In the world of high-speed turnover in the executive suites of many companies large or small, David Mast stands out as a model of sustained leadership amid accelerated strategic growth. June 2021 marked his twenty-fifth year as the President & CEO of Precision Aviation Group, Inc., headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia and with aviation support operations on three continents. Mast’s colleagues, partners, employees, and friends recently threw a surprise party for him called “A Celebration of Leadership.”
David Mast’s CEO success story for two and one-half decades started small. In 1996 when he first took charge, revenues were just $250 thousand. Back then, PAG had 14 employees. Today, PAG has 402 personnel and projected revenues for 2021 are $260 Million. One might ask: How does a CEO transform a company by 1000 times its previous size? To quote another aviation CEO who served on PAG’s Board for 12 years: “It’s not as easy as David Mast makes it look!”
A graduate of Georgia Tech with a degree in industrial management, Mast’s early career included experiences in sales, finance, and operations management with companies such as AT&T and First Financial Management Corp. His journey with PAG began as Inventory Manager, then Sales Manager, advancing to Vice President – Sales & Marketing, and then promoted on his merits and contributions to President twenty-five years ago. By 1999, just three years into his CEO tenure, PAG was named to the “INC. 500” as one of the fastest-growing companies in America.
In 1996, Mast took the risk and “bet on himself and the people of PAG” that he could grow the business far more aggressively. When the company “leapt forward” to $14 Million revenues, David recants the story of creating a 5-year roadmap: “How shall we build to $50 Million or more in less than 60 months?” And indeed, that’s exactly what happened.
To keep building the business, David knew he needed a bigger gas tank, more fuel for the PAG engine. He adroitly negotiated with not just one, but three successive Private Equity investor groups, in roughly 5-year series each, to vault PAG forward. Some of David’s strongest admirers are those huge institutional shareholders who consider PAG to be a “Home Run” investment. With his current round of capitalization, Mast is intent on taking PAG to record-high growth and value creation. He has laser focus on advancing the brand, the business, the careers of his people, and of course the shareholder value of PAG.
PAG has nine operating subsidiaries today, with 17 business units in 13 domestic and international locations, in 5 US states and stretching as far as Canada, Brazil, and Singapore. That includes 13 FAA-approved Part 145 repair stations. PAG has accomplished ten (10!) add-on acquisitions since 2004, each integrated effectively into the growing family of enterprises. Since 2002, PAG has built 6 green-field business units from scratch, all the while adhering to PAG’s tried-and-true values of quality, safety, and customer service. Numerous quality and excellence awards from OEM’s and other major customers dot the hallways at the head office of Precision Aviation Group, and it is that reputation for impeccable quality that is one of David Mast’s lasting legacies.
David Mast is often quoted in the press as an expert voice in the industry. “We want to be a better company every day,” said Mast. “That’s in terms of employer of choice; that’s in terms of efficiency, good stewards and a growing, successful business. And part of that philosophy is really focusing on how do we better serve our customers.”
Quoting a former Board Member of PAG: “David Mast is known as a brilliant, fair, sometimes tough-minded leader, and a highly-accomplished business-builder. He is also known as a great boss by those who know him well. It is tangibly evident in the positive spirit and superior performance of the PAG organization. Mast has fostered a long-term High-Performance Culture.”
