On behalf of the VATSIM Board of Governors it is with much pleasure that I announce the successful candidates for the four vacant positions on the Board of Governors.
VP Network Systems - VATGOV3 - Jamie Fox (VATUK) - Jamie lives in the United Kingdom and joined SATCO as a pilot in 2000. Jamie has spent the past 18 months working as an Assistant to Kieran Hardern when he was VP Web Services, with responsibility for networks systems. Jamie was on staff at VATUK for some years as London Area RTS Manager and ATC Training Director. Jamie has been working as an Administrator for the VATSIM SSO (Single Sign On) systems since May 2015. He was on the organising committee for the Connexion 2017 and has been working as a member of the Cross the Pond organising committee since March 2017. Jamie brings significant real world network systems experience to the BoG.
VP Technical Development - VATGOV5 - Zach Biesse-Fitton (VATPAC) - Zach lives in New South Wales, Australia. He joined the network in 2012 and currently holds a Senior Instructor rating. Zach currently works as a Flight Instructor with a pilot training school: he also runs his own web development company. Zach has a passion for VATSIM and presented the appointments panel with enthusiasm for improving a number of VATSIM systems to enhance the member experience. He has been a member of the VATPAC Board of Directors as the Director of IT.
VP Web Services - VATGOV6 - Matt Cianfarani (VATCAN) - Matt lives in Ontario, Canada. He joined the network in 2006 and is currently the Division Director of VATSIM Canada. Matt has also spent the past 18 months working as an Assistant to Kieran Hardern when he was VP Web Services assisting with Web and Network Services. He has been working as a membership manager with the Membership Team since December 2016. Matt works full time as a Manager of Operations for a large IT company in Canada. He presented the panel with a very clear vision for a short term and long term plan for Web Services with clear priorities.
VP Marketing and Communications - VATGOV10 - Matt Bartels (VATUSA) - Matt lives in Minnesota, USA and joined VATSIM in 2003. He is currently the Events Director at VATUSA. He works as an aircraft dispatcher for a major US airline. Matt has extensive experience with a number of flight sim conventions and traveled to London for Connexion 2017. He also has experience managing VATSIM's attendance at major flight simulator exhibitions in the United States.
This is an exciting time for the Board of Governors with all positions filled for the first time in many years.
The biggest priority for the team in the coming weeks will be to ensure that VATSIM is prepared for the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) as there are a number of technical challenges to overcome to achieve compliance.
The technical team are currently completing short, medium and long term strategies for VATSIM to take advantage of new technology advances. The overarching aim is to make VATSIM fit for the future technologically to enhance the experience of our users. Members will be pleased to learn that priority is being given to the delivery of a new voice codec.
We welcome Jamie, Zach, Matt and Matt to the team and look forward to working with them.
Gunnar Lindahl
President
VATSIM Board of Governors
