Rear Admiral Casey W. Coane,
USN-Retired
Chairman of the Board
Admiral Coane brings over 38 years of aviation and leadership experience to the senior management team. RADM Coane worked for thirty-two years as a pilot for Eastern Air Lines and Delta Air Lines where he recently retired as a Captain. While at Delta, he served for eight years as a simulator instructor and a classroom facilitator for New Hire and recurrent training classes in leadership and crew coordination. He was Program Manager for all pilot Human Factors programs responsible for training program development and execution. Most recently, he taught the company’s New Captain leadership seminar. He has over 10,000 hours in transport category aircraft in domestic and international operations.
Trained as a P3 Maritime Patrol/ Reconnaissance and Antisubmarine Warfare pilot, RADM Coane flew in the Vietnam Theater; tracked Soviet submarines in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Mediterranean; and, in the late nineties, flew reconnaissance missions over Bosnia and Kosovo. He served a tour as a primary flight instructor and was the Training Squadron Five Instructor of the Year in 1976.
His thirty-four years in the US Navy included five Commanding Officer tours including a Squadron Command and as Commander Reserve Readiness Command Southeast where he was responsible for six thousand Reservists in seventeen centers across four states and Puerto Rico. The Admiral’s “Flag Officer” assignments included: Deputy Commander Joint Task Force Southwest Asia in Riyadh, Deputy Commander U.S. SIXTH Fleet and Deputy Commander for the Naval Network Warfare Command/Naval Space Command.
Admiral Coane was a member of the Secretary of the Navy’s National Naval Reserve Policy Board and he attended the Naval War College reserve course series, Army War College Course for Senior Reserve Officers, and the Executive Program for General Officers at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He received his B.S. degree from University of California, Berkeley.
In addition to his duties as Acting Chairman, Admiral Coane is currently the National Executive Director of the Naval Reserve Association. In this position, RADM Coane is the Chief Executive and registered Washington Lobbyist for the Navy Reserve Association and its 76,000 members. He is Chairman of The Atlanta Regional Military Affairs Council and sits on the Board of Directors for NPKtools, and is on the Board of Directors for the Atlanta Metropolitan Council of the Navy League of the U.S.
Shawn Raker
President, Chief Executive Officer
Shawn L. Raker is president and chief executive officer of Flight Training Services International (FTSI), a leading global corporation for the advancement of training and services for the aviation industry. Flight Training Services International is the parent company to the following subsidiaries: Commercial Airline Pilot Training (CAPT) Program which strives to equip the aviation industry with qualified and experienced pilots for the future growth of the industry; Tactical Flight Services, Inc. (TFS) a worldwide provider of specialized aircrew and engineering services to the military aerospace industry; Careers in Aviation a non-profit organization with the objective of inspiring, educating and assisting youth in obtaining successful careers in the aviation/aerospace industry; and Jackson Group Consulting, an experienced team focused on general aviation analysis and results delivery and student centric administrative record keeping for post secondary education.
Raker is responsible for the strategic direction of FTSI and its subsidiaries. He leads new business development for all of the companies with the driving goal to prepare and equip the aviation industry for the record projected growth of the industry globally.
Raker began his professional career in the Alaska Air National Guard and later the United States Air Force Reserve and served for 10 years. Raker joined Delta Air Lines in 1990 where he achieved over 10,000 flight hours and became type-rated in several aircraft. In addition to his position as Proficiency Check Pilot with Delta Air Lines, Raker was VP of Business Development for Delta Connection Academy, Production Control Scheduler, Developer Instructional System Design and Crew Resource Management Facilitator/Developer.
Raker is recognized internationally as a leader in the aviation industry. He is a frequent speaker on aviation topics.
A native of Bay Springs, MS, Raker holds a B.S. in Aeronautical Studies Management from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
William (Bill) W. Petit
Chief Pilot
Bill leads the company’s training efforts both as FTSI’s Chief Pilot and as President of Tactical Flight Services II (TFS) a FTSI subsidiary which provides Test Pilots, Air Crews and training/certification services for various international and government contracts.
Along with his corporate duties, Major Petit is an Air Force Instructor Pilot for the Reserves. Currently he is responsible for instructing Air Force pilots to fly and tactically employ the C-130H aircraft in combat and in night NVG operations.
He has over 3500 hours of flight time which include over 65 hours of Combat time. A graduate of Auburn University, he received a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering, he also has an M.B.A. from Middle Tennessee State University.
Bill was Top Graduate from SUNT and SUPT as well as a two time recipient of the coveted Air Force AETC Commanders trophy and Air Force Flight Training Award. He was also distinguished graduate from USAF instructor pilot school. He brings over five years of L-39, air show performance, and jet war bird experience to the FTSI team.
Eric E. Gilmer
Chief Operating Officer
Eric leads all the business operations of the company and is responsible for investor relations. He brings over 20 years of business leadership experience to the company which includes over eleven years as the CEO of AB Technology, Inc (ABT) a company focused in advanced biotech products and research. During his tenure as CEO, ABT grew from a fledgling R&D organization with one facility to an undisputed world leader in both products and training within the field of Advanced Reproduction and Cryogenics Technologies with over 20 major distributors and over a hundred clinical and academic laboratories worldwide. ABT was purchased by Bioniche Life Sciences, Inc in February 2004
In addition to his business experience, Eric is a retired Naval Officer with over 23 years of experience (9 Active & 14 Reserve) in Undersea and Coastal Warfare which include numerous International Deployments and Training assignments. In his last assignment he served as Commanding Officer of a NSCC unit; a US Navy sponsored training corps, which provides high school level students with training opportunities for the Naval Services including preparation for NROTC Scholarships and appointments to, the US Coast Guard Academy, London, CT and the US Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD.
Bruce Cooper
Chief Financial Officer
Bruce has 25 years of accounting and financial management experience and is currently serving as the Chief Financial Advisor to FTSI’s Board. He is a graduate of Furman University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting and received his MBA from Georgia State University. He is a CPA licensed in the state of Georgia and an active member of the Georgia Society of CPAs.
He began his career in accounting as a financial auditor with the Georgia Board of Regents. Bruce then accepted a position with Delta Air Lines as an Internal Auditor and was continuously promoted to positions of increased responsibility in the Finance Division during his years at Delta. At his departure from Delta in 2000 he was the Division Controller for the Technical Operations Division overseeing a $1 billion aircraft and maintenance budget.
In 2000, Bruce accepted the position of Controller for Applied Ceramics in Atlanta, Georgia completing its transition from a public to a privately-held corporation. In 2003 he was promoted to Chief Financial Officer. While at Applied Ceramics, he has not only handled all of the finance and accounting responsibilities, he has been responsible for the company’s planning and budgeting process, banking relationships, IT systems administration and employee benefits management.
Bruce served eight years in the Army Reserves as a Combat Engineer achieving the rank of Captain.
