Press Releases
Alliance Statement on the Retirement of Helicopter Association International President and CEO Matt Zuccaro
June 26, 2019
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  • Washington, DC – This week, Matt Zuccaro, President and CEO of Helicopter Association International (HAI) announced he will retire effective June 30, 2020. Zuccaro has been in his current role at HAI since 2005, a board member of the Alliance for Aviation Across America since 2011, Vice President of the Alliance Board since 2018, and a tireless champion of the helicopter and general aviation industry for decades. 

    Zuccaro has had a distinguished 50-year career as an aviator, beginning as a helicopter pilot in Vietnam with the US Army. He went on to hold a variety of leadership positions at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the Eastern Regional Helicopter Association, and HAI. 

    He has earned many accolades over his career, including two Distinguished Flying Crosses, three Bronze Stars, and 19 Air Medals for his service in Vietnam, as well as the HAI Pilot Safety Award for 10,000 hours of accident- and violation-free flight hours and the NBAA Pilot Safety award.

    Selena Shilad, Executive Director of the Alliance for Aviation Across America, said, “Matt Zuccaro has been a tireless leader and advocate on behalf of the helicopter industry and general aviation for decades. We have all been very fortunate to have a champion like Matt in our corner, and admire his thoughtful and deliberate leadership. We look forward to working with Matt and the HAI team over his next year, and wish him all the best in all of his future endeavors.”

    Formed in 2007, the Alliance for Aviation Across America is a non-profit, non-partisan coalition of over 6,000 individuals representing businesses, agricultural groups, FBO’s, small airports, elected officials, charitable organizations, and leading business and aviation groups that support the interest of the general aviation community across various public policy issues.

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