There must be a better way of taking the reins of a company than to be appointed a couple of days before a major trade show brings in hoards of customers, business partners and media on one's home ground, all clamoring for information. Such has been the lot of Peter Edwards, the new CEO at Jet Aviation, who found time to tell Show News some of his plans for the future.

Basel-based Jet Aviation is well known for its executive jet completion activities. It is expanding its facilities to include provision for Airbus A380s, but there are suggestions that the previous management's views on the way forward did not accord with those of private equity firm Permira Funds, which bought the company two years ago.

Simultaneously, the chief operating officer slot has been assigned to Jim Ziegler, who, like Edwards, is an ex-Bombardier man and a specialist in completion centers. "Jim and I worked together closely at Bombardier, although my background is in airframes. I hope to bring to Jet Aviation my knowledge of what an OEM needs in support. We will look carefully at each OEM and its needs, recognizing that the center of gravity of the OEM market has now shifted out of North America," Edwards said.

The appointment is not as sudden and dramatic as it may, at first, appear. "I have been associated with Jet Aviation for 20 years through my previous positions with Gulfstream and Bombardier," Edwards notes, "and it is an exciting opportunity for me."

Changes - if any - in store for the future are not ripe for disclosure. The emphasis now will be on expanding the business in its traditional areas. "The core commitment to quality will not be changed," Edwards says; "the challenge is to evolve and grow and, in the future, we will be more focused on tailoring our services."

"The immediate priority is to maintain quality of service while addressing our current backlogs. There are enormous growth opportunities, but we are quite busy at the moment. New market opportunities include the emergence of Russia; growth in the Middle East; and, finally, that Asia is a reliable opportunity for business aviation."