Management Team
Brett Smith - Chief Executive Officer
Brett founded Propeller Airports LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Propeller Investments, to leverage airport privatization in the U.S. Airport sector. Prior to Propeller, from 1999 to 2006, he co-founded and served as Chairman & CEO of ei3 Corporation responsible for all corporate finance, strategic direction, licensing and partnership activities. From 1996 to 1998, he was Director of Business Development at Presstek, Inc. where he was part of the restructuring team for their equipment Subsidiary. Prior to that he held positions in areas of business development and analysis with Asia Times newspaper and Susquehanna Investment Group. Brett has served on the Board of Directors for ICAD, a publicly traded company (NASDAQ: ICAD) and on the boards of various organizations including The United Ways Children with Learning Disabilities Foundation. Currently, Brett is a member of the NY Board of Human Rights Watch and serves as a Trustee for the Dublin School and The Landmark School and is a licensed private pilot. Brett holds a B.A in Political Science from Emory University.
Mark Reichin - Chief Operating Officer
Mr. Reichin joined Propeller Investments in 2009 as Chief Commercial Officer after co-founding and acting as CEO of Alerion, a family office focused on aircraft management. Prior to assuming the senior leadership role at Alerion, Mark served as Senior Vice President of PrivatAir; one of the world's leading aviation services companies and was responsible for record revenue growth and development of the company's next generation dispatch and customer service operations. Earlier he was a member of a private equity firm that focused on M&A transactions in the airline, aviation and aerospace industry sectors. As Chief Executive Officer of Internet.com, Mark led the pioneering Internet software and services company that was responsible for bringing fortune 500 companies, that included national print media, the international healthcare information industry and the launch of Comdex to the internet.
Mark's business expertise has focused on international business development and global M&A transactions. He brings substantial experience in international marketing as well as expertise in commercial real estate development. His Global aviation management experience includes Director of Operations for the establishment of air carrier operations in both FAA and EASA regulatory environments.
A licensed pilot since the age of 17 with IFR and multi-engine ratings, he has accumulated more than 12,000 hours of flight time. Mark serves on both corporate and non-profit boards. He is also an active member of National Business Aircraft Association, The Wings Club, National Air Transportation Association and the Aero Clubs of New England, Washington and Atlanta. He attended the University of Massachusetts and Northeastern University.
Steven E. Harfst - President
Steve joined Propeller in February 2016 as President of Propeller. He has over 30 years of leadership experience in the military, domestic and international commercial aviation industry. Steve has served as the COO of Allegiant Air, President and CEO of USA 3000 Airlines, as the start-up COO of IndiGo, India’s most successful and profitable commercial airline and COO of North American Airlines. Steve began his aviation career with ten years of military service as a United States Naval Aviator piloting the F-14 Tomcat. Steve left active duty service in June 1996 after accumulating over 1,600 hours of flight time and 227 arrested landings.
Currently, Steve serves on the Board of Directors of For Pete’s Sake Cancer Respite Foundation based in Philadelphia, PA and is a commercially licensed airline transport pilot. Steve holds a B.A. in Business Administration from the University of Washington.
Andrew Vasey - Chief Development Officer
Andrew oversees program management, operations, strategy and capital development services to airlines and airport operators for Propeller Airports.
He has over twenty years of experience with the financing, planning, design, construction and operation of airport facilities across the US and Europe.
Managing personnel that are providing strategic consulting services to aviation clients on major capital development programs that are a vital part of today's dynamic aviation industry.
Andrew combines his airline management experience, construction management experience and architectural education to provide clients with a full range of solutions for all aviation programs. He has directed capital development programs on behalf of airport and airline clients in a manner that successfully satisfies the needs of all project partners.
In addition to leading Propeller Airports program management efforts, Mr. Vasey lends his broad aviation expert commentary and analysis to a number of media sources across the country as speaker and expert analyst. He has covered a number of topics, including: trends in aviation, impact of security measures on airlines, positive (and negative) effects of regional jets and contrasting low fare vs. high service airlines.
Don Dodson - Executive Vice President, Operations
Don has more than 40 years of experience in aviation, in both flight operations and executive management. Don is a highly experienced pilot having accumulated over 20,000 hours of flight time at Eastern Airlines and then as a Captain for United Airlines.
Building on this experience he transitioned from being a pilot to senior executive management positions; serving as Director of Flight Operations, Senior Vice President of Flight Operations and then Chief Executive Officer of various US based international airlines. Don's safety and regulatory compliance track records, demonstrated over the course of his career, are sterling.
As an entrepreneur, Don successfully started and ran his own U.S. based cargo airline, Dodson International Air, served as CEO of the U.S. based charter airline Trans Meridian and was part of the certification team for Eos Airlines in his role as Director of Flight Operations.
Jessica Kilgore - Director of Communications
Jessica began her career in the aviation industry in 2011 as a charter member of the Salute America Air Show. During her four years with the non-profit organization, she held various roles aiding in the growth of marketing, communications and hospitality for the event.
In 2013, Jessica began working with Propeller Airports and joined the company full time as the Director of Communications the following year. Jessica graduated Magna Cum Laude from Kennesaw State University with a Bachelor of Science in Communication and Public Relations.
