
The jetAVIVA story began when Cyrus Sigari and Ben Marcus met at the Santa Monica Airport when just 12 years old. From that day, Cyrus and Ben have been best friends and business partners. Born just four days apart, the two met serving as cadets in the Civil Air Patrol. Since those early days of their friendship, the duo have excelled in their aviation careers, soloing at age 16, earning private pilot certification at age 17, commercial pilot and flight instructor certification at age 18, and airline transport pilot certification at age 23. Each holds multiple single-pilot jet type ratings and are rated in the Boeing 747-400. Cyrus and Ben both graduated from Purdue University, where they studied Aeronautical Engineering and Aviation Technology, respectively. They have turned their passion of flight into a business that has helped hundreds of individuals and companies with the world of jet ownership.
Prior to co-founding jetAVIVA, Cyrus served as a principal engineer for Eclipse Aviation during the initial development of the Eclipse 500. After fulfilling his engineering commitments, Cyrus transitioned to sales and sold 50 Eclipse 500s in a one-year period. Outside of his direct efforts at jetAVIVA, Cyrus holds the position of Very Light Jet Editor for Plane & Pilot and Pilot Journal magazines, has been published in Twin & Turbine magazine, and authors Light Jet Pre-Owned market report for Aviation International News. Cyrus is a founding member of the Citation Jet Pilots Owners group and Eclipse 500 Owners Club. He is trilingual in English, Spanish, and Farsi.
Prior to co-founding jetAVIVA, Ben served with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), as an aircraft salesman for Cessna's leading domestic aircraft dealer, in operations management with a Fortune 500 corporate flight department, and as a flight test engineer and salesman for Eclipse Aviation. In addition to his efforts at jetAVIVA, Ben has been published in the largely circulated AOPA Pilot magazine and is an active volunteer for Angel Flight. Ben is also a founding member of the Citation Jet Pilots Owners group and the Eclipse 500 Owners Club. Ben speaks several languages and serves on the Flight Technology and Safety Committee of AOPA China.
Greg fell in love with airplanes while he was in his teens; after his first flight he was hooked. Greg attended the University of North Dakota where he got a degree in aviation business management, with a minor in finance. While at university, he obtained all his ratings and flight instruction. From working as a lineman at an FBO to working with Fortune 500 flight departments setting up operations, Greg has amassed a wealth of knowledge about corporate aircraft and operations. He currently holds an airline transport license with four types ratings. While working at Eclipse Aviation, Greg was not only one of the top salesmen but also a demonstration pilot. Prior to joining jetAVIVA Greg worked for Bombardier as a demonstration pilot and international trip captain. Greg is responsible for Phenom 100 and 300 sales and demonstration at jetAVIVA.
Prior to joining jetAVIVA and heading up the company's Pilatus PC-12 team, David held a variety of positions in the aviation industry. Most recently he was the co-Founder and VP of Sales for AirShares Elite where he grew the business from a single aircraft to the largest owner-flown fractional ownership company in the world. He obtained his private ratings and instrument ratings as a teenager, and hasn't stopped adding ratings since. He actively flies helicopters, WWII-era fighters, the Aero Vodochody L-39 Albatros and a variety of single-engine turbine aircraft including Piper Meridians, JetPROPs, TBM 700s and the Pilatus PC-12. He has crossed the Atlantic several times in single engine aircraft and specializes in the import/export of aircraft from Europe. As an aircraft owner and 4,000 hour pilot, David understands the benefits (and challenges) of owning and operating a high-performance, owner-flown aircraft. He's not only knowledgeable about flying turboprop aircraft, he has a decade of experience in buying and selling aircraft internationally. He graduated from the University of Vermont with a degree in International Relations. He is bilingual; speaking English and Spanish.
No stranger to the world of aviation, Andrew comes to jetAVIVA with a wide range of industry experience, including a management position with a major U.S. airline, flight operations member for a Part 135 charter operator, and Director of Sales for a Cessna Aircraft dealer and service center. Beginning his career at the age of fourteen with flying lessons in southern Indiana, Andrew soloed at sixteen and obtained his private license at seventeen. Along with a bachelor's degree in aviation from Purdue University, Andrew also holds a commercial pilot license, multi-engine and instrument ratings, and flight instructor certificate.
Andrew Gallagher has flight experience in over forty separate aircraft types, and specializes in the sales and training of the Piper Meridian for jetAVIVA.
Marcio serves as Manager of Phenom Acceptance and Delivery for jetAVIVA. Born and raised in Brazil, Marcio began his aviation career with Lider Taxi Aereo, Brazil's largest air taxi company. He later flew the Fokker 100 for TAM Airlines and the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 for VASP Airlines, both of Brazil. When not accepting and delivering Phenoms for jetAVIVA, Marcio flies the Airbus A320 for a major US airline. His flight experience includes operations in USA, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, The Bahamas, The Turks and Caicos, The Netherlands Antilles, Dominican Republic, British Virgin Islands, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Bolivia, Germany, Belgium, Greece, Spain, Japan, and Korea. Marcio is fluent in English, Portuguese, and Spanish.
Scott is an industry recognized expert in Technically Advanced Aircraft (TAA). Prior to joining jetAVIVA, Scott most recently served as Chief Flight Instructor and Supervisor of Flight Operations of Columbia Aircraft, later acquired by Cessna Aircraft Company. Over the years Scott has helped develop transition courses from high performance, conventional avionics airplanes to the G1000 cockpit of Cessna's high performance aircraft. Clients make the transition to turbine aircraft a successful, safe, and enjoyable experience.
Holding single-pilot type rating in the Citation Mustang and Phenom 100, Scott is well equipped to help those making the transition to light jets. Scott holds a degree in Mathematics from the University of Oregon.
Having flown over 2,000 Citations, including every single Citation X built (through serial 306), and with over 8,000 flying hours, 7,000 have been in Citations and 5,000 of those were in flight testing, Derrick is one of the foremost technical experts when it comes to Citation jets. Derrick's history with Cessna Aircraft is robust. Derrick got his start with Cessna as an A&P mechanic at the Wichita Citation Service Center and retired from Cessna in 2010 as the most senior production test pilot. During this time Derrick honed his flying skills working for Cessna's Air Transportation Department and later as a demonstration pilot on the Cessna Caravan. His knowledge both inside and outside the cockpit made him a natural choice for the production flight test team where he became a Product Specialist on the Citation X and Senior Production Flight Test Pilot. Derrick remains an active member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots (SETP)
Scott is an attorney and certified public accountant. His practice is focused on aircraft transactions as well as issues related to federal and state taxation of aircraft operations and FAA regulatory issues. Scott was previously an attorney at a Florida law firm with a national aviation tax practice and, prior to that, was an accountant in the federal tax practice of a Big 4 accounting firm and an attorney at a business law firm in Los Angeles.
Scott received his law degree from Pepperdine University School of Law in 1998, a Masters in Business Taxation from the University of Southern California in 2001, and a Bachelor of Arts from Pepperdine University in 1992. He is also an instrument, single and multi-engine rated commercial pilot.
Brian is jetAVIVA's Master of Numbers. As Controller, Brian manages all aspects of jetAVIVA's financial, accounting, legal, and human resource affairs. Specializing in both accounting and finance, Brian relies daily on his technical experience in the fields of budgeting, financial modeling and analysis, reporting, statistical analysis, information systems, auditing, cash-flow forecasting and GAAP compliance. Prior to joining jetAVIVA, Mr. Singer served many years as Controller for Western Golf Properties, a golf course management company overseeing properties from coast-to-coast. Brian graduated from the University of California, Irvine with a degree in Political Science with an emphasis in Public Law and Game Theory. Brian brings experience from both the Corporate and operational levels to assist jetAVIVA in its mission to become the "greatest jet sales company".
Originally from the Northeast, Michelle has spent most of her life in Southern California and currently resides in Las Vegas, NV. She has a diverse industry background, with many years of experience in accounting, human resources and office management. Most importantly, Michelle plays a key role in the leadership and management of day-to-day operations at jetAVIVA.