Management team

Bart Reijnen is the President of Airbus Helicopters, Inc. and Head of the North America region.

In this position, Bart is responsible for developing and executing the overall company strategy in the U.S. and Canadian helicopter markets, managing the company’s resources, meeting key performance objectives, and overseeing more than 1,100 Airbus Helicopters employees in the region.

Bart previously served as CEO of Satair, an Airbus services company, since November 1, 2016. In May 2021, he took on the additional role of Head of Material Services in Airbus Customer Services, which included Airbus´ Flight Hour Services activities. 

Prior to joining Satair, Bart Reijnen led On-Orbit Services and Exploration activities within Airbus Defence and Space and was Head of the Bremen Site in Germany since February 2013.

Before working for Airbus Defence and Space in Bremen, Bart Reijnen was Chief Executive Officer of Dutch Space (now Airbus Defence and Space Netherlands). 

Previously, over the course of a ten-year period, Bart held different positions at Airbus Corporate Headquarters and Airbus Commercial. 

Bart Reijnen has a Master's Degree in Aerospace Engineering from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, Department of Flight Dynamics, Stability & Control and Simulation. He is married and father to two daughters.

Niko Szodruch leads customer support for Airbus Helicopter operators across North America. In his executive role, he is responsible for supporting the more than 800 customers across the region, analyzing and understanding the service needs of current and potential customers, and proposing the right level of solutions in line with their unique needs and an evolving market environment. In addition, he leads development of the company’s strategic service plan to help drive improvements as well as grow and sustain business.

Niko earned a combined engineering and business degree from the Berlin University of Technology, Germany. He joined Airbus Helicopters in Spain in 2005 as a maintenance engineer and served in various roles in Support and Services.

Niko was selected for an Airbus leadership training program and worked at Airbus Helicopters sites in Spain, Germany and France. Niko moved to Germany in 2009 to work with the Offer and Contract Preparation team in Sales. Before moving to the U.S. in 2022, he served as Vice President of Maintenance and Repair Operations based in Germany, where he oversaw Airbus Helicopters’ global helicopter maintenance and retrofit business.

Maximilian Thomasius serves as Chief Financial Officer of Airbus Helicopters North America.

Prior to joining Airbus Helicopters, Inc., Max held the role of Vice President and Head of Global Business Controlling for Airbus Helicopters in Marseille, France, where he headed all Finance organizations for over 30 subsidiaries. 

He has been part of the global Airbus team in various roles since 2010 and has served on several boards, including Joint Ventures such as Patria Oyj in Finland or Helibras in Brazil.

His career started with General Electric (GE) going through its finance leadership training program including Corporate Audit Staff with worldwide missions in the diverse GE businesses.

Max earned a Master of Science degree in Economics from Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Spain, and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Politics from the University of York in the United Kingdom. He served in the Germany Army and is currently Lieutenant Colonel in the reserves.

Teri Short serves as Vice President of Flight Operations and Engineering at Airbus Helicopters Inc. In this role, she manages the company’s engineering, certification and flight test departments, in Texas, Mississippi and Fort Erie Canada.

Before joining Airbus, Teri held the position of Chief Operating Officer at United Rotorcraft, a division of Air Methods Corporation, responsible for the design, certification, manufacturing and installation of aircraft mission critical equipment and interiors. Prior to moving to United Rotorcraft, Teri served as Vice President of Engineering for Air Methods responsible for engineering and technical operations support of a fleet of more than 400 aircraft.

She spent seven years with Frontier Airlines as Senior Director of Technical Operations where she led engineering, aircraft acquisitions, maintenance programs, planning and reliability. Her airline career experience also included working at Continental Airlines, where she began her career as an engineer and eventually took responsibility for managing the systems engineering group.

Teri graduated from Western Michigan University with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering and Operations. She retired from the Army National Guard as a Lieutenant Colonel where she completed the master’s level Command and General Staff College.

Didier Cormary serves as the Vice President, Military Helicopter and Uncrewed Systems for Airbus U.S Space and Defense. In this role, he oversees programs with current and future military helicopters and government customers. Didier also supports the development of new, uncrewed programs. Didier previously led Corporate Strategy and the Airbus U.S. C4ISR line of business. 

From 2017 to June 2020, Didier served as Vice President and Head of Dynamic Components for Airbus Helicopters in Marignane, France, where he was responsible for dynamic component procurement for all of Airbus Helicopters.

Prior to 2017, he was Vice President and Head of Programs for Helibras, Airbus Helicopters Brazilian subsidiary.

Didier served from 2006 to 2011 as the Light Utility Helicopter Program Director in Grand Prairie, Texas.

Johannes Dienemann is Vice President, Industry and Civil Programs for Airbus Helicopters, Inc. (AHI).

Johannes has been part of the Airbus family since 2006, starting in the EADS Corporate Young Manager Programme, followed by a position as Manager, Strategy & Company Development in Marignane, and then coming to the U.S. in December 2008 in various Program Management roles, first within the Lakota Program, and then in 2018 as VP Civil Programs.

In February of 2021, Johannes expanded his leadership role to include Industry and operational oversight of AHI’s Columbus, Mississippi facility. He is responsible for all industrial activities related to Production,  Retrofit, Assembly and Customization of the multiple models of aircraft delivered in the United States.

Educated in various countries, Johannes has a Bachelor’s and Master’s in Industrial Engineering and Management from Technische Universität (TU) Berlin, Germany; a Master’s of Business Administration from Bowling Green State University, Ohio; and has completed studies in the Master of Engineering Management program at the University of Newcastle, Australia.

Treg Manning is Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Airbus Helicopters North America, overseeing sales and marketing for the commercial helicopter market in the United States and Canada.

Treg has more than 30 years of experience in the aviation and aerospace industry. He joined Airbus Helicopters in 2011 as Vice President of Commercial Sales and assumed his current role in 2014.

Previously, he served as Senior Vice President of Business Development for Air Medical Group Holdings, a major U.S. operator of air medical transport services.

From 1998 to 2007, Treg held a series of sales and marketing and executive posts with Bell Helicopter Textron in Fort Worth, Texas, including Executive Director of North America Sales and Executive Director of Strategic Marketing.

Treg began his career as an EMS paramedic and dispatcher for University Medical Center in Lubbock, Texas. He was drawn to the helicopter industry after an air medical team saved his family member’s life.

Treg earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Texas Tech University and a Master of Business Administration from Baylor University. He also completed the Executive Management Certificate from Fisher College of Business at Ohio State University.

Kevin Cabaniss is a Vice President of Airbus Helicopters, Inc. (AHI) and Head of Legal & Compliance for Airbus Helicopters North America. He also serves as the corporate Secretary for AHI and its subsidiary, Aerovel Corporation.

His responsibilities include litigation management and support, ethics and compliance, corporate governance, export compliance, immigration and employment matters. As Chief Legal Officer, he also oversees the day-to-day legal support of executive management and all administrative and operational functions.

Kevin joined Airbus Helicopters Inc. in 2000 as its General Counsel and was named Vice President of Legal Affairs in 2003.

Before that, he worked for nearly 11 years in private practice in the Dallas office of Locke Lord LLP, where he began his career as an associate in the Litigation section in 1989 and became a partner in 1997. While there, Kevin defended clients in various types of commercial and tort litigation in state and federal courts. He first represented Airbus Helicopters Inc. in 1991.

Kevin graduated from the University of Texas School of Law in 1989 and earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Princeton University in 1986. He is a native of Dallas.

John manages Quality operations at Airbus Helicopters North America facilities in Texas, Mississippi and Canada. Supply Chain Managers, Inspectors, Quality Engineers, and post-delivery support personnel are the driving force to maximize our Customer’s Experience with Airbus Helicopters North America. They ensure civil and military customers receive world-class quality products and supporting documentation from our Final Assembly Lines, MRO, and Completion Centers.

John also oversees the Continuous Improvement staff of Industrial, Lean, and Manufacturing Engineers.  Six Sigma problem solving tools are embedded in the fabric of Airbus Helicopters North America's customer driven culture.  AHNA Quality oversees the AS9100 Quality Management Systems and FAA, DCMA, EASA, and Transport Canada Airworthiness and Certification approvals.

John has 37 years of aerospace experience working at Rockwell International, Northrop Grumman, and Vought Aircraft in R&D Engineering, Operations, Program Management, and Quality.

John graduated from the University of Tulsa with a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and a Master’s degree in Engineering Management. He holds executive certificates from the Thunderbird School of International Management and Stanford University.

Melanie is an accomplished aerospace professional with over 20 years of experience, showcasing progressive leadership and a robust history of driving market growth, revenue increase, and client expansion. As a strategic thinker and Six Sigma Black Belt-certified expert, she excels in operations, program management, lean manufacturing, engineering, and continuous improvement.

In her current role, Melanie is leading Strategy, Sustainability & Transformation for Airbus in North America. Melanie spearheads the development and implementation of growth and transformation plans, encompassing market strategies, regional ecosystem creation, M&A, joint ventures, supply chain strategies, product innovation, and digitization initiatives.

Additionally, she is instrumental in defining and deploying strategic priorities for sustainability in the region, focusing on initiatives such as sustainable fuel and hydrogen ecosystems, environmental plans, and community engagement roadmaps.

Jennifer Ogle is the Vice-President of Human Resources, Environmental, Security, and Facilities for Airbus Helicopters North America. 

In this role, she is responsible for leading the Human Resources, Environmental, Security & Facilities teams and developing and executing strategies related to talent acquisition, employee relations, training and development, performance management, compensation & benefits, environmental, health & safety and employee engagement. Her overarching goal is to create and maintain a culture whereby Airbus Helicopters in North America is considered an Employer of Choice.

Jennifer has been with Airbus for 10 years. In her last role she led Transformation-employee relations, culture & change management, employee engagement, and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI).

Jen started her career with Airbus in Mobile, as the first employee hired for the Final Assembly Line for the A320 program.  

She lived in Toulouse, France from 2017 to 2020, where she held a Senior HR Business Partner role, then transitioned to lead Inclusion & Diversity for Airbus globally. 

Prior to Airbus, Jennifer had roles in HR and Operations management in the building materials, automotive and food industry over her 30-year career.

Courtney manages internal and external communications for Airbus Helicopters North America. She is responsible for aligning the company's overall communications and public relations activities in the region with the company’s strategic business goals and customer-centric operations. 

Her remit includes brand reputation and product visibility, media relations, employee communications, and trade shows/exhibitions throughout the U.S. and Canada, as well as building brand recognition and positive interactions with the communities where AHNA operates.

Courtney was employed at Airbus Helicopters' headquarters in France for nearly 10 years, holding a variety of communications roles including editorial, digital and web communications, external communications and content creation. She started her career in Shanghai, leading a team of multinational magazine editors, before moving to New York City to work for Edelman Public Relations.

Courtney received a Master's degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and a Bachelor's degree from Bowdoin College.

Rene Torrey is the Chief of Staff for Airbus Helicopters in North America. In this role he is responsible for maximizing the executive team productivity and effectiveness while providing comprehensive support to the President of Airbus Helicopters, Inc. and Head of the North America region.