Martin Aviation Names New President : Management: As CEO, Richard M. Janisse’s main goal is to expand the company’s reach in aviation services and in the charter industry.
Former World Airways chief executive Richard M. Janisse on Monday was named president and chief executive of expansion-minded Martin Aviation, an arm of developer William Lyon’s growing aviation service business.
Janisse, 41, replaces Marvin Tuomala, a Martin employee for 14 years and president since 1986.
In a prepared statement, Martin Aviation said Tuomala resigned last week “to pursue other business interests.” Tuomala, who left just six months after the company was acquired by Lyon and partner David Banmiller, could not be reached for comment.
Martin, with about $30 million in annual sales, provides aircraft fueling and maintenance services, and supplies parts for private, corporate and commercial aircraft. It also operates a flight training school, aircraft charter service and an aircraft sales operation.
Janisse said one of his immediate chores will be “to improve the overall quality” of Martin’s various services, which include aircraft sales, charters, cleaning and fueling services and maintenance.
“Certain industry surveys haven’t ranked Martin as high” in customer satisfaction as its new owners would like it to be, Janisse said.
A major goal, Janisse said, is to expand Martin’s reach in the aviation services and charter industry. The company currently has an East Coast charter operation in Leesburg, Va.
Janisse, who resigned as World Airway’s chief executive in a policy dispute in July, has an extensive background in aviation services.
At World, which is based at Dulles International Airport near Washington, he ran a $200-million-a-year firm that operated 10 wide-bodied passenger and cargo jets for a variety of charter clients.
Before that, he was president of AMR Services Corp., which operated a ground service division, a chain of 10 fixed-based operators, an executive aircraft charter unit and an aircraft sales division. AMR Services is a unit of AMR Corp., the Ft. Worth holding company for American Airlines.
Martin was acquired earlier this year by Air/Lyon, a holding company formed by Lyon, a retired Air Force major general and former co-owner of AirCal, and David Banmiller, a former AirCal president.
Less than a month after being acquired by Air/Lyon, 67-year-old Martin purchased Million Air, a smaller FBO, as part of a plan to increase its presence at the airport. Air/Lyon also owns International Aircraft Support Inc., an aircraft engine repair and leasing company in Belmont, Calif., and Elsinore Aerospace Services Inc. of Downey, a national operation with ground services, design and engineering and airframe maintenance and modification divisions.
