West Star Aviation Appoints Connor Mottice as Regional Sales Manager for Ohio Valley
Why It MattersMRO providers increasingly promote sales leaders from technical and quality-inspection ranks, betting that hands-on maintenance credibility helps close and retain corporate aircraft service contracts.
What happened
West Star Aviation has appointed Connor Mottice as Regional Sales Manager for the Ohio Valley region, effective with the announcement made September 22, 2026. In the position he will serve customers across Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, and Eastern Canada.
Mottice joined West Star Aviation in February 2015 as an A&P/Structures Tech II at the company's Columbia, South Carolina facility. He was promoted to Bombardier Team Lead in April 2016, managing crews of technicians and overseeing multiple projects simultaneously. In August 2020 he became a Quality Control Inspector, responsible for inspecting corporate aircraft across West Star's capabilities list to verify airworthiness and produce maintenance records. He moved into a customer-facing role in April 2022 as Technical Sales Manager. He holds an associate degree in specialized technology and is a licensed A&P technician.
Mottice succeeds Dave Godo, who served the Ohio Valley region for more than 15 years and will remain with West Star Aviation in a Brand Ambassador role, assisting with the portfolio transition and continuing to represent the company. "Connor's progression through West Star, from technician to quality inspector to sales leadership, gives him a unique perspective that will serve customers exceptionally well," said Brian Howell, Chief Commercial Officer. West Star Aviation is headquartered in East Alton, Illinois, and operates full-service facilities in East Alton, IL; Grand Junction, CO; Chattanooga, TN; Millville, NJ; Perryville, MO; and Statesville, NC, along with satellite locations in Denver, Houston, Minneapolis, Chicago, and Addison.
Industry impact & what to watch
This appointment follows a common path in MRO sales: a technician who worked structures, led a Bombardier team, and later inspected aircraft for airworthiness moves into a customer-facing sales seat covering a defined region. That progression matters in a segment where buyers of maintenance services are themselves often technical people who want a sales contact who understands airworthiness records and shop capabilities, not just pricing.
Regional sales structures at multi-site MRO networks like West Star's typically assign named managers to specific territories, so a transition like this one signals continuity planning as much as a personnel change. Godo's move into a Brand Ambassador role rather than a clean exit suggests the company is managing the handover deliberately, keeping an experienced face available to customers during the switch.
What happens next in the Ohio Valley territory will depend on how quickly Mottice's existing customer relationships, built during his time as Technical Sales Manager, carry over into the broader regional book Godo previously held.
