Curriculum Vitae
Sep 1964 – Feb 1969 – University of New Mexico Navy ROTC Program. BS Degree, Private Pilot’s License through NROTC Flight Indoctrination Program. Commission as an Ensign in the US Naval reserve.
Feb 1969 – December 1969 – US Navy Flight Primary School, Pensacola, Florida and Meridian, Mississippi for jet pilot training.
Jan 1970 – Feb 1972 – Assigned to and served on the Navy Amphibious Force Command Ship USS Eldorado, LCC-11, as a qualified Surface Warfare Officer, CE Division Officer and Electronic Material Officer.
Jan 1972 – discharged from active duty in the Navy while serving in the Western Pacific (Vietnam War), but stayed in the US Navy Reserve until my Honorable Discharge from Naval Service in January 1992 with a rank of Lt. Commander. Was flown to San Diego from Clark AFB, Philippines.
1972 – during the course of the year interviewed with Employment Agency for career a position in the Insurance Industry. Accepted a position as an insurance account executive / agent with the Los Angeles firm of R.A. Rowan & Co., an old-line Real Estate, Property Management and Insurance Agency/Brokerage company. Worked with house client accounts and solicited new business.
1972 – 1978 – Transferred to the Pasadena, CA office of Rowan-Wilson Insurance, the Insurance Agency-Brokerage Insurance subsidiary of R.A. Rowan, & Co. and continued to work with client accounts and in producing new business.
1978-1979 – Was offered and served a Account Executive position at Johnson & Higgins of Dallas, TX, a large privately owned International brokerage company where i had the continuing opportunity develop professional skills working with large commercial accounts.
1979 – 1982 – Invited to return to RA Rowan & Company in Pasadena, CA to take over the book of business of a retiring member of the firm, and continued advanced pilot training at local flight schools.
1982 – Began placing and managing commercial aircraft insurance for clients of our firm who had corporate business aircraft. The one event that launched my career in aerospace/commercial space insurance was the invitation to bid on the Airport Insurance program for Mojave Airport back when it was a Civilian Flight Test Center. Winning the opportunity to become the Agent /Broker for Mojave Airport led to numerous other airport referrals including all of the LA County Airports and other city airports. These opportunities led me to the brothers Burt and Dick Rutan with start-up companies Rutan Aircraft Factory, Scaled Composites Inc (now owned by Northrup Grumman) and Voyager Aircraft Inc.
1982 – 1991 – During the early 1980’s, our firm was purchased by Corroon & Black Corporation (C&B), a major international Insurance Brokerage Insurance Company. I continued to build our aerospace accounts, developing and Aviation Insurance Division for C&B, as well as a Special Accounts Insurance Division for smaller Commercial Accounts.
1991 to Present Day – Sometime in 1990 or 1991, Corroon & Black merged with / purchased by the Britain firm Willis. In September of 1991, I joined the recently established Insurance Agency/Brokerage Company of Shaw, Moses, Mendenhall & Associates, South Pasadena, CA., as a Producer, to help the Partners build their new firm. i continued to build my aerospace book of business and began to branch out into Commercial Space start-up companies when my client Mojave Airport, became the FAA’s first officially designated U.S. Commercial Space Port, known as Mojave Air & Spaceport. Beginning with the former XCOR Aerospace, I began receiving referrals from other start-up commercial space companies , many proprietary, throughout the United States, requesting help in setting-up their insurance programs from the ground up. Client locations range from the far Northwest US to the far Southeast US. A few of these early start-up clients have either been purchased by a public company or gone public on their own. I have been very fortunate to know and / or work with some of the most influential and successful people in the new Commercial Space Industry.
