CLEARWATER, Fla., June 28, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Avantair, Inc., (OTCBB:AAIR), the only publicly traded, stand-alone private aircraft operator and the leader of fractional aircraft ownership and flight hour time cards in the light jet cabin category, announced that Christopher Gleason has joined the company as area sales manager.
In his new role, Gleason will work to grow and generate Avantair sales in Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado and Utah. Gleason, who will report to Executive Vice President John Colucci, joins Avantair from Eluxe Group, where he served as the co-founder and chief financial officer. In addition to conducting financial operations for Eluxe Group, he protected and preserved the assets of the company by effectively managing risk. He also planned, directed and coordinated sales and customer development through comprehensive direct sales activities.
"Christopher is an astute and results-oriented sales executive with proven experience in developing and retaining high-profile business relationships and producing significant revenues and profits," said Colucci. "His experience in executing large-scale business deals will further develop our sales model in the region. He is an outstanding addition to the Avantair team."
Gleason has 15 years of experience in sales, including extensive experience in financial services such as wealth management and mortgages. At UBS Financial Services, he developed relationships with C-level executives and individuals of high net-worth to manage their wealth, growing the client and asset base month over month. While at New England Merchants Corp., Gleason personally originated more than $1 billion in mortgage transactions.
In addition to those roles, Gleason also founded Lending4All, a pioneer in web-based mortgage software. He was the architect of a system which significantly streamlined the loan process and reduced origination costs by 75 percent. He also served as a senior loan originator at United Companies Lending.
Gleason received his Bachelor of Arts degree in legal studies and psychology from the University of Massachusetts, served 10 years in the Massachusetts Army National Guard and resides in Clearwater Beach, Fla.
About Avantair
Avantair, the sole North American provider of fractional shares, flight time cards and Axis Lease in the Piaggio Avanti aircraft, and the only publicly traded, stand-alone private aircraft operator, is headquartered in Clearwater, Fla., with approximately 450 employees. The Company offers private travel solutions for individuals and businesses traveling within its service area, which includes the continental United States, Canada, the Caribbean and Mexico, at a fraction of the cost of whole aircraft ownership. The Company currently manages a fleet of 56 aircraft, with another 51 Piaggio Avanti aircraft on order through 2013. For more information about Avantair, please visit: www.avantair.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, with respect to Avantair's future financial or business performance, strategies and expectations. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words or phrases such as "trend," "potential," "opportunity," "pipeline," "believe," "comfortable," "expect," "anticipate," "current," "intention," "estimate," "position," "assume," "outlook," "continue," "remain," "maintain," "sustain," "seek," "achieve," and similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as "will," "would," "should," "could," "may" and similar expressions. Avantair cautions that forward-looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties, which change over time. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and Avantair assumes no duty to and does not undertake to update forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in forward-looking statements and future results could differ materially from historical performance.
In addition to factors previously disclosed in Avantair's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and those as may be identified elsewhere in this press release, the following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking statements or historical performance: general economic and business conditions in the U.S. and abroad, changing interpretations of generally accepted accounting principles, changes in market acceptance of the company's products, inquiries and investigations and related litigation, fluctuations in customer demand, management of rapid growth, intensity of competition. The information set forth herein should be read in light of such risks. Avantair does not assume any obligation to update the information contained in this press release.
Avantair's filings with the SEC, accessible on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov, discuss these factors in more detail and identify additional factors that can affect forward-looking statements.