"Reorganization For Next Stage of Growth"

Some changes at the top for Eclipse Aviation were announced Tuesday, with a number of executive promotions.

"We have reached an inflection point in our growth," said Vern Raburn, president and CEO of Eclipse Aviation.

"The design of the Eclipse 500 is essentially complete and we are accelerating into certification flight test and production. It is a logical time to align our executive leadership team to ensure we can continue to deliver the caliber of breakthrough innovations that will enrich general aviation for years to come," he said.

And that, says Raburn, means realigning some of the company's management.

Eclipse has elevated both Dr. Oliver Masefield (top right) and Don Burtis (center right)  to the distinguished role of senior vice president, senior fellow.

Masefield previously served as the company's senior vice president of engineering and Burtis previously led Eclipse's avionics & electronics organization.

In the newly established position of senior fellow, Masefield and Burtis will guide Eclipse's technical vision and create the technical innovations that will fuel the company's next stage of growth and future generation of aircraft.

Being appointed to a fellow role is the highest honor a technologist can receive at innovation-centric companies including Apple, Disney, IBM and Xerox.

While the position of fellow exists in commercial aviation organizations such as Boeing and United Technologies Corp., Eclipse is thought to be the first general aviation company to embrace this central technical leadership role.

"Eclipse Aviation is built on a foundation of technical innovation," Raburn said. "Don and Oliver are largely responsible for the key innovations of the Eclipse 500. In the role of senior fellows, they will be able to focus on bringing innovations to our future aircraft and ongoing enhancements of the Eclipse 500."

Eclipse also promoted Ken Harness (bottom right) to the role of vice president of engineering. Harness, who previously served as Eclipse's director of propulsion systems in the engineering organization, will assume responsibility for the day-to-day management of Eclipse's engineering and avionics & electronics operations.

Harness, known for his strong leadership and management expertise, was instrumental in enabling Eclipse to successfully architect and navigate the transition from Williams International to Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) engines.

Before joining Eclipse, Harness held leadership positions with Sikorsky Aircraft, Pratt & Whitney and Williams International. Earlier in his career, Ken served as an Army aviator in various assignments globally, including aviation company command, US State Department aviation operations support and combat aviation operations in Southwest Asia.

An aviation enthusiast, Harness is qualified as a UH-60 test pilot, and as a commercial instrument pilot in UH-1's, AH-1's and OH-58 helicopters. Harness holds a bachelor's degree from Purdue University and MBA from Oakland University.

FMI: www.eclipseaviation.com