Rick Hale has tried to escape—twice. But he keeps coming back home.
Hale is the CEO of Winner Aviation, a position he’s held for decades, although his history with the company stretches back even farther. Hale started at the facility before Winner’s name was on the door. He swept the shop floor, cleaned the bathrooms, and did all the other tasks local high school kids are suited for. He expected to have the job for a short time, and then head to college.
College was Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida, and over the period of another two-and-a-half years he continued at then-Beckett Aviation, moving up through the tool room and parts department. After college he worked for a leasing bank in New York City assessing the value of commercial and large corporate aircraft assets.
After an MBA, he returned to Youngstown for a job in aircraft sales for Aero Services. That’s when the Winner family became interested in purchasing Beckett, and Hale helped structure a buyout, and soon came on board to manage it. That was 1995, where he stayed until 2018.
Then came break number two, where he left for personal reasons, installing childhood friend Meg Bianco as CEO. Although the company stayed alive through some tough years with the Covid pandemic, Hale knew they could achieve better things, and he returned last year. Now he’s back home, back at the top of the company where he started his journey, and looking to a future that honors Winner’s extensive expertise in legacy aircraft maintenance into bigger and better things.
