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To build the best aircraft,
we built the best management team.

Payne Hughes

Payne Hughes

President
 

Payne has an enviable history of success that began shortly after completing his Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration at the University of Georgia. From the media industry to printing, Payne’s achievements have placed him in a position of high regard within the Georgia business community. In 2003, Payne purchased the assets of the defunct Ayres Corporation in Albany, re-vamped the company’s staff, capabilities, and product line, and re-opened the massive production facility as Thrush Aircraft, Inc. Under Payne’s leadership, Thrush continues to be one of the great turn-around stories in the agricultural aviation industry.

Stan Logue

Chief Financial Officer
 

Stan has been at Thrush Aircraft since 2011 and is responsible for all accounting and finance duties. During his first two years at our factory Albany, he worked with our international and domestic customers to arrange financing for their aircraft – either through direct loans with financial institutions, or with Thrush acting as the lender. Prior to joining Thrush, Stan spent 30 years in corporate finance, investment banking and management – working with many small business owners to protect, manage and grow their companies. Stan received his Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia, majoring in Finance.

Eric Rojek

Eric Rojek

Vice President of Sales
 

Eric brings more than ten years management and marketing experience to Thrush. He is a graduate of Georgia Southern University and holds a BBA in Marketing. As Vice President of Sales, Eric leads our global marketing strategy, communications and brand positioning efforts. Eric has been with Thrush since 2005

Terry Humphrey

Terry Humphrey

Marketing, Product Support, Pilot Training
 

Terry has over 35 years and 12,000 flight hours of experience in agricultural aviation. He served with the United States State Department’s Anti-Drug Program in Latin America for some 10 years, and has been actively involved with virtually every model of Thrush Aircraft since the 1970s, in flying, marketing and product development roles. He is a Certified Flight Instructor and is authorized to do pilot transition training for all Thrush models. Terry joined Thrush in 2011.

Levan Tabidze

Vice President of Engineering
 

Great ag planes start with great engineering and Levan Tabidze is, by any measure, in that category. Levan oversees our engineering department here in Albany and is responsible for certification as well as new product design, development and production support. He brings more that 30 years of experience in aircraft engineering, design, and certification programs to bear on behalf of every Thrush we build, and his experience in product support greatly enhances our capabilities there as well. Levan is a graduate of Tbilisi Technical University in the Country of Georgia and he is also an FAA Designated Engineering Representative (DER). Simply put, Levan’s skill and expertise are two more key ingredients of what makes every Thrush, a Thrush.

Diane Davis

Director of Human Resources
 

Diane joined Thrush Aircraft in 2012 bringing to the company some 30 years of experience in Human Resources. Her varied duties here at the factory include include: Employee relations, developing and implementing company policies, performance and compensation management, and oversight of our training programs. In sum, Diane ensures the trains run on time here at Thrush, and that our staff is trained and ready to be as responsive as possible in almost any situation.

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