General aviation activist Ben Morgan has taken over as CEO of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA).
Morgan has replaced Aaron Stephenson who reportedly left to concentrate on private business concerns.
Morgan, the CEO of Aviation Advertiser, led the industry rally at Tamworth last May and also formed part of the Project Eureka team that met with government representatives in Canberra a few weeks later. He is also on the AOPA board.
AOPA has said that Morgan has "youth, business acumen and a strong desire to get aviation moving again in Australia."
Morgan will be working full-time to help grow AOPA’s membership as well as taking a key role in the association's fight to reform of the GA industry.
The AOPA board has also been strengthened with the appointment of well-known aviation Baz Scheffers, the co-founder of electronic flight book OzRunways.
AOPA President Marc De Stoop is enthusiastic about the new members of the AOPA board.
“With these two additions we have the ability to really try and engage with a younger membership base, something that is vital to both our organisation and the industry,” he said.
De Stoop also paid tribute to outgoing CEO Stephenson
“Aaron has worked hard to help members with problems involving the regulator, specifically with medical issues as well as being a key player in the electronic version of the Pilots Guide.”
“It has been Aaron’s work, along with Phillip Reiss’s presidency, that financially saved AOPA. Thankfully we aren’t losing him completely as he will remain, assisting the board with advocacy in various roles as required.”
AOPA currently has around 2600 members.