With more than 70 employees now employed at its Kerrville, Texas, facility, and about to restart the assembly line to produce the first M20TN Acclaim Type S, Mooney has announcedthat its management leadership team is in place. CEO is Dr. Jerry Chen, who has extensive experience in the aviation and aerospace industry and holds two Masters and a Ph.D. in Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering and Electrical Engineering. Joining him as COO is Tom Bowen, who was the interim Chief Operating Officer in the early 2000s. Mr. Bowen has been in the aircraft industry since starting with Swearingen Aircraft in 1983 and has since worked with Money, Columbia, Cessna and Lancair. He is a pilot, mechanic and engineer and will oversee quality, sales and marketing for Mooney.
Moving from Vice President of Operations to Chief Manufacturing Officer, Chad Nelson will oversee all aspects of manufacturing and the supply chain. Prior to joining Mooney in 2004, Nelson served in the Marines for 22 years as an A-6E Bombardier/Navigator. In charge of R & D and new technologies will be Chief Technical Officer Dr. Neal Pfeiffer. Dr. Pfeiffer holds a Ph.D in Aeronautical Engineering and previously worked as a product development consultant to Cessna, Learjet, Cirrus, Piper and Boeing following six years managing Advanced Design at Beech Aircraft. Dr. Chen stated, We believe in the future of Mooney and we have a solid plan.” The new Acclaim Type S will have a TSIO-550-G turbonormalized engine and will include an upgraded Garmin G1000 integrated avionics suite.
