As Head of Sales, Rich leads the sales team with a focus on guiding, mentoring, and instilling best practices in prospecting, client engagement, and deal execution. With more than 38 years of aviation experience, Rich brings a career shaped by hands-on beginnings. From cleaning aircraft in exchange for flight lessons, to senior leadership roles at leading companies including Million Air, Midcoast, JetCorp, Sentient, JSSI, Jet Aviation, Jet Linx, and Priester Aviation (now George J. Priester Aviation). He also founded and operated Aircraft Appearances for eight years, serving clients in Florida and Missouri.
Throughout his career, Rich specialized in aircraft management, charter sales, and client advisory, consulting on acquisitions, upgrades, refurbishments, and long-term ownership strategies. His leadership style is anchored in honesty, humility, and a belief in listening more than speaking, principles that have guided his reputation for building trust and delivering exceptional client experiences.
An active contributor to the business aviation community, Rich has held leadership positions with the Greater St. Louis Business Aviation Association (GSLBAA), served on the Wings of Hope Board, and was a long-standing member of the NBAA Schedulers and Dispatchers Committee. He is also affiliated with CAABA, IADA, and NAFA.
Driven by a passion for aviation inspired by his father’s career with TWA, Rich approaches every day as a gift and every client relationship as an opportunity to bring value. Outside of work, he’s an avid runner, cyclist, and outdoorsman who finds balance through his faith, daily discipline, and volunteering in youth ministry. He lives by a “what you see is what you get” philosophy, treating each new challenge as part of an ongoing journey of curiosity and growth.
