Boeing Australia Holdings Board Members

Ian Thomas was named President of Boeing Australia & South Pacific in March 2009. As the senior Boeing executive in the region, he is responsible for coordinating all Boeing activities and leads the Company’s government affairs efforts. Previously, Thomas was president of Boeing India, having been appointed to that position in January 2007. Thomas reports to Shep Hill, president of Boeing International. Prior to his India assignment, Thomas served as vice president, Europe, for Boeing’s Integrated Defense Systems. From 2002 to 2005, Thomas served as vice president, Business Development, leading Boeing’s defence activities in the United Kingdom. Previously, he served as director of International Policy for Boeing’s Military Aircraft and Missile Systems division in St. Louis, Missouri. Thomas joined The Boeing Company in 2001.

From 1997 to 2001, Thomas served in a variety of staff and policy roles in the Office of the US Secretary of Defense at the Pentagon in Washington, DC. Prior to those assignments, he was a Visiting Scholar at the University of Cambridge and, for a brief period, with the 2nd Battalion, The Royal Gurkha Rifles, in Brunei, Borneo. During his time in the UK, Thomas served on the Executive Council of the Royal United Services Institute and on the Aerospace Advisory Board at the University of Cranfield. He is a Companion of the Royal Aeronautical Society. In Australia, Thomas serves as a member of the Prime Minister’s Manufacturing Taskforce, as President of the American Chamber of Commerce, and as a Director of the American-Australian Fulbright Commission. Thomas holds a master’s degree in international relations and a Ph.D. in history from the University of Cambridge, a graduate degree in social sciences from the University of Stockholm, and a bachelor’s degree (cum laude) in history from Amherst College. He also studied art history and Italian at Syracuse University, in Florence, Italy.

Mark Asplund is Global Law Affairs Regional Counsel for Australia and Southeast Asia. He is based in Sydney, Australia. Asplund manages and supports Enterprise legal affairs for the region which includes Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines. From 2008 to 2010 Asplund was Regional Counsel for India, the Middle East and Africa. From 2005 to 2008 he was Senior Environmental, Health and Safety Counsel providing legal advice and support across the Enterprise. Prior to joining Boeing in 2005, Asplund practiced law privately and was also Senior In-house Corporate Counsel for Texaco Inc. Asplund holds a Juris Doctorate degree from the Cornell University Law School and undergraduate degrees in English, Political Science and Portuguese from Brigham Young University.

Phil Bleser is the Director of Finance for Boeing Aerostructures Australia (BAA) and Chief Financial Officer for Boeing Australia Holdings. Bleser was appointed Director of Finance for BAA in May 2010 and added the role of Chief Financial Officer for Boeing Australia Holdings in 2012. Prior to these appointments, Bleser was Senior Manager of Financial Planning for the 777 Program. Prior to that assignment, he was the Senior Manager of Financial Integration for the 747-8 Development Program. Since joining Boeing in 1997, Bleser has also held finance management positions with 747/767 Engineering, Electrical Systems Responsibility Center and Interiors Responsibility Center. Bleser had also held a program assignment on the 767- 200XC Tanker Program. Bleser holds a bachelors degree in Finance from Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana, and a certificate in Project Management from the University of Washington in Seattle.

Ross Bogue is vice president and general manager of Boeing Fabrication, an operation of about 14,000 employees that serves as the largest supplier to Boeing Commercial Airplanes. In this role, Bogue leads the largest consolidated operation in the world dedicated to engineering and manufacturing aerospace parts, tools and assemblies. With headquarters in Auburn, Wash., Boeing Fabrication operates parts manufacturing plants in Frederickson, Renton and Everett, Wash; Portland, Ore; Salt Lake City, Utah; Winnipeg, Canada; and Melbourne and Sydney, Australia. Prior to his current assignment, Bogue served as vice president and general manager of the 747 Program, leading the team developing the 747-8 Freighter and the 747-8 passenger version, the Intercontinental, and producing the 747-400. He concurrently served as the Everett site leader, responsible for maintaining customer and community relationships, meeting airplane delivery commitments and ensuring the safety and security of employees, the Everett plant, its property and equipment. Bogue earned a Bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Puget Sound in 1979, and a Master’s in Management as a Sloan Fellow from Stanford University in 1995. He is a 1991 graduate of the Executive Education Program at the Joseph B. Katz Graduate School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh. Bogue serves on several boards – including the Aerospace Industry Manufacturing Seminar at the University of Washington – and is a Seattle Children’s Hospital Quality Committee member.

David Crouch is Managing Director of Aviall Australia Pty Limited and Aviall New Zealand Pty Limited. Aviall is headquartered in Dallas, Texas and is one of the world’s largest providers of new aviation parts and related aftermarket operations. Crouch oversees the Australian and New Zealand operations of Aviall, which has facilities in Cairns, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Auckland. He joined Aviall in 1998 and was appointed a Director of the company in November 2003. Boeing acquired Aviall in September 2006. Crouch graduated from the University of Ballarat and is a Chartered Accountant and CPA. Prior to joining Aviall he was a partner at Peat Marwick, which shortly after that time merged to form KPMG.

Andrew Duggan has been the Managing Director Insitu Pacific Australia since July 2009. Prior to this he was the Senior Manager Unmanned Systems Operations managing Boeing Defence Australia’s Unmanned Systems focused business from January 2007 through to the transition to Insitu Pacific in 2009. Duggan joined Boeing Australia in 2000 and served initially as an Operations Analyst in the System Analysis Laboratory working on projects such as Air 87 (Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter) , Air 6000 (Replacement Fighter) and Sea 4000 (Air Warfare Destroyer). Duggan then moved into a Business Development Manager role and worked on JP-129 (Tactical UAS) and as Capture Team Lead on AATTS (Rotary Wing Training) before forming the new Advanced Unmanned Systems group in 2005, where he led the development of the initial ScanEagle contract for the Australian Army. After the initial contract for ScanEagle was signed in October 2006, Duggan was appointed Senior Manager Unmanned Systems Operations in 2007 to manage BDA’s Unmanned Systems focused business. He has an excellent background in the development and analysis of requirements related to Unmanned Aerial Systems. Duggan graduated from the University of Tasmania with a Bachelor of Economics and then from the Royal Military College, Duntroon as an Australian Army Officer. He spent six years serving in the Australian Army in Intelligence Corps with a significant portion of this time spent serving in Electronic Warfare roles.

John Duddy is managing director of Boeing Aerostructures Australia (BAA). He is responsible for leading design and manufacturing operations that produce components for the 787 Dreamliner and other Boeing commercial airplanes. Prior to this assignment, Duddy was vice president and managing director of Boeing Defence Australia from December 2008 to June 2011. Between January 2010 and February 2011, Duddy held the dual role of vice president and general manager of Global Services & Support – Australia, leading all Australian after-delivery support for military platforms and systems. Duddy has held numerous management positions including program director of Boeing’s Global Positioning Systems (GPS) Programs; director, integrated product teams, Delta Launch Vehicles in Huntington Beach, California; and division director of Operations at Rocketdyne Propulsion and Power. He was based at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi for construction and start-up of the RS-68 Engine Final Assembly Facility; director of Facilities and Plant Operations at Boeing Canoga Park and held various leadership assignments in manufacturing and facilities at the Tactical Systems Division in Duluth, Georgia. Duddy graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1980 with a degree in industrial engineering. Duddy is currently an executive sponsor of the Boeing Australian Women's Affinity Group and is Boeing’s executive focal for the University of Queensland. Duddy has received numerous awards including the Silver Knight of Leadership Award from The National Management Association in 2009. On three occasions, Duddy was Leader of the Year and Manager of the Year. Duddy is chairman of the Aviation/Aerospace Australia (A/AA). The group recognises the economic contributions that aviation and aerospace provide to Australia and encourages sustainability, growth and development.

Tom Forbes is business management director for Jeppesen’s Rail, Logistics and Terminals (RLT) business unit. He is responsible for Jeppesen’s Rail and Terminals business throughout the world, including clients such as Deutsche Bahn, RailCorp, Queensland Rail, Rome Met.Ro, Heathrow Airport and many others. Forbes began his career in transportation call centres and developed a keen interest in the power of embedding optimisation capability into software solutions. He was the project lead on the first public transport journey planning website in Australia. Forbes then worked developing Geographic Information Systems (GIS) solutions before running the UK subsidiary of the Brisbane-based operations research software development firm Opcom in 2000. In 2006 he returned to Australia with Opcom, subsequently acquired by Carmen Systems of Sweden, and was appointed Business Development Manager for Asia Pacific. Carmen Systems was acquired by Jeppesen and Forbes was promoted into the role of Rail Product Manager, responsible for the P&L of Jeppesen’s global Rail business. Forbes earned his Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Queensland University of Technology in 2006.

Kim Gillis is vice president and managing director of Boeing Defence Australia. In this role, Gillis is responsible for all Boeing Defence Australia businesses and functions at the organisation’s 15 sites across the country and four international locations. His duties include the establishment and execution of new and existing programs, achieving corporate objectives, and implementing corporate strategies that position Boeing’s defence activities in Australia for continued success. Gillis joined Boeing in 2010 as chief operating officer of International Operations and Compliance for BDS. In 2011 Gillis was appointed Boeing Defence Australia’s chief operating officer. Prior to Boeing, Gillis was general manager systems for the Australian Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO). Gillis holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in business administration with a major in legal studies from University of Canberra. He is a qualified Master Project Director (AIPM) and a Master Mariner. Gillis also is the founder and sponsor of Queensland University of Technology Executive Masters in Complex Project Management Program and International Centre for Complex Project Management.

Matthew Mackenzie is the Senior Manager Campus Operations for Boeing’s Training & Flight Services business unit in Australia. He is responsible for Boeing’s flight training campuses located in Australia including the main centre in Brisbane, and the other centres located in Melbourne, Sydney and Williamtown. Mackenzie started his career in 1996 by joining the Royal Australian Air Force. He underwent training to become an Air Defence Officer and was thereafter posted to several ground based Control and Reporting Units in Australia. In 2003 he joined Boeing Defence Australia to assist in the development of the 737AEW&C Mission Crew and Flight Crew Training Programs and eventually led the Training Services Delivery Team for the follow-on through life support contract for Project Wedgetail. In 2010 Mackenzie was then selected to lead Boeing Training & Flight Services in Australia. Mackenzie has a Bachelor of Engineering majoring in Computer Systems, and also holds a Bachelor Degree in Information Technology and a Graduate Diploma in Remote Sensing and GIS.

William J. Profilet (Bill) is Vice President Australia Business Development for Boeing Defence, Space and Security (BDS) in Canberra Australia. Bill has business development and customer relations responsibilities for BDS programs in Australia. His previous position was serving as a Campaign Team Leader and International Business Development director responsible for development and execution of international strategies for Global Security Systems. Prior to this position, Bill was director of International Industrial Participation and Alliances, responsible for implementing industrial programs associated with BDS sales in multiple regions. Additionally, Bill served as the International Business Development lead for Boeing Weapons Programs and was manager of Business Development for Southern Europe. He previously served in Industrial Participation as a manager in the Middle East region. Bill also worked in engineering roles on the Tomahawk and F/A-18 Programs before joining Business Development. Profilet was an officer in the United States Navy Submarine Force prior to joining Boeing and is retired from the Naval Reserve. Profilet completed his Master’s Degree in Business Administration at Washington University in 1995, specialising in International Business. His undergraduate degree was in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois - Urbana in 1984.

Christina Reese (Christy) is Sales Director Asia Pacific & India sales for Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA) and is responsible for sales in Australia and New Zealand, working with customers Virgin Australia and Air New Zealand. Previously Reese served as the Sales Director for North America and Canada. From 2006 to 2008 Reese was Deputy Vice President/Business Director of sales for leasing and asset management where she worked with aircraft leasing companies around the world.   Reese has also held positions at Boeing Capital Corporation (BCC) arranging, structuring and providing financing to assist in the sale and delivery of Boeing products and services and in contracts managing business transactions and relationships with a significant number of airline lessors and airlines. Reese holds a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and a master's degree in business administration from the University of Southern California (USC).

Jim Surber is the director for International Business Support for the Boeing Shared Services Group (SSG). This responsibility includes ensuring alignment between the Shared Services initiatives, plans and strategies with those of Boeing International and its Boeing business-partner operations in non-US locations. In this role, he also manages the deployment of services to all international locations. Surber reports to the SSG president and is a member of the SSG leadership team. He also serves on the Boeing International Leadership Team. Surber leads an integrated business process for the Shared Service’s international operations, which supports more than 20 Boeing International offices. Prior to his appointment to International Services, Surber was the director of International Finance in SSG Finance and Business.