Joseph M. Del Balzo
President
Joseph M. Del Balzo is the President of JDA Aviation Technology Solutions, a company offering a wide range of airport and airspace planning, safety, security, training and technology application support to international civil aviation clients. As a direct result of his efforts, JDA has been formally recognized by the U.S. Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) to assist air carrier applicants in preparing for the FAR Part 121 air carrier certification process. He also has a particular interest in helping clients successfully move technology from the laboratory to the market place.
Mr. Del Balzo has extensive experience in: leading safety audits; performing market analyses and Due Diligence for industry clients; providing air space analysis and obstruction evaluation support to developers, communities and airports; successfully guiding new air carrier startups and new start up aircraft manufacturers through the FAA Certification Process; and directing the development and implementation of Safety Management Systems. He serves as an independent technical advisor to industry and government clients.
He served as Acting Administrator and Deputy Administrator of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. In these positions he provided a steady and constant focus on the key issues and challenges facing FAA and the aviation industry. He built a clear vision of the agency's future with FAA's corporate team and developed a strategy for long-term change that included the development of the first FAA Operational Concept for the Year 2010.
Mr. Del Balzo also served as FAA's Executive Director of System Operations where he led an organization responsible for: defining requirements for new technology; installing, operating and maintaining all air traffic control systems and facilities; operating the nation's air traffic control system, and developing and overseeing safety regulations for all aircraft, airline and airmen in the US system. He coordinated the participation of National Airspace System users, operators and producers, in the development of FAA's Annual Strategic Plan.
As FAA Executive Director for System Development, Mr. Del Balzo developed long-range research and development programs to support the timely introduction of new technology into the U.S. air traffic control system; refocused FAA initiatives to increase capacity at U.S. airports; and established close working relationships with the members of the U.S. aviation community in developing system requirements for the twenty first century. He directed the FAA Technical Center, where he achieved national and international recognition for the Center in areas of airport and airspace systems analysis, aircraft fire safety, electronic systems testing and pilot judgment studies.
He has participated in numerous worldwide technical symposiums, and he has been the chief U.S. spokesman on aviation matters at high-level meetings throughout the world. For two years, he was the Chief Technical Advisor for the FAA stationed in Brussels, Belgium, responsible for coordination of research and development efforts between the United States and Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
He is a Fellow of the America Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics; a former member of the Board of Directors and former Chairman of the Air Traffic Control Association; a former member of the Civil Tilt-Rotor Advisory Committee; a member of the editorial board of Air Traffic Control Quarterly, and former member of the Board of Directors of Weather Information Technologies, Inc.
Mr. Del Balzo, an instrument-rated pilot, holds engineering degrees from Manhattan College and Drexel University, and an Honorary Doctor of Science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. He attended Princeton University on a one-year fellowship in Public Policy and International Affairs.