Mentors at the Sustainable Aero Lab Aviation Program

Our mentors are accomplished professionals dedicated to using their expertise to help startups thrive in building a sustainable aviation ecosystem.

Spent 18+ years in aviation, founded IAMA - Independent Aircraft Modifier Alliance

Nicole Noack

  • Nicole looks at 18+ years in aviation. She held leadership positions at Lufthansa Technik AG in aircraft base maintenance and aircraft modification. As the Managing Director of the Independent Aircraft Modifier Alliance (IAMA), she started, grew, and established this international association in the aviation aftermarket. Nicole has also worked as a Senior Engineering Manager in the LEV startup space and continues to support the industry as an independent consultant. She currently serves as Chief Operating Officer at IDAIR GmbH.

Bjorn Fehrm

An airliner analyst at Leeham Company, with 40+ years in aviation

  • Bjorn Fehrm is an airliner analyst at Leeham Company, focusing on technical and economic evaluations for airlines, lessors, OEMs, and investors. He's an aeronautical engineer and ex. fighter pilot from the Swedish Air Force, where he flew the Draken and worked on the Viggen and Gripen programs. Bjorn has worked at SAAB with the Gripen program in the area of counter-measures. He has piloted 15 aircraft types and is the developer and expert on Leeham Company’s Aircraft Model, which enables a complete performance analysis of aircraft from aerodynamic data to operational costs.

Investor at IQT (In-Q-Tel)

Sara A. Jones

  • Sara is a strategic leader, investor, and advisor specializing in emerging technologies that enhance sustainability, connectivity, and innovation in aviation and mobility. As an Investor at IQT (In-Q-Tel), she focuses on accelerating technologies in aerospace, advanced systems, energy, and connectivity.

    Previously, Sara was Head of Aerospace Investments at Honeywell Ventures and Senior Vice President at New Vista Capital, specializing in emerging aerospace technologies. At The Boeing Company, she led innovation investments, partnerships, and new ventures shaping the future of mobility.

Jeff Rodrian

Vice President of AeroVironment Ventures

  • Jeff Rodrian is VP of AV Ventures since 2021 with a focus on creating a center for market driven innovations by embracing a start-up best practices approach. Joining AeroVironment in 2010 as a Product Manager, Jeff was responsible for the development and market entry of the Wasp AE UAS. He also led the development of a wide range of large hybrid electric UAS for commercial and defense applications for customers including DARPA, Air Force, and Navy. Prior to that, Jeff spent several years at start-ups focused on unmanned systems and commercial aircraft.

Former Senior Vice President at Ampaire, with 30+ years at NASA, Boeing and COMAC

Susan Ying

Kerstin Held

  • Susan brings over 35 years of aerospace experience across NASA, Boeing, COMAC, and the electric aviation startup Ampaire, where she served as SVP of Global Partnerships and Operations. She played key roles in programs like the Boeing 787 and COMAC C919, with a strong focus on advancing sustainable aviation. Susan is currently VP of Aerospace at SAE International and serves on the boards of SAE and the Lindbergh Foundation. She holds a Ph.D. from Stanford and is also a certified commercial pilot and flight instructor.

Lead Engineering Systems Operator BT&E Flight Operations

  • Kerstin has 18+ years of experience in the aerospace industry, ranging from new model airplane development and configuration to delivery and airline fleet integration. Since joining Boeing, she supported the 787, 747-8, 737-10 and 777X test and certification programs and held leadership roles for multiple large-scale projects, including two initial airplane configuration programs and the 787 ecoDemonstrator program.

Thorsten Luft

SAF and Aviation Supply Chain expert

Christoph Todt

Head of Environmental Sustainability TUI Airline

  • Thorsten is an independent consultant for SAF and aviation fuel management, before serving as Vice President of Strategic Fuel Management for all Lufthansa Group Airlines. Besides, Thorsten has over 20 years of experience working in Air BP - one of the world's biggest aviation suppliers, serving as a Country Manager for Germany and Switzerland. He was also involved with the performance unit of Air BP in Europe and Middle East.

  • Christoph turns strategy into operation at TUI Airlines as its Director of Transformation & Change with a strong focus on operational improvements since 2014. He also serves as the overall TUI Airlines sustainability lead and, as part of it, manages the airline’s decarbonization roadmap to achieve its Science-Base-Targets. Christoph started for TUI in 2001 as Finance Director for the German airline. He earned master's degrees in Industrial Engineering (TU Darmstadt) and Business Administration (SUNY at Buffalo).

Sustainability Product Strategy Lead at Embraer-X

  • Luciana has worked at Embraer for over 20 years and the past eleven years in Research and Technology (R&T). She is currently working on initiatives committed to reducing aviation's environmental impact and taking concrete actions to reach net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050. Among the themes are optimization of airport operations and infrastructure, application of carbon credit policies, and, mainly, large-scale use of SAF and Hydrogen.

CCO, Deutsche Aircraft; President, BermudAir

Luciana Ribeiro Monteiro

Nico Buchholz

  • Nico Buchholz is a seasoned aviation executive with over 30 years of global experience in the airline and aerospace industries. With a background in aeronautical engineering and management, he has advised nearly all major airframe and engine manufacturers and played a key role in shaping aircraft programs such as the A220 (formerly CSeries), Embraer E2, A320neo, A350, 787, 747-8, and 777X. As Lufthansa’s Head of Fleet Management for 15 years, he was responsible for one of the world’s largest fleet strategies, overseeing the purchase of more than 600 aircraft. He currently serves as Chief Commercial Officer at Deutsche Aircraft and President of BermudAir.

CEO of ZAL - Center of Applied Aeronautical Research, President of DGLR

Roland Gerhards

  • Roland Gerhards is CEO at the ZAL Center of Applied Aero Research in Hamburg, an aerospace innovation center that hosts over 600 researchers. He holds a master degree in aerospace engineering from RWTH Aachen and an Executive MBA from Purdue University. Before building up ZAL, Roland spent 15 years in different management positions at Airbus (Future Concepts Department, Head of Design A330/A380 Front & Rear Fuselage, Head of Design Cabin Electric A380).

George Likourezos

Senior Partner at Carter, DeLuca, Farrell LLP

  • George has over 25 years of experience procuring IP protection for inventors, small businesses, and corporate clients, incl. many Fortune 500 companies. His practice encompasses all aspects of patent, trademark and copyright law, incl. preparing and prosecuting patent applications worldwide. His clients are involved in aerospace, control and small satellite launch/propulsion systems, electronics, hybrid engines and hydrogen fuel cells, materials and semiconductors, software, and urban air mobility (UAM) vehicles and many more.

Innovation Lead at airBaltic

Martin Mitev

  • Martin is an Innovation Lead at airBaltic and an airline captain on the Airbus A220. He is responsible for creating and leading ideaHuB – a successful internal management system that collects and implements ideas through a carefully designed evaluation process. Martin has spent over 10 years in various positions at airBaltic, leading airline innovations in both the front-line and the back-office. He started as an IT Analyst for a ground handling expansion project and then became Assistant to SVP Flight Operations, working on both digitalization within the division and inter-departmental initiatives with Finance, In-flight services, and others.

Florian Doetzer

Managing Director TUM Venture Lab Aerospace

  • Florian is a Managing Director of TUM Venture Labs. He is also a founder of MADE Advanced Materials - a graphene nano-tech startup & Composite Cluster Singapore - an engineering company focusing on high-performance composites. Florian is actively promoting high-technology innovations through his role as advisor for multi-national companies and mentoring startups at German Accelerator, Slingshot, and Others. Before, he was Principal Consultant at BGW Management Advisory Group in Switzerland, setting up and leading Jet Aviation’s innovation group, and held various positions at Altran Group, Airbus, and BMW Group.

Business Angel with 15+ years of expereince

Dirk Freise

  • Dirk is a Business Angel since 2004 and has invested in several companies, including Finanzcheck, Sumup, and Next Kraftwerke. He has an entrepreneurial background, cofounding and exiting two companies (handy.de to Bertelsmann, Blau Mobilfunk to KPN). As a Founding Partner of Shortcut Ventures, Dirk has gained experience as an institutional investor. However, he now focuses on being a Business Angel as this in his view provides more freedom and means being closer to the Founders.

Michael Winter

Chief Science Officer, RTX

  • Michael is the Chief Science Officer at RTX, leading the company’s scientific vision and long-term technology strategy. With over 30 years at United Technologies and its divisions, he has held senior roles including Senior Fellow for Advanced Technology at Pratt & Whitney and Chief Engineer for Technology, where he guided breakthrough innovations across propulsion and energy systems. Earlier in his career, he directed advanced flight systems programs at United Technologies Research Center, supporting Hamilton Sundstrand and Sikorsky. Michael’s expertise spans fuel cells, lasers, combustion, and propulsion. He also serves on the advisory board of the Engineering Schools at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

Business Angel, founded Qunar (NASDAQ 2013)

Fritz Demopoulos

  • Fritz currently coordinates his investment and entrepreneurial activities through Queen’s Road Capital, his personal investment management vehicle. Additionally, Fritz held senior management positions at various companies in China including Netease, Hai Run Media Group and News Corporation. He also co-founded Qunar, which listed on the NASDAQ in 2013. Fritz was educated at UCLA, The Chinese University of Hong Kong and Karls-Ruprecht University in Heidelberg. He has lectured on entrepreneurship and the Chinese internet at Stanford, Harvard, UCLA, Tsinghua, Beijing University, Singapore Management University and the Communist Party College in Nanjing.

Nicholas Burgwin

Enterpeneur, CEO and Co-Founder Fibos, Board Member of EVI-GTI

  • Nicholas is the co-founder and CEO of Fibos which develops instrumentation for gas turbine engines. Nicholas has experience working with large gas turbine OEM's, having initiated a multi-year development program with GE Aviation. Nicholas is active in the instrumentation industry as a board member of EVI-GTI, helping to promote and encourage new technologies to reach commercial adoption and have a meaningful impact on achieving aviation industry emissions reductions.

Head of Sustainability Strategy at Loganair Limited

Andy Smith

  • Andy specializes in airline network planning, and fleet and revenue management. Andy currently is a Head of Sustainability Strategy at Loganair Limited - the largest regional airline in the UK. Before joining Loganair, Andy had leading positions in British Airways, Starbow, and Cardiff Aviation and worked both with aviation start-ups and corporates.

Matteo Mirolo

Head of Contrail Policy and Strategy at Breakthrough Energy

  • Matteo is Head of Contrail Policy and Strategy at Breakthrough Energy. He is also a Senior Policy Advisor at Arcadia eFuels, a company planning three major e-kerosene plants in Denmark, the US and the UK. In this role, he works with governments to foster industrial strategies conducive to a significant increase in SAF availability. Matteo is also a reserve Captain in the French Air and Space Force. Matteo honed his expertise at Transport & Environment, the EU's leading clean transport NGO, where he led the sustainable aviation work and helped bring the world's largest SAF mandate, ReFuelEU Aviation, into EU law.

Former Managing Director of Honeywell Ventures

Stephane Fymat

  • Stephane served as the Managing Director of Honeywell Ventures, overseeing venture investments. Previously, he was Vice President and General Manager of the Unmanned Aerial Systems and Urban Mobility business unit at Honeywell Aerospace, and led marketing and product management at BendixKing, Honeywell's avionics brand. Before joining Honeywell, Stephane also founded Smartplane, an aerospace software company.

Dean Donovan

Diamond Stream Partners

  • Dean leads Diamond Stream Partners, an investment firm specializing in aviation & aerospace technology. In this role, he assists companies focused on mid-mile freight, electric and hybrid electric propulsion, aircraft maintenance, energy transition, etc. He also serves on the boards of JetZero, GPMS, Verdego Aero, Ampaire, Wingtra, SwissDrones, and Volantio. Additionally, Dean is a Founder & Director of Volaris, a low-cost commercial carrier. He previously worked with Bain & Company as a Managing Director of Bain Africa, where he worked with aerospace clients.

Oliver Kranz

Thomas v. Hake

PACE co-founder and Business Angel focused on aviation innovation

  • Oliver is an accomplished entrepreneur with extensive experience in the aviation and aerospace industry. He holds a PhD from TU Berlin and co-founded PACE Aerospace Engineering and Information Technology, successfully transforming it into a global leader in digitalization and decarbonization. Since his exit in 2021, Oliver has been active as a Business Angel, supporting software and hardware startups in the B2B sector. He focuses on fostering innovation, guiding strategic growth, and advancing technology and sustainability.

Spark e-Fuels, 1000 Satellites, and Loady advisor

  • Thomas serves on the advisory boards of several tech companies, including Spark e-Fuels, 1000 Satellites, and Loady, where he focuses on enhancing finances, sales, and management. As the former CEO of Collect AI, he led the development of a cutting-edge Invoice2Cash platform. He also has extensive consulting experience with BASF and Otto Group, specializing in marketing, operations, and venture management. A lawyer by training and private pilot in his free time, Thomas brings a hands-on approach and over 20 years of experience to every team.

Tomislav Lang

Andreas Kupke

Co-founder of Flyvbird and CEO of Volocopter Air Services, champions eVTOL innovation

Aerospace Investor, founder of Kupke GmbH

Patrick Edmond

Ali Ghaouti

Chief Marketing Officer at Future Energy Global

  • Patrick Edmond is Chief Marketing Officer at Future Energy Global, which is working to build a SAF ecosystem by aggregating demand for SAF and SAF credits from aircraft operators and corporates, securing offtakes from suppliers, and bringing external investment into the SAF space to accelerate production ramp-up. Before joining Future Energy Global, Patrick led the commercial and strategy functions for a number of airlines and airports, founded the aviation strategy and sustainability consultancy Altair Advisory, and served as advisor to a number of startups in the fields of travel technology and electric aviation.

Strategic Advisor at Therawatt

  • Ali is a Strategic Advisor at Therawatt, working with clients and investors in solar, energy storage and other renewables on strategy and business models. With 15 years of experience in this sector, he has an expertise across all steps of the solar value chain, spanning international corporate management, strategy, sales, marketing and business development among global market leaders. Ali has supported corporates, startups and specialised players throughout the value chain in developing and evaluating their business models, strategies and plans.

Senior Technology Manager at Breakthrough Energy Fellows

Taras Wankewycz

Founder H3 Dynamics and Hyzon Motors (NASDAQ 2022)

  • Taras has been a deep-tech entrepreneur in Asia with a prime focus on hydrogen fuel cell commercialization. His journey evolved from miniature-scale didactic systems for schools to full-scale hydrogen-electric heavy-duty vehicles and now hydrogen-electric systems for air mobility. Taras’ first company Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies, is currently the only profitable PEM fuel cell company in the world. One of Horizon’s recent carve-outs is Hyzon Motors, listed on NASDAQ and valued at over $2.7 Billion. While Hyzon Motors’ mission is to decarbonize commercial vehicle fleets, in 2015 he formed H3 Dynamics to continue Horizon’s air mobility lab.

Rosemary Cox-Galhotra

  • Rosemary serves as SeniorManager of Technology Management for the Fellows Program at Breakthrough Energy (BE). She supports BE Innovator Fellows on the technical and commercialization aspects of their projects, which are early-stage, innovative technologies with significant CO2 emissions reduction potential. Prior to this role, Rose was a Senior Lead Engineer at Booz Allen Hamilton, supporting the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E). She holds a B.S. and a Ph.D. in chemical engineering.

Former Head of Programs at Eviation Aircraft

Daniel Javed

Partner at Yotta Capital partners

  • Daniel is a Senior Investment Director at Yotta Capital, a fund focusing on industrial companies and supporting their decarbonization objectives. He spent 15 years in M&A advisory and corporate development as well as in fundraising. From 2014 to 2019, Daniel has managed corporate development activities of several French industrial SMEs, managing acquisitions and financing operations. Daniel has also actively participated in the creation of the corporate Venture fund of Socomore Group.

Henry Tam

  • Henry Tam is an experienced leader in the aerospace industry. He was previously the Head of Programs at Eviation, a leading electric aircraft OEM. Prior to this role, he was the Head of SpaceJet M100 Program and the Director of Product Strategy Office at Mitsubishi Aircraft in Japan. Henry received his MBA and Master in Applied Science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Toronto in Canada.

Director, Sustainability Solutions at the GE Aerospace

Luka Tomljenovic

Partner at Radius Capital

  • Luka is a partner at Radius Capital. He started his career as a fighter pilot, flying MiGs for the Croatian Air Force. After the military, Luka started building a career in finance, corporate development, and venture capital including a variety of roles at an automotive Tier-1 supplier. Before joining Radius Capital, Luka was a Partner at Airbus Ventures. He is an aeronautical engineering graduate from the United States Air Force Academy and holds an MBA from the University of Notre Dame.

Steve Feinberg

  • Steve is the Director Sustainability Solutions for GE Aerospace. During his career, he has led $1B+ digital transformations at Boeing, spearheaded customer success for Salesforce's largest aerospace and automotive customers, and shepherded strategy at United Airlines. A trained Aerospace Engineer from UCLA, Steve's fingerprints are also on many government and commercial satellites through his work at Raytheon and Space System/Loral. He holds an MBA and Master's in Engineering Management.

President & CEO of Embraer-X

Stephen Snyder

Managing Director of Operations & Partnerships of JetBlue Ventures

  • Stephen is the Managing Director of Operations & Partnerships of jetBlue Ventures - his role is to build an ecosystem of partners and deployment opportunities for the many technologies of JBV’s portfolio companies. He focuses on advancing innovation thinking and compelling value propositions throughout jetBlue and its partners. Stephen joined JBV from jetBlue, where he spent time on the airline’s Strategic Planning team. He holds an MBA in entrepreneurial management from the Wharton School and also earned an MA from the University of Pennsylvania and a BA from the University of Michigan.

Daniel Moczydlower

  • Daniel holds a Magna cum Laude degree in Chemical Engineering from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and a master’s degree in Modeling, Simulation, and Process Control from COPPE/UFRJ. Daniel began his career at Chemtech (Siemens Group), where he successively held various management positions until he became CEO in 2010. Daniel joined Embraer S.A. in 2013, holding the positions of Technology Development Vice President, Engineering and Technology Executive Vice President until reaching the current position of Embraer-X CEO & Head of Global Innovation Ecosystems.

  • Tomislav is a passionate aviation executive and entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience. He founded Flyvbird, an on-demand air mobility startup connecting underserved regions, reflecting his dedication to sustainable and efficient air travel.Tomislav also was the CEO of SkyWork Airlines, where he guided the company through growth and a successful sale in 2013. Now, as CEO and Managing Director of Volocopter Air Services GmbH, he's leading the charge in urban air mobility with eVTOL technology.

  • Andreas is an aerospace engineer and investor with a passion for supporting brilliant minds in tech and the aviation industry. He is the founder of Kupke GmbH, focusing on venture capital and private equity investments. With a background in aerospace engineering from the University of Stuttgart, Andreas holds board positions LiveEO and several other cutting-edge companies. He was also among the first to invest in Sustainable Aero Lab graduate VÆRIDION.