The People Behind JET LINX
Executive Team
Dennis Walker, Chairman
Before founding JET LINX Aviation, Denny was a founder, Executive Vice President and board member of MemberWorks Incorporated, which later changed its name to Vertrue Incorporated. In September of 2002 Denny resigned from his position at MemberWorks to focus his energy on the further development of JET LINX.
Jamie Walker, Chief Executive Officer
Jamie is responsible for executing the sales, marketing and business development for the Company. The combination of these daily efforts contribute to the continued success of the Company’s business plan. Prior to joining JET LINX, Jamie was a Vice President of Sales & Marketing for New World Sales, Inc., based in New York, NY and a residential redeveloper in lower Manhattan.
Mark Matthes, President
Mark was the Executive Vice President and COO of Duncan Aviation from 1997 to 2008. Duncan Aviation is an aircraft maintenance and modification company employing 2000 people in Lincoln, NE, Battle Creek, MI and nineteen satellite locations. Prior to joining Duncan Aviation, Mark was the Senior Vice President and Director of Operations for FirstTier Financial, a Nebraska-based bank. He has served on several community boards in Lincoln and Omaha. He attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the University of Wisconsin-Madison Banking School.
Jamie Barrett, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Jamie is a seasoned aviation business executive with over 30 years of business aviation experience. Prior to joining JET LINX, Jamie held several executive positions with such notable companies as Jet Aviation in Teterboro, NJ, where he served as the Senior Vice President of U.S. Charter Operations, and Corporate Jets in Pittsburgh, PA.
Kari Johnson, Director of Operations
Kari is a former airline captain, flight instructor, check airman and manager of flight training. He has logged over 20,000 flight hours in scheduled airliners for Eastern Airlines, Japan Airlines and Eva Air, in addition to military and corporate aircraft. Kari is type rated in the G-IV, DC-9, B-727, B-747, and the MD-11. As a Naval Aviator and squadron commander, he flew the A-6 Intruder during and after the Vietnam conflict and retired in 1987 as Colonel, USMC-R. During his aviation career he has held management assignments in FAR 121, FAR 91 and FAR 135 operations, including the Director of Operations for AMI Jet Charter, the parent company of TAG Aviation U.S., where he managed over 150 aircraft, 100 flight attendants and up to 500 pilots.
Maynard Smith, Assistant Director of Operations and System Chief Pilot
Maynard was with SkyWest Airlines as a Line Check Airmen on the EMB-120 where he was in charge of conducting new-hire initial operating experience as well as conducting annual line checks on EMB-120 flight crews. He was then hired by United Airlines and flew as a B-727 Flight Engineer and served as an Airbus A-319/320 First Officer. As Director of Operations for JET LINX he is responsible for aircraft compliance, flight crews and scheduling. Maynard is the main point of contact for the FAA and is responsible for insuring all JET LINX operations are compliant with the Federal Aviation Regulations for Part 91 and Part 135 operations.
Michael “Mick” Pittard, V.P. & G.M. of JET LINX Indianapolis
Since 1974, Mick has owned and operated Fixed Base Operations in Indianapolis, Kokomo and West Lafayette, Indiana. He has also owned and operated a scheduled Part 135 Essential Air Service commuter airline from 1981 to 1990. Mick has been a member of the National Air Transportation Association (NATA) and the National Business Aircraft Association (NBAA) for many years; serving as the NATA’s Chairman for two years. Mick has extensive senior management experience in commercial aviation services, including consulting individuals and corporations on air charter, aircraft management, flight operations, federal aviation regulations and tax related issues. Mick has over 12,000 flight hours and holds an ATP certificate with type ratings in the Citation, Learjet, and Hawker 800.
Anthony Boatwright, Director of Maintenance
Tony began his career at Duncan Aviation. During his employment at Duncan he attended several Flight Safety training schools including Falcon, Cessna and Hawker until finally earning the Lead Mechanic position specializing in Cessna 500 through 650 and Hawker 125 aircraft. Tony then accepted the position as Lead Mechanic at Garrett Aviation. At Garrett he inspected and maintained aircraft ranging from the smallest Cessna to largest commercial airliners. As the Director of Maintenance, Tony is now responsible for the inspection and maintenance of the company’s fleet of aircraft and maintaining all technical data for the aircraft. Above all, he is responsible for and strives to make our aircraft the safest in the industry.
Leo Leomporra, Director of Managed Aircraft
Leo has over 30 years of aviation experience. He joined Aviation Methods in 1979, which later became TAG Aviation, as a Base Manger. Leo was a Regional Vice President for TAG and was instrumental in establishing the strategic direction of the Minneapolis operation. In this capacity he established policies and procedures addressing aircraft operations, which also included charter & aircraft management sales and customer service. Leo managed as many as 27 aircraft, with up to 80 employees. In 2007, Leo joined Jet Linx Aviation as Director of Managed Aircraft with responsibilities addressing aircraft operations, staffing, aircraft management sales and brand development. Leo is also an accomplished pilot with over 17,000 flight hours, and 7-type ratings.
Philip Huntley, Quality Assurance Manager
As Director of Maintenance Coordination, Phil forecasts and plans future maintenance events for managed aircraft and serves as a liaison between the Company and aircraft owner for coordinating the events. Phil comes to JET LINX with over 20 years of aviation experience. He holds an Airframe and Powerplant certificate, an Inspection Authorization and is a past Designated Mechanics Examiner. He has served as Chief Inspector for Garrett Aviation in Omaha and as Quality Manager for AAR Corporation in Tampa, FL. He currently serves on the Aviation Maintenance Advisory Board for Iowa Western Community College, as well as a part-time instructor in Aviation Maintenance Technology.
Paul Mandy, Regional Operations Manager
Paul joined Aviation Methods, which later became TAG Aviation, in April of 1979 as the Maintenance Director for the Minneapolis operation, its first remote base of operation. TAG became one of the largest aircraft charter and management companies in the industry. As a TAG employee Paul excelled to become a Client Aviation Manager overseeing all facets of the Minneapolis operation. The Minneapolis base was responsible for 27 aircraft, with locations in multiple cities around the country. Paul is proficient in private and commercial operations including large aircraft, aircraft sales and completion, pre-buy inspections, interior and exterior refurbishment projects. In 2007 Paul joined Jet Linx Aviation to help facilitate the growth of the operation.
Dori Bergman, Corporate Controller
Dori is responsible for overseeing the accounting team and driving the accounting function during the expansion of the operations. Prior to joining Jet Linx Aviation, Dori was the Corporate Controller for a paper recycling business operating in seven states with eleven locations. From 2001 through 2005, Dori oversaw the accounting and billing department functions for a public utility in Minnesota. She also has held the roles of a Chief Financial Officer for a privately-owned Information Technology company for nine years and of a Financial Director for a non-profit human services company for five years.
Bruce Tuttle, Director of Safety
Bruce spent his last 20 years at ConAgra where he retired as their Chief Pilot. His responsibilities as the Chief Pilot for ConAgra were to oversee the operations of ConAgra’s corporate flight department which included seven jets, eighteen pilots, dispatch, scheduling, maintaining training records and the development of their Standard Operating Procedures. Bruce has logged nearly 15,000 total hours in the cockpit and is now responsible for all aviation safety, training and standardization at Jet Linx Aviation.

