What We Do

George E. Bye is the Founder and CEO of Bye Aerospace (www.ByeAerospace.com), named the “Small Business of the Year” for 2018 by the Denver Business Journal and one of the “Top 50 Colorado Companies to Watch” in 2017. He is the innovator behind Bye Aerospace with two decades of experience as an aerospace entrepreneur, engineer, and executive, balancing engineering services with internal development and research of advanced concepts. He currently serves as Chairman of the nine-person Board of Directors of Bye Aerospace. George has developed several aircraft designs. Among them are a 14-foot wing span solar-electric hybrid UAV, “Silent Falcon,” now in production in a former Bye Aerospace subsidiary where he remains as Vice Chairman. He also conceived our current Sun Flyer and StratoAirNet designs. Bye Aerospace is developing the Sun Flyer 2 and Sun Flyer 4 family of electric aircraft and the StratoAirNet and Solesa family of solar-electric unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Previously, George led ATG, the company that launched and developed the Javelin, a transonic two-seat jet for military and civil utility and holds the design patent for the Javelin which first flew in September 2005. He has authored articles for industry journals, textbooks and publications, holds a B.S. in Engineering from the University of Washington, and is an ATP rated pilot with over 4,000 flying hours. George was a USAF instructor pilot in the supersonic T-38 for Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training, C-141B Aircraft Commander, and is a Desert Storm veteran. For more information, go to www.GeorgeBye.com.

Mr. Johnson provides operational leadership for AEAC, and is retired President and COO of Cessna Aircraft Company, the leading worldwide manufacturer of general aviation aircraft. In addition Mr. Johnson was President of ATG, which developed and flew the prototype Javelin jet. Mr. Johnson also has considerable leadership and experience developing an electric propulsion Cessna 172 research project and in 2012, Mr. Johnson flew the converted electric powered Cessna. Mr. Johnson holds an ATP rating with over 14,000 flight hours. He has over 20 take-offs and landings in the electric Cessna 172 he helped develop. Previously Mr. Johnson was a USAF combat pilot flying missions in the F-105 fighter in Southeast Asia.

Mr. McAuliffe has been active in finance and capital markets for 35 years. He was a Principal at Morgan Stanley, Managing Director at CS First Boston and Managing Director at Smith Barney before becoming Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Apartment Investment and Management Company (AIV) in 1999. While in investment banking, Mr. McAuliffe worked on a wide variety and volume of corporate, property and securities transactions including the IPO of AIV in 1994. As AIV CFO, Mr. McAuliffe was responsible for much of the day-to-day operations of Apartment Investment with his greatest focus on financial activities. Finance and planning, capital markets, accounting and financial reporting as well as investor/lender relations were his areas of responsibility. Mr. McAuliffe earned his B.A. in History from Columbia University and his M.B.A. in Finance from the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia.

Alexandre Couvelaire, is a well-known leader in general aviation, especially in Europe. In 1962, he founded Euralair, a small charter company at Le Bourget that grew into an FBO, MRO, air-charter and scheduled air carrier operating out of De Gaulle. At Euralair, he pioneered two-crew Boeing 737 operations in France and placed the first order for a Boeing 777. He also formed the first fractional ownership cooperate in France. In the mid-1980s Mr. Couvelaire acquired Mooney Aircraft Corporation, leading new innovative, development and propulsion programs.

Mr. Knudsen was Co-founder, President for Government Operations and General Counsel of Adam Aircraft Industries. Before starting Adam Aircraft he was an aviation defense attorney with the law firm of Byrne Kiely & White. Prior to private practice, he spent five years as Trial Counsel with the Federal Aviation Administration in Washington, D.C. Mr. Knudsen has a bachelor's degree from the University of Colorado and a law degree from the University of Puget Sound School of Law. Prior to attending law school, he served as a pilot in the U.S. Navy, flying the A-6 Intruder, A-4 Skyhawk, T-2C Buckeye and T-34. His last Navy assignment was with the Naval Air Reserve as a patrol plane commander in the P-3 Orion.

Diane M. Simard, recently named one of the inaugural “National Top 100 Business Women to Watch” by Bizwomen.com, is Sr. Vice President and on the Board of Directors of Bye Aerospace. Her focus areas are media, government and investor relations, corporate governance and strategy. A passionate advocate for entrepreneurship, Ms. Simard is an angel investor in six other emerging-technology companies, ranging from information technology to medical devices to cybersecurity. A survivor of advanced Stage III breast cancer, she is also the founder of the Center for Oncology Psychology Excellence (COPE) at the University of Denver, the first specialty in the country to train psychology students at the graduate level how to effectively counsel cancer patients, survivors and caregivers.Previously, she was Director of Community Relations and co-owner of IITC, an information technology services company. During her tenure, she helped the company achieve over 400% revenue growth before it was acquired for $36 million. Before joining IITC, Ms. Simard was Vice President of Marketing for a financial services company where she directed a proposal staff that secured almost $100 million in contracts to collect defaulted student loans. Past recognition of her business leadership includes being named the 2016 Outstanding Woman in Business-Technology by the Denver Business Journal, winner of the Bob Cardenas Award for her support of veterans and the military, the 2017 honoree for the Ray of Hope Cancer Foundation, Aurora Chamber woman of the Year and Girl Scouts Woman of Distinction. Ms. Simard graduated Magna Cum Laude with a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Nebraska-Kearney. She recently authored a book, The Unlikely Gift of Breast Cancer, an authentic, informative and humorous memoir aimed to inspire business women, successful leaders and driven individuals who think they know who they are before a diagnosis of cancer leads them to discover their true selves.

Brad Busse is the Vice Chairman of the board of Bye Aerospace and has been the President of Busse Ventures since March 2014. Previously, he was an investment banker, who specialized in Media, Telecom & Technology, for almost 30 years. Most recently, he was Co-Head of the U.S. Communications, Media & Entertainment ("CME") Group for RBC Capital Markets, where he was responsible for the management and strategic development of the CME Group's business, which included mergers and acquisitions, equity and debt capital formation and financial advisory engagements. Prior to RBC, he was the President of Daniels & Associates, which was an investment bank that specialized in Media, Telecom & Technology prior to be acquired by RBC in January 2007. He began his professional career at Arthur Anderson & Co. in 1980 and, subsequently, became a financial manager for a $1 billion energy concern prior to joining Daniels & Associates.

Mr. Egan is a shareholder with the law firm von Briesen & Roper in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and previously Associate General Counsel within Emerson Electric's mergers and acquisitions law group in St. Louis, Missouri. Before that he was Global General Counsel for American Appraisal, a 120-year old financial services firm operating in 26 countries. Mr. Egan is a Director and volunteer pilot for The Woody Williams Medal of Honor Foundation, where he has presented veteran initiatives at the White House. He co-founded ValorCorps, a company dedicated to placing veterans into civilian technology positions after leaving the service. Mr. Egan has a bachelor's degree in corporate finance from the University of St. Thomas and a law degree from Marquette University, with a concentration in corporate and intellectual property law. His aviation passions include grass runways, Twin Bonanzas, Navions and backcountry seaplane flying.

Howard Janzen has served as CEO and Chairman for several communications and energy companies. He is currently the Executive Chairman of Cool Planet, a technology driven startup which CNBC ranked as a “Top 25 Disruptor of 2014” along SpaceX and Uber. Mr. Janzen has served as CEO of One Communications, then the country's largest privately held multi-regional supplier of integrated telecommunications solutions to businesses, from March 2007 until its sale to Earthlink on April 1, 2011. From January 2004 to September 2005 he served as President of Sprint Business Solutions, the business unit serving Sprint's global business customer base with almost 10,000 employees and $12 billion in annual revenue. From May 2003 to January 2004, he was President of Sprint's Global Markets Group, responsible for Sprint's $8 billion long distance business for both consumer and business customers. From 1994 until October 2002, Mr. Janzen served as President and Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman from 2001, of Williams Communications Group, where he led the company in completing it's almost $7 billion next generation fiber optics network and completed the largest IPO in the telecom industry at that time with peak market capitalization of $30 billion. Beginning in 1979, Mr. Janzen served in a number of leadership roles in Williams' energy and natural gas pipeline businesses.Mr. Janzen currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of GTT, Sonus Networks, Vocera Communications and Bye Aerospace. He also serves as a board member for the Colorado School of Mines Foundation, HeritX, and the Denver Area Boy Scouts of America. He is a Commissioner and Chairman Emeritus for GIIC, the Global Information Infrastructure Commission.Mr. Janzen earned Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in metallurgical engineering from The Colorado School of Mines and is a licensed Professional Engineer. He completed the Harvard Business School Program for Management Development. Mr. Janzen was named a Colorado School of Mines Distinguished Achievement Medalist and was inducted into the University of Tulsa, College of Engineering and Natural Sciences Hall of Fame.He is an active instrument rated pilot with almost 7,000 hours of flying time and serves as Chairman of the TBM Owners and Pilots Association board. He and his wife of 40 years have flown their airplane to 28 countries.

Mr. Steeves is portfolio company General Counsel for KKR, a New York based private equity firm and an Adjunct Professor of Law at Washington University Law School in St. Louis, Missouri. He is also an author and frequent lecturer both in the US and internationally on the impact of globalization on business law development. Previously Mr. Steeves was Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary for Emerson Electric Company, where he managed Emerson's legal operations in more than 150 countries. Prior to Emerson, he was Vice Chairman of the Milwaukee Law Firm, von Briesen and Roper. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Metajure Inc. of Seattle, Washington, and many not-for-profit organizations, including the St. Louis Opera Company. In an earlier life, Mr. Steeves led the efforts to construct a 137 foot non-for-profit semester at sea sailed vessel, which is now the official Flagship of the State of Wisconsin. Mr. Steeves has been interested in aviation since he took his first flying lesson more than 35 years ago. He is currently owns and regularly flies a Lake Renegade amphibious aircraft.

Craig Fuller served on the board of AEAC, the board of Redbird Flight Simulations, the board of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and formerly served on the Management Advisory Council for the FAA. He was formerly the President and CEO of AOPA from January 2009 until September 2013. He was only the fourth person to hold this position since AOPA was founded in 1939. He brought to that position a career that includes senior public affairs positions in business, association leadership, and executive positions in the federal government, including eight years of service in the White House from 1981 to 1989. As AOPA president, Craig Fuller led the largest and most influential aviation organization in the world. AOPA membership has grown to more than 400,000, a number that represents more than two thirds of all certificated pilots in the United States. With a staff of more than 200 professionals and operations in two states and the District of Columbia, AOPA provides a wide variety of services to its members worldwide.No stranger to politics and Capitol Hill, Fuller moves through the halls of Congress and the administration in Washington as often as he visits airports and pilots around the country. He was the chairman of AOPA’s Political Action Committee, an important role to ensure that elected officials who defend general aviation receive support from the pilot community. Additionally, he testifies and engages in other forums at the national and state level to represent the interests of general aviation. In addition to the role of communicating to and on behalf of the membership, Fuller spends time reaching out to broader audiences who benefit from but do not fully understand the role general aviation plays in the lives of millions of Americans. Whether recruiting new pilots or just helping business leaders and others understand how general aviation works for them, Fuller is a vocal ambassador for the advantages of general aviation. While most of the role of AOPA President involves work inside the United States, Fuller was also elected and served as president of the International Council of Aircraft Owner and Pilot Associations, representing 66 national AOPA organizations with more than 470,000 pilot members around the world. His responsibilities at AOPA include serving as the publisher of AOPA Pilot, the world’s largest and most influential aviation publication. For all of this, Craig Fuller draws on his Washington, D.C., experience as assistant to President Reagan for Cabinet Affairs (1981 -1985) and chief of staff to Vice President Bush (1985 - 1989). His business positions have included service as president or vice chairman of leading public affairs firms. His association experience includes service on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and Executive Committee and leading a health care association as president and CEO for more than six years. Fuller is a frequent speaker on aviation, advocacy, and leadership topics throughout the United States.

Tom Bowen is a 35-year aviation professional with experience at all levels of the General Aviation industry; from the shop floor, the cockpit, and the contracts negotiating table to the Executive Suite. Tom is comfortable with all aspects of product development, production operations, engineering, testing, product integrity processes, FAA certification, organization of trade shows and aircraft sales, as well as giving public presentations and press conferences. Tom will take the Sun Flyer project to the next level and through FAR-23 certification .Tom and his wife have been married for over 35 years and they have four daughters, two son-in-law’s and a black lab named Coal.

Mr. Calgaard has a diverse background in engineering, strategy, program management, business development, commercialization, and venture capital. Leading the strategy and business development for Bye Aerospace, Mr. Calgaard is responsible for growing the company. Before joining Bye Aerospace, Mr. Calgaard spent 12 years at Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, where he held various leadership positions in engineering, strategy, and business development. Mr. Calgaard holds a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from Iowa State University, a M.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Southern California, and an MBA with a focus in Finance and Venture Capital from the University of Colorado Denver.

Ms. Herren is our Vice President of Business Operations and brings with her over 20 years of human resources and finance experience. Most recently she was the Director of Administration for a childcare software startup, where she was a key contributor to establishing and streamlining processes and procedures. Known as a ‘fixer’, Ms. Herren is skilled in identifying inefficiencies and taking corrective action that results in recognized profit and heightened morale. She is responsible for human resources, purchasing, finance, facilities, safety and administration at Bye Aerospace. She also has extensive experience in the commercial aviation industry, and is quite comfortable with the general aviation and experimental aircraft world. A proud graduate of Arizona State University, she holds a BA in Business.