Mark Hente
Sr. Safety Manager
Mark joins Baldwin Aviation with over forty years of corporate experience, which includes leadership positions as Director of Operations/Chief Pilot for Nationwide Insurance, General Manager/Chief Pilot at MPW Industrial Services, and Chief Pilot for Cooper Industries.
Growing up in a family of pilots, Mark started in line service at the age of sixteen and by eighteen had acquired his ratings and become one of the youngest co-pilots on a Lear 25 for a private individual. While flying and majoring in Business Administration an opportunity in corporate aviation led him to Kirsch Company a subsidiary of Cooper Industries as a co-pilot. By thirty-two, Mark was named Chief Pilot at Cooper Industries, a Fortune 100 company operating out of Columbus, Ohio. Seventeen years later, a new opportunity presented itself when he worked with the owner of a growing private company, MPW Industrial Services to create and direct their aviation department. In 2000, Mark started his seventeen years at Nationwide Insurance, a Fortune 100 company as the Director of Operations and Chief Pilot. Under his leadership the department was one of the early companies to recognize the importance of IS-BAO in corporate aviation. After more than twelve years of certification and six at Stage III, their most recent audit had no findings.
He created a college internship program for Business Aviation Majors, pilots and mechanics interested in corporate flight. In conjunction with the ERP Officer, Mark created and directed emergency response validation exercises involving local first responders, government agencies and company executives. A longtime member of NBAA, Mark has numerous Safety Awards from over 15,000 yours of accident free domestic and international operations. He has served for many years as a member of the Bombardier Challenger Advisory Board and a member of the Ohio Regional Business Aircraft Association. Mark has completed SMS training and the IS-BAO Fundamentals and Auditor Workshop for IS-BAO Auditor Certification.