team has been collaborating with over 25 industry professionals from aerospace and commercial aviation, and working overtime to launch the MVP, the underlying technology ecosystem, and the related governing Consortium.

The SkyThread Leadership Team combines over two centuries of industry leadership and expertise in aviation digital transformation. We are a truly global team with extensive careers dedicated to aviation at global technology firms, aerospace OEMs, avionics and engine manufacturers, and airlines.

Read on to learn more about select members of the team. More will be revealed as we progress toward the MVP launch at the end of August.

Mark brings a deep commitment to mission, a keen entrepreneurial drive, and an unyielding passion for the industry, all combined with over 15 years’ experience in Aviation Digital Transformation execution. As an industry leader, Mark has motivated and led global multi-disciplinary teams of over 500 professionals and has owned P&Ls in excess of $600M / year to enable new forms and methods of engineering, operations, and maintenance. Mark is also a recognized thought leader on Applied Artificial Intelligence as well as on MRO Data, Processes, and Analytics. Mark has contributed to many of the industry’s largest digital MRO platforms, and he has also worked with dozens of airlines across the globe on prognostics, predictive maintenance, and the optimization of maintenance execution.

Prior to SkyThread.aero, Mark was General Manager for Digital Transformation—Aerospace & Defense at DXC Technology, a global $20B / year IT and digital services firm with a deep and historic presence in both the aerospace manufacturing and the travel/aviation industries. Prior to DXC, Mark was VP of Commercial Aviation at an Artificial Intelligence startup funded by Boeing, and before that, Mark was Global Solutions Leader for Aerospace & Defense at IBM.

Mark also chairs the SAE-G34/EUROCAE WG-114 Joint International Committee for AI in Aviation, which is working to develop the standard for the certification of AI & ML in aviation safety-critical systems, and he is also a member of the Prognostics and Health Management Society. Mark has several published patents, has penned numerous articles and industry white papers, and has contributed to several consensus-vetted standards critical to the future of aviation. Mark is also host of the aviation podcast “Future Flying” which explores how new technologies will transform aviation and its impact on society. Beyond aerospace, Mark loves travel and has enjoyed a career that has taken him all over the globe. Mark was also once upon a time an aspiring professional photographer (and perhaps will be again, someday, in retirement.)

Simon has spent more than 30 years in the Aerospace and Defense industry, first as a partner at Price Waterhouse Coopers in charge of the French aerospace sector, then as the IBM Global Business Services Partner in charge of aerospace for Europe, Middle East, and Africa, and most recently as the IBM Managing Director of the Airbus Account worldwide. Beyond the management of a complex €100M+ P&L delivered by a diverse team of technology and business professionals, Simon has led the design and execution of major corporate transformation projects in the Aviation and Industrial sectors.

As the IBM Managing Director for Airbus, Simon led all IBM businesses and activities for Airbus worldwide and focused with Airbus C-suite and senior executives on the rapid adoption of digital technologies to enhance safety and quality across the aviation business and product lifecycle. Simon led adoption of new technologies across Airbus, including Analytics, AI, and Blockchain. Simon also accelerated the embrace of new ways of thinking and working to better leverage innovation, including use of Design Thinking, Agile Development, UX Studios, and MVP Garages, all while building a culture singularly focused on performance.

In addition to his network and experience in capitalizing on revenue opportunities for driving business growth, Simon has a strategic point of view and a concrete knowledge of the digital reinvention that is dramatically transforming both operations and business models in the Aviation Industry.

Jean-Marc Lemaitre brings over 30 years experience from the Aerospace Tier-1 OEM space, with major successes in technical engineering and programs to sales, marketing, and executive leadership. Jean-Marc has led across the entire aviation product lifecycle, from the development and introduction of new technologies into new aircraft programs, to the development of support organizations and the deployment of support services to the aviation aftermarket.

Jean-Marc was part of the executive team that developed and created Zodiac Aerospace’s worldwide aftermarket organization, leading sales and customer services for 29 OEMs and 170 product lines across the aerospace tier-1 OEM. Jean-Marc then became the president and CEO of Pacific Precision Product, a stand-alone business unit acquired by Zodiac Aerospace specializing in innovative products and solutions in the commercial and private aviation industry. Before joining SkyThread, Jean-Marc was the Executive Vice President of Wamco Inc, a family-owned business in aircraft lighting. At Wamco, Jean-Marc drove diversification by leading new investments, including new technology introductions and new product developments.

Jean-Marc is an advocate of the “Voice of the Customer,” and at SkyThread, is focused on making sure customers’ expectations are met by SkyThread’s product suite. Jean-Marc moved from France to the United States of America in 2006 and became an American citizen in 2020.

Chuck is a retired partner of Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC) and former US Practice Leader for Aerospace and Defense.  Chuck has enjoyed a 40-year career in transformational thought leadership and major global program delivery for the largest companies in aviation. Chuck leads digital strategy development for SkyThread and its customers.

Chuck was PwC’s global account leader for Boeing, the world’s largest aerospace firm.  His team provided professional services in over 60 countries and included 15 executives supporting each operating business, major operating functions of the company, and multiple aircraft platforms.  At a previous firm, Chuck was the global account leader for an Aerospace OEM / Aftermarket supplier in 50 sites and 17 countries. In his airline roles, Chuck supported the design and integration of maintenance systems within multiple merging global airlines affecting over 4,000 aircraft.  

Chuck has been leading the strategy, design, and build of an aerospace industry block chain solution in support of a broader vision for Digital Aviation, a topic in which he’s been speaking about for over 15 years. Chuck is also a major contributor to five books on the topic of product costing, activity analysis, and performance management.  Chuck remains involved with major aerospace alliances.

Through her 23+ years’ experience in Aerospace and Defense, Ginger led the development and implementation of intelligent products and services by integrating machine learning with physics-based modeling and domain knowledge. In this work, Ginger has acquired deep leadership experience in engineering management, business proposal development, technology pipeline management, and intellectual property portfolio process development. Ginger works closely with SkyThread and its customers to develop products and services that meet customers’ needs.

Prior to SkyThread, Ginger held the position of Sr. Director and Distinguished Fellow at Honeywell Aerospace and Honeywell Connected Enterprise. In that role, Ginger led complex system model-based engineering and analytics system development, with applications to aircraft, ground, and unmanned platforms. She has hands-on experience building digital twins, working on data acquisition and management, machine learning, and service product solutions. The systems she worked on have been applied to more than 100 airlines. Ginger also has extensive experience in working with contract, business, sales, marketing, and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) functions for business evaluations and pursuits development.

Ginger also has extensive involvement in industry standard development. She was the Founding Chair of SAE’s Digital and Data Steering Group and was Vice Chair of SAE’s HM-1 Committee. Ginger also served as Co-Chair of the 2019 Prognostics and Health Management Annual Conference. Ginger is a certified 6-Sigma blackbelt, holds several patents, and has published several peer-reviewed papers and consensus-vetted standards.