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Leadership Team

Jeremy Ford

Jeremy Ford

CEO

Jeremy Ford is the CEO of IAANZ, and the Canterbury Aero Club. He is an A-Cat Flight Instructor and GA Flight Examiner who also has an automotive background and General Manager experience for a hospitality group. He began his Commercial Pilot training at IAANZ in 2009 before starting with the organisation in 2011. He has held various roles across the business and has a passion for leadership and executing strategy.

Outside of work he spends time with his family, enjoys travelling, the great outdoors; especially jet boating, fishing and of course flying!

Ross Sparks

Ross Sparks

Head of Training

Ross Sparks is the Head of Training at IAANZ. Having spent over 50 years full time flying in Aviation, he has held numerous roles including Chief Pilot and Training Captain, flying A320s and Boeing 777s all over the world and clocking up over 28,000 hours at the controls.

Ross with his rich experience oversees training and standards at IAANZ and is motivated to inspire young people to pursue their dreams and graduate as ‘leaders’ with a pilots licence.

When not sharing his aviation knowledge with students Ross is busy enjoying the outdoors – hiking, biking and water sports.

Joe Brown

Joe Brown

Chief Flying Instructor

Joe Brown is the Chief Flying Instructor at IAANZ. As a B-Cat Flight Instructor with over a decade of flying experience since starting with the organisation, Joe liaises with his Training Managers to ensure smooth day to day operations and compliance with rules and regulations. Joe also provides mentorship and development to the individual Flight Instructors working within the various teams at IAANZ to ensure quality of outcome.

As part of the Senior Management team, Joe contributes to the execution of the overall strategic goals of the organisation.

Joe enjoys tinkering with things to make them go better, faster, further, but he hasn’t yet found a way to make his desk fly!

Mike van Dongen

Mike van Dongen

Maintenance Controller

Mike van Dongen is the Maintenance Controller and Chief Engineer of the Canterbury Aero Club.

Mike is a Licenced Aircraft Maintenance Engineer working with CAC for over 5 years now and has over 25 years of experience in the Aviation industry in various roles. Mike has worked in both New Zealand and Australia with experience on many types of aircraft from Piper Tomahawks to Beechcraft 1900s and Air Tractors. Mike also holds a Commercial Pilot Licence and C Category Instructor Rating.

Mike is responsible for the Airworthiness Control and Management of the Canterbury Aero Club / IAANZ fleet.

Outside of work Mike enjoys spending time with his family, swimming, mountain and road biking and the occasional Ironman Triathlon.

Stephanie Schwabe

Stephanie Schwabe

Safety Systems Manager

Stephanie Schwabe is the Safety Systems Manager at IAANZ. With over 30 years in the industry, Stephanie is passionate about aviation.

As part of the Senior Management team, Stephanie oversees the Safety Management System, chairs the Health and Safety Committee, and ensures continued compliance with various stakeholders of the organisation.

Outside of aviation, Stephanie enjoys walking, sports and games, music, and travel.

Wayne Cooper

Wayne Cooper

Academic Manager

Wayne Cooper is the Academic Manager at IAANZ. He has over 20 years’ experience in education, both as a teacher and as a tertiary academic management.

As part of the Senior Management team, Wayne provides guidance and management to the programmes of study offered at IAANZ, supports instructor teaching capability and student learning.

Wayne’s early career was initially in the Army before moving into Secondary School Teaching.  He has taught at several Secondary Schools around NZ as a Head of Department PE, Health and Outdoor Education before moving into Tertiary Education Management.   More recently Wayne worked for the Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology in a range of management positions and in a range of subject area such as Fitness and Health Studies, Construction and Engineering and finishing in his last three years as the Curriculum Manager at the NMIT Aviation Engineering School, based in RNZAF Woodbourne, Blenheim.

When not at work he enjoys the outdoors, mountain biking, general fitness activities, restoring vintage vehicles, time with family and organising the Binders (International Truck) Club, kitset model building.