Pleasance out at AOPA

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Who is he/she and what was the job? Please don’t assume everyone here knows the org chart of all the aviation groups.

[Update]

Since I haven't been a member of AOPA for years, had no idea who he was.
 
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He seemed ok at the AOPA meeting at KRBD and enthusiastic about GA which seemed refreshing from AOPA’s late directions. Wonder what’s up.
 
From AOPA:

“Over time, it’s become increasingly clear that the AOPA CEO role should be based full-time in Frederick, Maryland, at AOPA’s headquarters,” the statement read. “The AOPA Board appreciates the substantial time Darren has spent traveling from his home in Bend, Oregon, to be present in Frederick and with members across the country. Recognizing this, now is the right time to transition leadership in a way that best supports the organization’s long-term needs."

Basically they didn't like he didn't live in Frederick. I'm betting there is more to the story.
 
I liked Darren, he was engaging with members and cared about the average pilot.
 
If the dude was going to commute from the west coast to Maryland, why did the board even consider him?
 
If any organization could manage long distance travel of its personnel, it would be one that had in its core mission something to do with airplanes and pilots. Maybe that’s not AOPA’s mission or like said above, more to the story.
 
455 Bravo Uniform said:
If any organization could manage long distance travel of its personnel, it would be one that had in its core mission something to do with airplanes and pilots. Maybe that’s not AOPA’s mission or like said above, more to the story.
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Being CEO probably means meeting with lots of people, often on short notice. That's a long trip.
 
midwestpa24 said:
From AOPA:

“Over time, it’s become increasingly clear that the AOPA CEO role should be based full-time in Frederick, Maryland, at AOPA’s headquarters,” the statement read. “The AOPA Board appreciates the substantial time Darren has spent traveling from his home in Bend, Oregon, to be present in Frederick and with members across the country. Recognizing this, now is the right time to transition leadership in a way that best supports the organization’s long-term needs."

Basically they didn't like he didn't live in Frederick. I'm betting there is more to the story.
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like u couldnt figure out beforehand u needed him in maryland
 
Probably gave a good interview, but turned out his ideas for general aviation weren’t in line with the leadership , can’t believe they didn’t take travel into consideration during the interview. Like they say there has to be more to the story
 
I have reached the point in my life and career where I have seen a lot of leaders of different organizations speak about a lot of initiatives, plans and objectives. I went to one of this town halls at Oshkosh last summer and came away impressed with his rhetorical (s)kill and energy level.


edit: reluctantly added an S. Will blame dopey travel keyboard...
 
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Two points:

1 - If the reason is as stated, there's nothing urgent about it and the board would have kept him in place while they found a replacement and arranged for overlap and a smooth transition. This indicates a bigger problem that had to be addressed immediately.

2 - Regardless of the reason, when the board only keeps a president for one year that means the board made a bad hiring decision.
 
Half Fast said:
Two points:

1 - If the reason is as stated, there's nothing urgent about it and the board would have kept him in place while they found a replacement and arranged for overlap and a smooth transition. This indicates a bigger problem that had to be addressed immediately.

2 - Regardless of the reason, when the board only keeps a president for one year that means the board made a bad hiring decision.
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I agree. The whole thing seems rushed to be honest. If the stated reason was the only reason, they would be working in the background to find a replacement and make it less news that he is out. There probably is more to the story.
 
Half Fast said:
Two points:

1 - If the reason is as stated, there's nothing urgent about it and the board would have kept him in place while they found a replacement and arranged for overlap and a smooth transition. This indicates a bigger problem that had to be addressed immediately.

2 - Regardless of the reason, when the board only keeps a president for one year that means the board made a bad hiring decision.
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Ehhh. If the reason was travel and the board finally gave him an ultimatum of moving or we'll find someone else. I can see someone saying peace out.

I also don't think it was necessarily a bad hire for aopa. Just a bad hire for the aopa board. I think sometimes large entities forget their core mission and can become self serving.

Have no clue if that's the case here.
 
Maybe they finally figured out how much the travel between his home and headquarters was costing them and gave the ultimatum of move or leave.
 
midwestpa24 said:
I'm betting there is more to the story.
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Yeah, I'm sure there is more to the story. Maybe he wanted to actually "fight for our freedom of flight" (sarc/), and thought he'd do it, rather than just say it to sell memberships and help pay for high salaries to himself, friends and family.
 
bentmettle said:
edit: reluctantly added an S. Will blame dopey travel keyboard...
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I don't suppose you were flying from Oregon to Fredericksburg too? Too many "dopey travel kekyboard" situations may explain this.
 
midwestpa24 said:
From AOPA:

“Over time, it’s become increasingly clear that the AOPA CEO role should be based full-time in Frederick, Maryland, at AOPA’s headquarters,” the statement read. “The AOPA Board appreciates the substantial time Darren has spent traveling from his home in Bend, Oregon, to be present in Frederick and with members across the country. Recognizing this, now is the right time to transition leadership in a way that best supports the organization’s long-term needs."

Basically they didn't like he didn't live in Frederick. I'm betting there is more to the story.
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He wasn't an East Coast insider. He didn't know the right people in government and he related more to rank and file GA than AOPA's core mission--selling advertising for expensive avionics and new aircraft.

On the other hand, maybe he realized his intended mission and AOPA's was not aligned and he got tired of beating his head against the wall. Maybe he wasn't the a-hole.

I've got a burr under my saddle about AOPA. I ditched them years ago, when, although I'm in a certified aircraft, I realized EAA better represented rank and file GA. I have the feeling AOPA is a phase. New pilots/students reflexively join and after a decade or so realize AOPA is less a GA advocate and more an advertising rag for high-end/expensive stuff.
 
Domenick said:
He wasn't an East Coast insider. He didn't know the right people in government and he related more to rank and file GA than AOPA's core mission--selling advertising for expensive avionics and new aircraft.

On the other hand, maybe he realized his intended mission and AOPA's was not aligned and he got tired of beating his head against the wall. Maybe he wasn't the a-hole.

I've got a burr under my saddle about AOPA. I ditched them years ago, when, although I'm in a certified aircraft, I realized EAA better represented rank and file GA. I have the feeling AOPA is a phase. New pilots/students reflexively join and after a decade or so realize AOPA is less a GA advocate and more an advertising rag for high-end/expensive stuff.
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Great observation!

I dropped a 30+ year membership around the mid-2000's following AOPA's heavy-handed censoring of their aviation chat forum when some members began questioning their apparent use of a newly leased Citation, following many years of flying staff around the nation in a King Air.

It was soon noticed by internet aviation sleuths (members) that the Citation mostly seemed to be used for flying to holiday resort area destinations (during holidays), and not used for shuttling the appropriate (or any) Congress members around for serious hard core lobbying that could (at least in my eyes) justify the expense and appearance of the Citation. AOPA never refuted that charge.

Once criticism was voiced, magically, new rules were established (censoring) for membership use of the internet chat forum, and the Citation's N number was summarily blocked from view.

The AOPA budget (IMO) always seemed weak on operating budget for lobbying (one person?) for making the rounds around the hallowed halls of Congress. During the same time period following 9/11 where aviation in general (introduction of TSA, TFR's, airport barbed wire fences, badging, etc) was under attack, especially GA... as if we were all terrorists just itching to bomb Washington.

AOPA's mission seemed to slowly have morphed into "can't we all just get along and not ruffle any feathers", and evolved into that we have today... a marketing organization offering great salaries and perks for leadership to keep this gig afloat as long as possible.

The burr under my saddle is "fighting for your freedom to fly". If it's happening, I don't see it. Slogans don't mean much, actions do.
 
Racerx said:
Ehhh. If the reason was travel and the board finally gave him an ultimatum of moving or we'll find someone else. I can see someone saying peace out.
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Yeah, but I can't see it happening without first finding a successor and then doing an orderly transition. We're not talking about a low-level minion here; this is the president of the organization, and it's unusual to tell a president "Get out right now" unless there's something really egregious, or some sort of personal or health problem that prevents him from continuing to work.
 
We need a meme of the former AOPA president wearing a t-shirt that says ... "she said it was me or the AOPA" ;)
 
Since he supposedly made it clear during the hiring process that he wasn't going to relocate from Bend, Oregon to Frederick, Maryland, this sounds more like an excuse than a reason for the sudden departure. As others have said, if his distant home base was the real issue, AOPA could have performed a leisurely search for a successor and let him go once one was found and comfortably transitioned into the role. I'm guessing Pleasance received a generous separation package, so it is unlikely we'll hear more from him about the situation. That means lots of speculation and no factual closure.
 
dans2992 said:
Who picks the board members? I don’t ever recall seeing a “ballot” for them.
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I left AOPA when they skooshed the red board, but I remember them always stumping for proxy signoff to hand my vote to the board. I assume the current ossified board has such a pile of proxy votes that they control, that the reins can't be retaken.
 
There's no online or mail-in voting. You have to vote in person or by proxy, and you can't direct your proxy. The only recourse is for enough members to refuse to give a proxy and thereby deny a quorum.

Not likely.
 
Half Fast said:
There's no online or mail-in voting. You have to vote in person or by proxy, and you can't direct your proxy. The only recourse is for enough members to refuse to give a proxy and thereby deny a quorum.
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No minimum number of members are required to be present, but election is by a majority of those present. So if you collect enough proxies, you can make a real difference. And presumably you'd only give your proxy to someone who's going to vote the way you want them to. The real hurdle is that only the nominating committee can nominate board members.
 
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