Leadership at MD Helicopters

Meet the committed team earning your trust daily

EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP TEAM

President and CEO

Brad Pedersen

Vice President, Sales & Marketing

Jason Lindauer

Vice President, Aftermarket Sales & Support

Ryan Weeks

Vice President, Global Human Resources

Cheryl Bazzell

Vice President, Engineering

Ramon Moro

Chief Financial Officer

Chris Vandersteen

Vice President, Global Supply Chain

Mario Coracides

Vice President, Production & Program Management

Al Stephan

Vice President, Operations

James Rodriguez

Vice President, Quality Assurance

Rick Caplette

Chief Pilot

Dennis Banks

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Chairman of the Board

Edward Dolanski

Board Member

GEN (ret.) Gustave Perna

Board Member

Paul "Flip" Huffard

Board Member

Anthony McKiernan

Board Member

Daniel Avitabile

Board Member

John Greene

We are committed to our customers.

“MD has always done an amazing job at helping me learn, answering all my questions, and providing great training! Great people here!”

Sales and Marketing Leadership Team

Director, Marketing & Communications

Ashley Sanchez

Senior Director, Sales – Middle-East

Stephen Suttles

Senior Director, Sales – Asia-Pacific

John Williams

Senior Director, Business Development - Europe/Latin America

Steve Reyna

Director, Sales – North America, Western Region

John Harris

Director, Sales – Asia-Pacific

Justin Texeira

Director, Sales – North America, Eastern Region

Patrick Crippen

President and CEO

Brad Pedersen

Brad has more than 35 years of industry experience delivering accelerated growth and financial performance in leadership positions at Boeing Rotorcraft, Sikorsky Aircraft, Breeze-Eastern, and other aerospace and defense companies. He began his career at Hughes Helicopters and has almost 20 years of direct experience with the MD Helicopter product lines. Brad has led the turnaround of several private and publicly-owned companies in his career. He holds an MBA from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.

“MD Helicopters has been an iconic name in the rotorcraft industry, and we will build on this rich heritage to serve and support our customers worldwide. Our immediate focus is to dramatically improve customer support, foster strong supplier relationships, and implement an aggressive aircraft sales plan.”

VICE PRESIDENT, SALES & MARKETING​

Jason Lindauer

Jason got his start on the floor of MD Helicopters as a lead technician and spare parts sales representative after serving for five years in the U.S. Marine Corps as a helicopter mechanic. He went on to hold leadership positions in operations and business development and sales at Pratt and Whitney, DynCorp, Textron, and Able Engineering before returning to MD Helicopters in 2020 as Director of Commercial Sales. Jason now oversees sales, business development, and marketing, and is focused on accelerating revenue through new and existing geographies and channels and by creating customized solutions that align with customer needs.

Vice President, Aftermarket Sales & Support

Ryan Weeks

Ryan came to MD Helicopters after working for Bell/Textron for more than 25 years in various roles, including as the leader of aftermarket product support and aftermarket business optimization for Bell Helicopter and as Chief Engineer for all Bell Commercial Products. Most recently, he led Honeywell Aerospace’s Marketing and Product Management, Avionics for the past three years. Ryan holds a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering from Tennessee Tech University and an MBA from Wayne State University.

Vice President, Global Human Resources

Cheryl Bazzell

Cheryl joined MD Helicopters in 2014 with more than 30 years of aerospace experience and a proven track record in leading human resources initiatives. She worked her way up the leadership ranks at Rockwell Collins first as Vice President of Business Partners, then as Vice President of Human Resources Operations, and finally as Vice President of Total Remuneration – Compensation and Benefits before coming to MD. Cheryl is responsible for setting world-class human capital strategies and overseeing the day-to-day activities of Talent Acquisition, Compensation & Benefits, Employee Relations, Learning & Development, Compliance, and Employee Engagement. She has a BS degree from Montana State University and an MS in Human Resource Management from Chapman University.

Vice President, Engineering

Ramon Moro

Ramon has more than 25 years of experience in commercial aviation, aerospace, and defense and has been with MD Helicopters since 2003. He began his career at Goodrich Aerospace (now UTC Aerospace Systems) designing aircraft safety systems currently in use on Airbus A380, Boeing 767, and Embraer regional jets. Ramon is responsible for the planning and development of all helicopter systems integration programs and advanced aircraft engineering technology programs for MD Helicopters. He oversees the day-to-day engineering activities for both the enhancement of existing products as well as the engineering design, development, and certification of new products. Ramon holds a BS degree in Aerospace Engineering from Arizona State University, is a member of the Vertical Flight Society, and holds two U.S. Patents on Aircraft Safety Systems. 

Chief Financial Officer

Chris Vandersteen

Chris has more than 20 years of experience as a strategic, financial, and operational business leader for global companies. Before joining MD Helicopters, he was the Sr. Vice President for Finance and acting CFO at Micross Components and spent nearly 10 years in various broad-based executive finance and IT roles at TransDigm Group Incorporated. Chris also spent four years in senior finance management positions at Microsoft and held leadership roles at GE, Bombardier, and Honeywell before that. Chris has led finance and IT functions for large multinational teams, strengthening controls, cleaning up balance sheets, reducing risk, and increasing operational efficiencies. He holds an MBA degree from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.

Vice President, Global Supply Chain

Mario Coracides

Mario has more than 25 years of supply chain experience in the aerospace and defense and oil, gas, and automotive industries. He began his career as an automotive buyer/planner before moving on to sourcing and Six Sigma roles at GE. Mario spent 10 years in various management and director positions at Honeywell and Pratt & Whitney focused on supply chains supporting both commercial and military programs. He also served as Director of Supply Chain for Siemens and spent three years before joining MD as VP of Supply Chain and Operations for government contractors PAE and Vectrus. Mario is responsible for source selection, supplier management, and negotiation of supplier contracts to ensure cost savings and on-time delivery from MD’s suppliers. He holds a BS in Supply Chain Management from Arizona State University, is a certified Six Sigma Black Belt from GE, and is a contributing member of the Center of Advanced Purchasing Studies (CAPS). 

Vice President, Production & Program Management

Allen Stephan

Allen served for more than 21 years in the U.S. Army with increasing responsibility as an Army Aviator and Acquisition Professional. He has served as a Program Manager of multidisciplinary design teams that combine Engineering, Software, Production, and others to develop, test, and field aircraft and support equipment for helicopter operations and training. Allen directs and coordinates developmental engineering programs, aircraft qualification programs, and production line aircraft deliveries for both commercial and military applications. As a certified Project Management Professional, he is focused on meeting contract deliverables and driving process improvements to meet company goals, delivery schedules, and costs. Allen holds an MS degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

Vice President, Operations

James Rodriguez

James has more than 25 years of experience in operations management, design engineering, project and program management, and strategic global sourcing and has held senior-level positions at industry-leading aerospace companies, such as Meggitt PLC, Barksdale Controls (a Crane Co.), and AMETEK Aerospace & Defense. James is currently responsible for the production delivery schedule for MD’s military, law enforcement, and commercial aircraft. He holds an MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a BS in Aerospace Engineering from NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering. He also holds certifications in Accelerating New Product Development from Caltech; Building, Leading and Sustaining the Innovative Organization from MIT; and is a certified Six Sigma Black Belt through GE Aircraft Engines.