Avantair Board of Directors

Barry J. Gordon
Chairman of the Board

Barry J. Gordon has been Avantair’s (formerly known as Ardent Acquisition Corporation) Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer since its inception. Mr. Gordon has nearly 40 years of experience in evaluating aviation industry securities, including membership for 25 years in the Society of Airline Analysts (with 5 years as its president), and over 30 years experience in the senior management of a mutual fund specializing in the airline, aerospace and technology industries. Mr. Gordon served as executive vice president of American Fund Advisors, Inc. from September 1978 until December 1980, as its president from December 1980 until May 1987 and has been its chairman of the board since May 1987. American Fund Advisors is a private money management firm that manages money for high net worth individuals, pension and profit sharing plans. Mr. Gordon has been a director of American Fund Advisors since December 1980. From December 1991 to March 2005, he was president, and from December 1991 to December 1993, he was director, of the John Hancock Technology Series, Inc., an investment company. Since September 1999, Mr. Gordon has been President, Chief Executive Officer and a director of BlueStone AFA Management, LLC, the general partner of the AFA Private Equity Fund 1 (formerly BlueStone AFA Fund), a venture capital fund providing equity capital for public and private companies primarily in the technology sector, and since January 2000, he has been a director of the AFA Private Equity Fund. Mr. Gordon has been Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of North Shore Acquisition Corp., a blank check company formed in June 2007 for the purpose of effecting a business combination with an operating business, since its inception in June 2007. Mr. Gordon has also been chairman of the board and Chief Executive Officer of the New Jersey Cardinals, a Class A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, from February 1990 until April 2006 and the Norwich Navigators, a Class AA affiliate of the San Francisco Giants, from March 1991 until April 2005. He also served as a director of Winfield Capital Corp., an Over The Counter Bulletin Board listed small business investment company, from October 1995 to October 2005. In 1992, Mr. Gordon was awarded Entrepreneur of the Year for Long Island in financial services. Mr. Gordon received a B.B.A. from the University of Miami and an M.B.A. from Hofstra University.

 

Arthur H. Goldberg
Director

Arthur H. Goldberg has been a member of Avantair’s (formerly known as Ardent Acquisition Corporation) Board of Directors since inception. Mr. Goldberg has served as a member of Corporate Solutions Group since January 2000. From February 1994 to December 1999, Mr. Goldberg served president of Manhattan Associates, an investment and merchant banking firm. Mr. Goldberg has been a trustee of Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust (formerly named RPS Realty Trust), a New York Stock Exchange listed real estate investment trust, since 1998. Mr. Goldberg has been a director of North Shore Acquisition Corp., a blank check company formed in June 2007 for the purpose of effecting a business combination with an operating business, since its inception in June 2007. Mr. Goldberg received a B.S. (cum laude) from New York University Stern School and a J.D. from the New York University School of Law.

 

Steven F. Santo
CEO and Director

Steven Santo has served as Chief Executive Officer, President and a director of Avantair since its inception in June 2003 and Skyline Aviation Services, Inc. since June 2002. Mr. Santo is a licensed, commercially-rated pilot who has been flying for approximately 15 years. From 1995 through 2001, Mr. Santo practiced law as an attorney in private practice, concluding his law practice in 2001 as a name partner at the firm of Fields, Silver & Santo. From 1992 to 1995, Mr. Santo served as an Assistant District Attorney in New York working in the office’s major crimes unit. Mr. Santo received a J.D. from St. Johns School of Law and a bachelor’s degree from Villanova University.


Stephanie A. Cuskley
Director

Stephanie A. Cuskley has been on the board of directors of Insituform Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:INSU) since 2005 and is chair of its audit committee. Until her retirement in May 2005, Ms. Cuskley was a managing director with JPMorgan Chase where she most recently (2003-2005) headed Investment Banking Coverage for the firm’s mid-cap clients located in the eastern US. Ms. Cuskley joined JPMorgan Chase in 1994 and spent 7 years in high yield origination. Subsequently, from 2001 to 2003, she led a global culture and leadership development initiative (LeadershipMorganChase) sponsored by the firm’s CEO and Executive Committee. Prior to joining JPMorgan Chase, Ms. Cuskley was an Executive VP with Integrated Resources, a large NY-based financial services company, and advised on their financial restructuring. She started her investment banking career in 1985 at Drexel Burnham Lambert as a corporate finance generalist. She is also a commissioner and co-head of the Economic Development committee of the NYC Mayor’s Commission on Women’s Issues and a member of the Resources Development Committee for United Way of New York City. Ms. Cuskley received her MBA from Cornell and her BA from the University of Toronto.

 

A. Clinton Allen
Director

Mr. Allen is the CEO of A. C. Allen & Company, a private investment banking consulting firm. He is the Lead Director of Steinway Musical Instruments, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of musical instruments. He is also a member of the board of directors of Brooks Automation, Inc., which provides integrated tool and factory automation solutions for the global semiconductor and related industries, the board of directors and Executive Committee of LKQ Corporation, the largest nationwide provider of recycled OEM automotive parts and the board of directors of Collectors Universe, a high end provider of collectible and gem grading. He served on the board of directors of Blockbuster Entertainment Corporation from 1986 until its acquisition by Viacom/Paramount in September 1994. Mr. Allen graduated from Harvard University and serves on the Executive Committee of the Friends of Harvard Football, as well as the Harvard Visiting Committee on University Resources and the Harvard Major Gifts Committee. He is a member of the Board of Directors and the President’s Council of the Massachusetts General Hospital. Mr. Allen has earned a Professional Director Certification issued by the Corporate Directors Group, an accedited educational organization of RiskMetric ISS Governance Services.

 

Robert J. Lepofsky
Director

Robert J. Lepofsky has been the President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Brooks Automation, Inc., a publicly held producer of factory automation solutions for the global semiconductor and related industries, since October 2007. Mr. Lepofsky has been Chairman of Westcliff Capital Group, a private holding company since November 2006. After serving for ten years on the Board of Directors of Ensign-Bickford Industries, Inc., a broadly diversified, privately-held corporation with business interests ranging from food flavorings, industrial manufacturing, aerospace defense products and real estate development, Mr. Lepofsky became President and Chief Executive Officer of Ensign-Bickford in January 2005, a position he held until his retirement in November, 2006. From January 1989 to December 2004, Mr. Lepofsky was President and Chief Executive Officer of Helix Technology Corporation, a publicly-held producer of innovative vacuum systems for the semiconductor industry and Mr. Lepofsky previously served as its Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer from 1979 through 1988. In January 2005 Mr. Lepofsky was named non-executive Chairman of the Board of Helix, a position he held until October 2005 when Helix merged with Brooks Automation, Inc.,Mr. Lepofsky is a director of Moldflow Corporation, a publicly-held provider of software products and services for the plastics industry and chair of its Corporate Governance and Nominating committee. In the not-for-profit sector Mr. Lepofsky is Vice-Chairman of the CareGroup Health System, a major Harvard-affiliated healthcare system in Boston and a member of the Board of Overseers of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Lepofsky received his B.S. degree from Drexel Institute of Technology.

 
© 2008 AVANTAIR INC.