Michael Slattery

Managing Director

Mike Slattery has over 35 years of experience in the aerospace and aviation industry.  He is currently the president of Leading Edge Aviation Consulting providing executive leadership, corporate strategic planning, program management, business development, and product development consulting services to aircraft owners and operators, product manufacturers and aircraft modification companies.

Background
Mike was the president of United Rotorcraft for 6 years providing special mission equipment solutions for a variety of rotorwing applications and customers.  He worked for 18 years at Air Methods Corporation, the largest helicopter EMS transport company in the world, holding numerous positions including Director of Program Management, Director of Marketing, and Manager of Engineering and Certification. He has worked on commercial and military projects for domestic and international customers on fixed wing and rotor wing aircraft.

He has also worked for Garrett Turbine Engine Division (Phoenix, AZ) as a Reliability and System Safety Engineer, for Hughes Aircraft Company, Missile Systems Group (Tucson, AZ) as a Project Engineer.  He was an adjunct faculty member at Arapahoe Community College (Englewood, CO).

Education & Certifications
M.S. Applied Statistics in Operations Research, University of Northern Colorado
B.S. Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Arizona
FAA licensed private pilot (SEL)

Meridith Jaeger

Founder

Meridith Jaeger is a co-founder of AeroInnovate and served as its founding director for six years. She is currently the Executive Director for the Wisconsin Family Business Forum and holds more than twenty years professional experience in communication, marketing, business development, and project/event management.  Meridith has also served as the Executive Director of the Council for Innovation and on the Fund Organizing Team for the Angels on the Water investment fund. She continues to provide resources to entrepreneurs and small businesses in her current role and is committed to building mutually beneficial partnerships and assisting organizations to meet their success. Meridith earned her Bachelor of Arts degree (cum laude) in corporate/organizational communication from Northern Illinois University and a Master of Science Degree in Educational Leadership from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh.

Renee Owen

Advisory Board Member

Renee currently serves as the Interim Managing Director of Aeroinnovate. Renee has vast start-up and business management experience. She founded Sabai Sabai Cycles and developed the technology and business strategy, she is one of the original employees of Vita Inclinata Technologies and currently serves as the VP of Growth at Vita. In addition to this hands-off experience she has graduated from three business accelerators, one of which is AeroInnovate. Renee endeavors to provide strong and focused leadership, program direction, and technology development expertise to enable start-ups to innovate in this ever-changing economic climate.

Renee is an astute analyst and strategic leader who uses creative means to solve complex business problems. Renee is personable, articulate and persuasive, skillful at negotiations and possesses solid business acumen. She continues to inspire world-class individuals and teams to develop new business opportunities, to achieve high performance goals, and to achieve successful business outcomes.

Steve Slocum

Advisory Board President

Steve Slocum is the Advisory Board President of AeroInnovate.  He is a marketing and leadership professional with more than 20 years of experience in nonprofit, healthcare, telecommunications industries. Steve’s interest in aviation runs deep thanks to family involvement in the U.S. Air Force, Federal Aviation Administration and the Experimental Aircraft Association.  He graduated from University of Wisconsin Whitewater with a Bachelor of Arts degree in public relations and from Concordia University – Wisconsin with a Master of Business Administration degree. 

Jonathan Hartman

Advisory Board Member & Mentor

Jonathan Hartman currently serves as an Disruptive Technology Lead for Sikorsky Aircraft, located in Stratford, Connecticut. His focus is on maturation of future vehicle concepts and related technologies, with emphasis on next generation energy storage and use, dedicated unmanned systems, and autonomy-enabling technology. Since joining Sikorsky in 2009, his responsibilities have grown to include a wide range of roles, notably technical project management, small business acquisition, strategic planning, academic partnerships and talent acquisition. Currently, Jonathan’s primary role is Team Lead for Project Firefly, an all-electric technology demonstration helicopter.  Jonathan received his Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from Yale in 2009. Jonathan brings knowledge and experience.

James McCoy

Advisory Board Member & Team

James M. McCoy is a multi-career entrepreneur, venture investor and business development executive based in Silicon Valley. Over four decades, Jim has founded and grown multiple billion-dollar international companies and contributed in a broad range of industries and technologies. His work spans computer, consumer electronics, aviation and biotech instrumentation industries.

Jim has been a seed, founding or early stage investor and/or board director with over 20 successful companies. Most recently, he was Chairman of Pliant Technology, recently acquired by SanDisk (SNDK-NASDAQ.) Jim was founding CEO of Maxtor (purchased by Seagate, STX-NASDAQ,) and a co-founder of Quantum (QTM-NYSE.) He graduated from San Jose State University, California, with a B.S. degree in industrial engineering and management and has been issued five patents. Jim’s longest professional interest, deepest roots, first employment and current primary business focus is in aviation. He has been an active private pilot for over 30 years.

Gretchan Jahn

Advisory Board Member & Mentor

Gretchen Jahn is President of Knotridge Corporation, an aviation consultancy. Gretchen brings over 30 years of entrepreneurial experience in manufacturing, IT and aviation leadership, both domestic and international.

As owner and Director of Knotridge, Gretchen provides strategic consulting services to businesses in aviation and manufacturing industries. She recently completed an assignment as COO of REMOS Aircraft, a manufacturer of high quality Light Sport Aircraft with locations in Germany and the U.S. She and the team focused on reducing costs and aircraft inventory while improving customer service and sales. Prior to Knotridge, Gretchen was the General Manager of Alpha Aviation Ltd of New Zealand, a manufacturer of two seat aerobatic trainer aircraft. She was a founding board member of the Aviation Industry Cluster, fostering increased aviation capacity and capability within New Zealand.

Formerly, Gretchen was CEO of Mooney Airplane Company, where she doubled the production rate, brought two new models to market and solidified the bond that Mooney owners had with the factory. Gretchen was co-founder of Aegis Analytical Corporation, a software company that provides systems to pharmaceutical and biotech companies to boost their manufacturing efficiencies. As an entrepreneur Gretchen was a partner in two additional startup software companies. During her career she also held executive positions at small and large companies within multiple industry sectors.

Gretchen received her BA with honors from Lawrence University and her MA from the University of Colorado. She also obtained her Certificate in Integrated Resource Management (CIRM) from the American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS).

As an avid pilot and airplane owner for more than 25 years, Gretchen holds a US commercial pilot’s license with instrument and seaplane ratings and a New Zealand private pilot’s license. She is a member of the 99s, the Colorado Pilots Association, and Women in Aviation International. She is on the Board of AeroInnovate (EAA), LAMA and the Air Race Classic, Inc., and competes in cross-country handicapped speed racing.

Kurt Waldhuetter

Advisory Board Member

Kurt Waldhuetter and Meridith co-founded AeroInnovate together in 2008.

Kurt Waldhuetter, BA, MS has 20 years professional experience to share, the past 12 pertaining to start-ups and technology commercialization including strategic director, team building, IP portfolio strategy, product development, marketing and business development. He is a co-founder of AeroInnovate and is the Vice President, Business Services for the Aurora Research Institute.