Speakers

Darren Pleasance has led an extraordinary life with aviation at the center of a multitude of adventures, both personally and professionally. Darren’s flying career began as a teenager and continues to this day, spanning a wide spectrum of aviation including flight instructing, competition aerobatics, Alaska bush flying, glider towing, backcountry flying, warbirds, seaplanes, private jets and more. Darren has over 8,000 flying hours in more than 50 aircraft types.

Beyond aviation, Darren has held executive leadership roles in several world-class companies. He was a Partner at McKinsey & Company and an executive at both Google and Cisco Systems. Most recently, Darren served as the President and CEO of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), the world’s largest aviation membership organization.

Darren lives in Bend, Oregon with his wife Lisa where he has commuted to work in his own aircraft for the past ~20 years and continues to actively instruct in tailwheel, seaplane, aerobatics and other advanced flight domains while helping his wife run their equestrian farm. Darren is a regular speaker on topics of aviation and business and is the author of the best selling book “True North: A Handbook for Inspired Living”