PLATTSBURGH -- The newest member of Laurentian Aerospace Corp.'s six-member Board of Directors brings a wealth of military and aeronautical experience to the company.

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Robin Wohnsigl, 65, came on board as president and CEO of Laurentian Aerospace last August. Once the deal is closed, he will assume that position full time and move to the Plattsburgh area.

Wohnsigl was president and chief operating officer of Airbus North America Customer Services from 2004 until June 2007.

That included leadership of the customer-services team at Airbus North America headquarters in Herndon, Va.; oversight of the Airbus training center in Miami; the Airbus spares center in Ashburn, Va.; and the network of Airbus field service personnel at customer airlines across North America.

Before that, Wohnsigl was an internal consultant with Virgin USA in New York.

Prior to that, he was with Air Canada for six years, most recently as president of its Air Canada Technical Services. During that time, that company was an important player in the maintenance, repair and overhaul sector, with about 10,000 employees.

Wohnsigl had leadership roles in the area of maintenance, engineering and operations at US Airways and Northwest Airlines before his stint with Air Canada. He also had numerous years as a member and chairman of the Air Transport Association Engineering, Maintenance and Material Council.

That was preceded by two years at Control Data Corp., which followed 24 years in the U.S. Air Force, where he retired as a colonel in 1988. His career was mainly spent in two fields: research and development engineering and aircraft and avionics maintenance.

He had four years teaching engineering mechanics at the U.S. Air Force Academy, seven years as a deputy wing commander for maintenance in Tactical Air Command and was head of engineering at the San Antonio Air Logistics Center.

One notable assignment from 1981 to 1985 was heading total logistics support for the then-classified F-117 Stealth Fighter, which included building a secret Air Base during its development.

Among numerous military decorations are two Legion of Merit awards. He received the Air Transport Association's Nuts and Bolts Award for sustained contributions to the betterment of the air-transport industry.

Wohnsigl has served on many boards, including Airbus North America Customer Service, AirLiance Materials, ACETEK and Northwest Pennsylvania American Red Cross.

dheath@pressrepublican.com