Press Release
Issued by Guardian Jet.
November 11, 2020
Don and Mike Dwyer, the managing partners of the aircraft brokerage, appraisals and consulting firm Guardian Jet LLC, today announced the promotions of Michael “Doc” Dwyer and Michael Mikolay. Both longtime company leaders will be moving into newly created roles with Doc Dwyer becoming Guardian Jet's first-ever president and Michael Mikolay its first chief operating officer (COO). Both will report to the firm's managing partners, who will remain active in the company.
“This announcement solidifies Guardian Jet's commitment to the strategic, long-term future of the business,” said Don Dwyer, managing partner Guardian Jet. “While my brother Mike and I still have a lot of years left and feel like we're in the heart of our careers, we also feel it's important to recognise the significant contribution of these two men and their growing influence in our business.”
Mike Dwyer, managing partner, echoed Don's comment. “Mike Mikolay and Doc Dwyer have a chemistry with each other that perfectly fits our business model of building upon relationships first and then letting the consulting and brokerage follow. Don and I have worked hard to build a platform for the future that far exceeds the success we have experienced to date, and these two have been and will continue to be a big part of it.”
In the newly created role of president, Doc Dwyer will continue to oversee the company's aircraft acquisitions, aircraft sales and consulting teams. Additionally, he will be responsible for promoting and growing Guardian Jet's increasingly dynamic brand around the globe. As a member of the senior leadership team, Doc will also set the strategic direction for the company, both for the short- and long-term.
Since joining the aircraft brokerage firm in 2009, Dwyer has acquired skills in all aspects of its brokerage, including consulting services, aircraft acquisitions and aircraft sales. He was named vice president of sales in 2013.
He serves on the board of directors for the International Aircraft Dealers Association (IADA), and is also chairman of the IADA Foundation, which administers the organisation's Business Aviation Scholarship programme. Doc Dwyer is also a member of the National Business Aviation Association and the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. In 2019, he earned his aircraft broker certification from IADA.
As a skilled 1,000-hour pilot, Dwyer holds both a commercial multi-engine rating as well as certified flight instructor (CFI) and certified flight instruction - instrument (CFII) designations. He also earned a degree in Economics from the University of Colorado, in Boulder.
Mike Mikolay, now Guardian Jet's COO, co-founded the company with Mike Dwyer in 2002. Since then, he has served on the senior leadership team and has been a key member of the aircraft consulting and transactions teams. He was most recently the firm's executive vice president and director of operations. He will continue to manage the firm's day-to-day operations and lead major process changes, product launches and programmes, including the firm's online brokerage platform, the Vault.
An experienced pilot, Mikolay holds an airline transport pilot (ATP) rating, CFII rating and commercial multi-engine instructor rating. He also holds both a seaplane rating and a type rating in the Raytheon Premier I. He previously worked in aircraft sales at Piedmont Hawthorne Aviation in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Mikolay has earned a BS in Aero Technologies and minored in Computer Science at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. Additionally, he has augmented his education with internships at Cessna Aircraft Company and Raytheon Aircraft. He is also an IADA-certified aircraft broker.
As an active member of the local Guilford, Connecticut shoreline community, Mikolay has volunteered with numerous organisations and groups. He is the current vice chair and immediate past chair of the Guilford Board of Police Commissioners and serves on the board of corporators for the Guilford Savings Bank.
