Dauntless Air is led by an expert group with decades of combined, diverse experience spanning aviation, aerial firefighting and business operations.
BRETT L’ESPERANCE
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Brett joined Dauntless Air in June 2017 after more than 20 years in private equity, which included time at Bain Capital, Woodside Capital Management and the Watermill Group. Over the course of his career, Brett has spearheaded growth acceleration, strategy implementation and operational excellence initiatives for dozens of companies. He is a seasoned executive and has served in management capacities ranging from CEO to Board Member. To hear more about Brett’s time in private investment and his deep belief in Dauntless and its mission, listen to the January 2020 episode of the podcast, Founders on Air.
JESSE WEAVER
DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS & CHIEF PILOT
As Director of Operations and Chief Pilot, Jesse is responsible for coordinating all firefighting operations for Dauntless Air, including managing all aspects of the piloting team from pilot hiring to aerial training to the implementation of safety requirements. Over the course of his 30+ year aviation career, Jesse has spent nearly 20 seasons fighting wildfires with Dauntless Air (previously, Aero Spray) — including more than 15 seasons in a Fire Boss. Internationally, Jesse spent two seasons flying for Pay’s Air Service in Australia, where he helped start the Pay’s Fire Boss program by flying operational missions and training pilots. Jesse has close to 15,000 hours of flight time, the majority of which has been spent in Air Tractor aircraft like the Fire Boss. In addition to firefighting aircraft, Jesse has flown corporate and agricultural aircraft, as well as warbirds.
Ivan Moe
Director of Ground Operations
Ivan is responsible for leading and directing the safe and efficient operation of Dauntless Air’s ground support team, overseeing hiring, training and coordination of crew chiefs, and the Dauntless fleet of ground support vehicles. With nearly 30 years’ experience in the transportation industry, Ivan brings advanced knowledge of logistics and DOT rules, regulations and compliance to Dauntless. Prior to joining the company, he was the Fire Retardant Mixmaster for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Ivan also spent time with Pierz Aviation where he was responsible for aircraft refueling, aircraft support, mixing/loading of fire retardants and suppressants, and coordinating activities between pilot and fire agency representatives.
Richard Simpson
Director of maintenance
Richard joined Dauntless Air in July 2018. He has over 30 years experience working on Air Tractor’s. Richard started his career with the Air Tractor Aircraft Company where he started working on the AT-502 assembly line. During his 16 years with the Air Tractor Company, he started their Part 145 repair station, led the start of their AT 602 assembly line and was involved in R&D. From Air Tractor, Richard went to work for Dyncorp where he managed a fleet of AT 802 aircraft that were deployed to fight the war on drugs under contract from the US State Department.
Brian Murphy
Chief Financial Officer
Brian leads and oversees the financial management of Dauntless Air. He comes to the company with more than 30 years of financial leadership experience in private equity, during which time he partnered with numerous businesses to develop and execute financial strategies that increase efficiency and drive growth. Through his private equity work, Brian has been named CFO for a wide range of small to mid-market companies in the US and Canada.
Jamie Sargent
SPECIAL PROJECTS ADVISOR - RETIRED
With 35 years of experience in aviation and wildfire management, Jamie brings invaluable knowledge and perspective to his role as Special Projects Advisor with Dauntless Air. Before transitioning to this position, Jamie served as Dauntless’ Business Development Advisor and played an active role in driving the company’s consistent and rapid growth across the US. Prior to Dauntless, Jamie developed and oversaw the strategic and operational direction of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources’ Aviation Services Program, developed and implemented amphibious air tanker modernization plans, and held a senior advisory role with the Fire Boss program at Wipaire / Fire Boss LLC. Over the course of his career, Jamie became an integral figure in bringing the Fire Boss to US wildfire operations.
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