Three renowned executives from the industry, government, and education sectors have been named to VoltAero’s Advisory Board, bringing decades of expertise in aircraft development, production, and program management as the company evolves its family of Cassio electric-hybrid airplanes.
The appointments are Pilar Albiac-Murillo, Charles Champion, and Sean O’Keefe, who join Mikhail Lifshits on the Advisory Board. Jean Botti, VoltAero’s CEO and Chief Technical Officer, stated: “As we advance the Cassio electric-hybrid aircraft family into production and entry-in-service, we look forward to the knowledge and insights from our Advisory Board members – each of whom has earned their reputations as leaders and visionaries.”
Pilar Albiac-Murillo’s diverse industry responsibilities in the aerospace and automotive sectors included the Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Saginaw Deutschland; as well as the Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer of the Airbus Defence and Space division. She also held executive and management positions at Philips Innovation Services, Delphi Corp., and Rémy de Mexico SA de CV.
Charles Champion’s industry experience comes from management positions at Airbus, and includes serving as Airbus Executive Vice President – Engineering, as well as a member of the Airbus Executive Committee. His previous responsibilities were as the Product Executive for Airbus’ Single-Aisle Program, and Executive Vice President for the A380 program during this very large aircraft’s development.
The career of Sean O’Keefe spans top-level positions in government, industry, and education. Among them were Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Deputy Director for the Office of Management and Budget, Secretary of the Navy, and Comptroller for the U.S. Department of Defense. From 2009 to 2014, he was Chief Executive for the U.S. operation of Airbus and its EADS predecessor. Currently, O’Keefe is the University Professor and the Howard and Louise Phanstiel endowed Chair in Strategic Management and Leadership at the Syracuse University Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.
