US-based Mente Group has hired Mariana Santos as VP of strategic consulting. She will head Mente's strategic consulting activities, providing robust fleet planning and feasibility studies for business aviation owners and fleet operators.

Santos' professional business and commercial aviation background includes 15 years of OEM strategic consulting, sales engineering, market analysis, product strategy, technical marketing, aircraft flight operations and technical support. Over the course of eight years at Embraer Executive Jets, she held multiple positions, including product strategist and senior sales engineer, developing aircraft technical reports and providing economic analyses.

“Mariana Santos is a great addition to our consulting team,” says company president and CEO Brian Proctor. “A Brazilian native, she co-created and managed Embraer's analytics-based business jet fleet evaluation programme and liaised with airline flight operations and engineering teams. These experiences will greatly benefit our clientele.”

Santos is a dual citizen of Brazil and Portugal, fluent in English and Portuguese. She replaces Cole White in the strategic consulting role with Mente. In turn White has been appointed VP of transactions. He will be responsible for Bombardier and Embraer leases, acquisitions and dispositions for Mente Group.

Mente specialises in evaluating client travel requirements and developing solutions that consider all lift options, including new or used aircraft purchases, fractional operations, card membership programmes and charter.