The voting members of the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) reelected three individuals to the association’s Board of Directors during an annual meeting held during the 2024 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE).
Bill Ayer began his career as a salesperson with the Piper Aircraft Company. After starting Air Olympia, a regional airline in Washington state, in 1981, Ayer joined Horizon Air in 1982. Horizon became a subsidiary of Alaska Air Group in 1986, and he was named CEO of the parent company in 2002. He retired from the company at the end of 2013.
Ayer is the former chairperson of the FAA’s Safety Oversight and Certification Advisory Committee. He formerly served on the FAA’s Management Advisory Council and chaired the FAA’s NextGen Advisory Committee. In addition to Honeywell, he serves on the boards of the University of Washington, the Museum of Flight and Wings Airways, a regional carrier in Alaska. Ayer received a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University and an MBA from the University of Washington. Ayer started flying at the age of 15, holds an ATP certificate and has accumulated more than 5,500 hours of flight time. Ayer serves on the association’s Nominating & Governance Committee and was reelected today for a three-year term as director.
Sean Lee currently serves as chief of customer experience and senior vice president, The Coca-Cola Company. He leads a networked team comprised of foodservice operations and customer service teams, including all North American Syrup Producing Plants, National Foodservice Distribution, Contact Center & Sales Support, Freestyle/Dispensed Equipment, Customer Field Operations and Coca-Cola parts.
Lee began his flying career as a United States Air Force Officer, progressing through the rank of major and was honorably discharged after completing 10 years of service. Post military service, he has flown and served in multiple corporate and aviation positions to include vice president global operations and workplace service, chief security officer and vice president of aviation services, with Hewlett Packard, MassMutual Financial Group and The Coca-Cola Company.
He is type rated on multiple aircraft including Dassault Falcon 2000s & 900s and the Gulfstream 5/550/600 series. In addition to NBAA, he currently serves on the boards of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and Coca-Cola Federal Credit Union. Lee is a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy with a B.S. in general sciences/physics and attended the DoD Advanced Instruments School and USAF Russian Language Area Studies Immersion Program. He earned his master’s degree in business administration in management from Emory University in Atlanta. Lee currently serves as NBAA’s vice chair/treasurer and as chair of the association’s Compensation, Investment & Succession Committee. He was reelected today for a three-year term as director.
John D. Witzig has more than 30 years of experience in commercial and business aviation. For the past 12 years, he has served as vice president of corporate aviation at Pfizer, Inc. where he is responsible for all facets of Pfizer’s global aviation and ground travel operations. Witzig is a member of the People Experience leadership team. He also is a member of the Aviation Directors Roundtable and Business Aviation Managers Group, which consists of aviation directors from across the U.S. who meet quarterly to discuss and develop ways to constantly improve all aspects of aviation operations.
Witzig currently serves as the chair of the NBAA Board of Directors. Prior to joining Pfizer, Witzig was the senior vice president of operations for CitationAir, Cessna’s fractional aircraft business, where he held roles of increasing responsibility, beginning as an aircraft captain in 2001. Previous roles include a line pilot for an overnight freight company and chief pilot for a business aviation flight department. Witzig is an ATP certificated pilot with more than 7,000 hours of flight time and several type ratings. Witzig holds a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Witzig was reelected today for a three-year term as director.
Review all members of the NBAA Board of Directors and Advisory Council.
