 |
LEADERSHIP Kestrel Aircraft is led by an executive team with a deep passion for aviation, and decades of experience successfully bringing breakthrough products to the market. |
| Alan Klapmeier President & CEO |
|
| Alan Klapmeier was the founder of Cirrus Design and served as its Chairman from its inception in 1984 to 2009. Cirrus is a manufacturer of high-performance single-engine aircraft, constructed from composite materials which revolutionized the general aviation industry when they were introduced. Approximately 5,000 aircraft have been delivered. Mr. Klapmeier has served on several industry boards, including the General Aviation Manufacturing Association (GAMA) Board of Directors (and served as its Chairman for 2008), the AOPA ASF, currently known as the AOPA Air Safety Foundation Board of Visitors and the Board of Directors of the Small Aircraft Manufacturers Association. Mr. Klapmeier received the 2007 Dr. Godfrey L. Cabot Award, the Experimental Aviation Association, (EAA) 2007 Freedom of Flight Award, Airport Journal 2006 "Living Legends" Aviation Entrepreneur of the Year, |
EAA August Raspet, Air Safety Foundation 2005 Admiral de Florez Award, and 2004 Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year for Manufacturing. Mr. Klapmeier was responsible for the certification of the Cirrus SR 20 in 1998 and the Cirrus SR 22 two years later. Mr Klapmeier has been at the forefront of introducing such technologies as the glass cockpit, whole-plane parachute systems and in-flight weather displays for small aircraft. Mr. Klapmeier holds degrees in Physics and Economics from Ripon College in Wisconsin. With over 8,500 hours of flight time, Mr. Klapmeier has been a licensed pilot for more than 30 years and flies a wide range of aircraft including his prized 1950 DHC-1 Chipmunk, his long time SR22TN and his current PA-46T Meridian. |
 |
| Edward L. Underwood CFO |
|
| Ed Underwood is a retired Executive Director of Arcapita, a private equity group based in Bahrain, London and Atlanta. While with Arcapita, Mr. Underwood was responsible for the Post-Acquisition Management of Arcapita's portfolio. Prior to joining Arcapita, Mr. Underwood was Director, Financial Controls for Investcorp, a $1.0 billion investment bank with offices in Bahrain, London and New York. Before joining Investcorp Mr. Underwood was responsible for Arthur Young's management consulting group in the Middle East. Mr. Underwood is currently on the Board of Directors of Camotion, Inc., a company specializing in computer controlled robotics. |
Mr. Underwood has served on the Board of Directors of Cirrus Design, B.R. Lee Industries, Smart Document Solutions, Caribou Coffee Company, Ballistic Recovery Systems and Watermark. Mr. Underwood holds a Bachelor of Industrial Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a MBA from Cornell University. Mr. Underwood is an instrument rated pilot with over 1,200 hours of flight time. |
|
| Steve Serfling COO & Executive Vice President, Product Development |
|
| Steve Serfling served as Executive Vice President of Product Development for Cirrus Design and was responsible for oversight of R&D Engineering, Design & Certification Engineering, Sustaining Engineering, and Program Management for the SR20/SR22 and SF50 aircraft. Mr. Serfling also held several other positions at Cirrus including Vice President of Program Management, Executive Director of Customer Service, Director of Certification and Airworthiness, and various Avionics and Electrical |
Engineering roles,including approval as a Designated Engineering Representative (DER) for the FAA. Prior to Cirrus Design, Mr. Serfling was employed at Honeywell Inc. in Program Management, Application Engineering, and Customer Support Engineering roles. Mr. Serfling attended the University of Minnesota and holds a degree in Biomedical Engineering Technology. |
|