CHC Group, one of the world’s leading helicopter services and maintenance, repair and overhaul providers, has announced two key executive appointments.
David Balevic has been named president and chief executive officer and was appointed as a member of the board of managers. Balevic assumed the role of interim CEO following Karl Fessenden’s resignation to accept an outside position in July 2019.
Imran Hayat was appointed executive vice president, general counsel and chief strategy officer, and will be second in command at CHC. In his expanded role, Hayat will lead the development of CHC’s corporate strategy and focus on increasing shareholder value. He will also be responsible globally for all aspects of legal, including compliance, risk and insurance, as well as fleet strategy, human resources and communications.
John Gremp, chairman of CHC’s board of managers, said, “Dave and Imran have a keen understanding of our customers, operations, suppliers and the industry dynamics. They are clearly the right leaders to guide CHC forward in this new era.
“Because the board places a strong emphasis on succession planning, both Dave and Imran were well-prepared to step into these critical leadership roles. The board of managers is confident they will enable us to accelerate the company’s transformation and drive a profitable, sustainable business model.”
Balevic joined CHC as senior vice president, engineering and operations in May 2015, bringing 26 years of progressive engineering and leadership experience at General Electric. During his time at GE, he held roles in aviation, power generation and oil-and-gas. Balevic holds a master’s degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Cincinnati and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Clarkson University.
Hayat joined CHC in July 2015 and was appointed general counsel and chief administrative officer in February 2018. Hayat has more than 17 years of experience counselling some of the world’s largest companies, litigation and complex international legal matters and transactions. He has a bachelor’s degree in economics and diplomacy and world affairs from Occidental College, and a Juris Doctorate (J.D.) from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.
