Gulfstream Aerospace has appointed Clay Nolen to the position of senior vice president, innovation, engineering and flight. He will succeed Vicki Britt, who will retire from Gulfstream in May after 27 years with the company.

In his role, Nolen will provide enterprise leadership for Gulfstream's technical vision and innovation strategy. He will serve as senior technical authority, ensuring the highest standards of safety, quality, regulatory compliance and customer value throughout the design, certification, testing and delivery of Gulfstream aircraft.

“Clay joined Gulfstream in 2006 and has been widely respected for his technical depth, collaborative leadership and commitment to safety and quality,” says Mark Burns, president, Gulfstream. “His demonstrated leadership and ability to balance innovation with disciplined execution are critical to our ongoing success, and I look forward to having him join our senior leadership team.”

Most recently, Nolen served as chief of engineers, leading engineering, execution and technical decision-making across all aircraft programmes. Prior to this role, Nolen held positions of increasing responsibility at Gulfstream, including thermodynamics and aerodynamics specialist, product development team lead for the G650, product development team lead for G700 and G800 flight sciences and chief engineer for the G700 and G800.

Since joining Gulfstream in 1996, Britt has held various leadership roles across engineering including in special missions. She joined Gulfstream's senior leadership team in 2021 when she was appointed senior vice president of innovation, engineering and flight.

“Vicki has made extraordinary contributions to our company through her leadership, dedication and positive impact on our products and people,” adds Burns. “We appreciate her ongoing commitment and steadfast oversight, particularly in the certification of our newest next-generation aircraft. We thank her for her numerous contributions over the years and wish her well in her future endeavours.”