After a thorough international search, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is pleased to announce the appointment of two new Deputy Chief Executives to our Executive Leadership Team.
Fred has spent the last 20 years with the Transport Security Administration (TSA). TSA is a critical regulatory body under the United States’ Department of Homeland Security, responsible for ensuring passenger security across more than 450 national airports.
Fred began his career with the US Army, in the Judge Advocate General Corps, focused on International and Operational Law. He joined TSA in 2005, gaining leadership experience across security operations, compliance and cyber security. Fred spent some time as Director of Training and Development, tasked with overhauling TSA’s certification regime and approach to training more than 60,000 frontline security personnel working in airports and across US transportation hubs. Following this, Fred spent five years as Transportation Security Attache for the US Embassy, in Singapore, responsible for government-to-government aviation security relationships for ten countries.
More recently, Fred served as the Senior Executive responsible for ten states, leading a team focused on land-based modes of transportation. This included working across the security spectrum, from coordinating with land-based transport stakeholders to improve physical security, to the introduction and enhancement of cybersecurity initiatives across these transportation modes.
Catherine brings a depth of experience across the aviation industry. She started her career with the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF), where she gained experience in navigation, supporting No. Five Squadron with maritime activities across Asia Pacific and internationally. She went on to complete a deployment to Timor and then moved into strategic advisory under the Chief of Defence. Catherine has spent time with the Ministry of Primary Industries, where she led the National Intelligence Team and partnered with industry to manage food safety and biosecurity risks.
Returning to the NZDF in 2017, Catherine co-led the modernisation of the Forces’ Intelligence Programme. Her time there culminated in the Commanding Officer position for No. 230 Squadron based at Whenuapai.
Catherine joins the CAA after four years with US-headquartered autonomous airplane manufacturer, Wisk Aero. As part of the Executive Leadership Team, Catherine was responsible for developing Wisk’s air operations’ capability, in-line with regulatory standards and leading the organisation’s business development activities across APAC.
We’re thrilled to welcome Catherine and Fred, who will take up their roles in June and July, respectively.
