Three new executives are joining Piper Aircraft as it expands operations into Asia. Imprimis Managing Partner Stephen W. Berger and Piper CEO Kevin J. Gould jointly announced a new chief financial officer and two new board members.
W. David Wilson takes the financial reins immediately. He was formerly chief financial officer at the PolyOne Corp. located in Cleveland. Wilson led marketing initiatives in Europe and Asia while at the Geon Company, a firm that was spun out of BFGoodrich. He went to Geon from BFGoodrich after Geon was formed, and served as Geon chief financial officer before Geon and M.H. Hanna merged to form PolyOne.
John Borghetti, a former 36-year executive with Qantas Airways, and Michael Kolowich, a recognized pioneer and innovator with 35 years of experience in Internet content, high-technology marketing, and application of digital video technology, are Piper’s two new additions to the five-person board of directors.
“We acquired Piper with an extensive plan to grow the company both in its existing domestic and international markets,” said Imprimis Managing Partner and Chairman of Piper’s board of directors, Stephen W. Berger. “At the same time, our plan has been to expand Piper’s position in newly emerging and existing general aviation markets where it has been underrepresented, especially in Asia and the Pacific Rim. The addition of these very capable and knowledgeable executives to the Piper team provides us with a depth of experience that will enable us to move forward quickly and effectively.”
Imprimis, a corporate finance and investment management firm that operates from offices in Singapore and Brunei Darussalam, purchased Piper on May 1 using funds provided to an Imprimis-managed investment venture by the government of Brunei to diversify that country’s economy. Piper is only one of several investments to come from the new fund. It is headquartered in Brunei.
Borghetti, former executive general manager for Qantas Airlines, currently serves as a board director for CARE Australia. Borghetti resides in Australia and joined Qantas in 1973.
Kolowich, president and executive producer of DigiNovations, which he founded in 2001, was the architect and producer of a video Web site for the Mitt Romney presidential campaign. In 1991, he founded Ziff-Davis Interactive and was the founding publisher of PC/Computing, the Ziff-Davis magazine. A graduate of Harvard College with a bachelor’s degree in engineering and applied physics, Kolowich also earned a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard Business School. A resident of Boston, he is a commercial pilot and certificated flight instructor.
