NATA Board Names Martin Hiller as President and
Promotes William Deere and Tim Obitts to Executive Vice Presidents

Washington, DC, September 15, 2016 – Concluding its fall board meeting last week, the Chairman of the National Air Transportation Association (NATA) Board of Directors, Mr. Andrew Priester (President and Chief Executive Officer, Priester Aviation, Wheeling, IL), announced that Mr. Martin Hiller (Owner and Partner, Marathon Jet Center, Marathon, FL) will continue to serve as President of NATA. In June, the Board announced that Hiller would serve as Acting President upon the departure of then President Tom Hendricks. Prior to accepting the position, Mr. Hiller served over five years as an NATA Board Member (Mr. Hiller’s full bio can be found at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_H._Hiller). In addition, last week the Board promoted NATA Senior Vice Presidents, William Deere and Timothy Obitts. Mr. Deere will now serve as Executive Vice President of Government and External Affairs. Mr. Obitts will now serve as Executive Vice President of Operations and Business, and will continue to serve as General Counsel. 

In making the announcement, NATA Board Chairman Andy Priester thanked Hiller for his willingness to serve in a longer-term capacity, “The Board was deeply impressed by Marty’s report on the current state of the association and his plans for the association’s future. We appreciate Marty’s ongoing leadership at the helm of NATA.”

Priester also commented on the promotion of Tim Obitts and Bill Deere to the rank of Executive Vice President. “One of Marty’s first recommendations was the promotion of Tim and Bill to positions commensurate with their increased responsibilities. The Board was pleased to accept Marty’s recommendation, Bill and Tim work very hard to promote the interests of aviation businesses and have made Marty’s transition to NATA President a smooth one.”

Hiller added, “I am honored to serve as President of NATA. My ability to serve longer-term is based in part on the tireless efforts on behalf of the membership made every day by Tim and Bill, their promotions are well deserved. Together, we will work to assist aviation businesses succeed in what is an increasingly challenging environment and that includes our commitment to doing all we can to enhance aviation safety.”