President’s Message: The Vision of VAI Here is what we can achieve by working together. By James A. Viola As you may already know, on Mar. 15, 2025, I will leave Vertical Aviation International (VAI) to join the General Aviation Manufacturers Association as its president and CEO. My decision was not made lightly and comes after much deliberation. It has been an incredible honor to serve you as the president and CEO of the trade association for the global vertical aviation industry. My admiration for the great work done in and by this industry has only grown since I joined the VAI staff a little over five years ago. And that is saying a lot, as my passion for vertical aviation—and my ideas for how I could promote and support it—are what drove me to apply for this job in the first place. The past five years have been eventful, as you can read in a related story in this issue on my tenure at VAI. But I want to use this space to look forward and talk about what I hope the future holds for this industry: the VAI vision. For those who have not sat through a branding workshop (and so missed out on all the fun!), an organization’s vision represents what the world will look like after it has achieved its purpose. When we rebranded as Vertical Aviation International, the Board of Directors selected these words as our vision: “To fuel the growth of the vertical aviation industry through connection, education, advocacy, and safety so that communities around the world are strengthened by the power of vertical flight.” First, we need to unpack that desired end state: VAI wants to build a world where the unique capabilities of vertical flight are available to everyone who needs them. This can only be done by a viable, sustainable, safe, and prosperous industry. To accomplish this, the global vertical aviation community must unite to reach our common goals. We must protect our access to airspace and our freedom from overly burdensome regulation. We must continue to innovate our technology and services so that people recognize us as a go-to provider of aerial solutions. We also need to ensure that we recruit and retain the skilled aviation professionals who will build, operate, fix, fly, and supply our aircraft. The middle part—connection, education, advocacy, and safety—is where VAI explains our role in creating this vision. Helping you conduct these four activities is the best way we can contribute to your success. Each of them is essential to meeting your goals for your career or business, or even for the vertical aviation industry, depending on your lens. The lack of any single one of them will mean we will not achieve our vision. The first part is why VAI exists: to fuel the growth of the vertical aviation industry. We cannot ensure your growth—only you can do that. But for those of you who dream of bigger things, VAI will provide the POWER you need to grow. Thank you for this opportunity to serve, lead, and grow together. As I approach my final days in the “right seat” here at VAI, I look forward to celebrating our shared accomplishments and setting the stage for the exciting future that lies ahead. James A. Viola is VAI’s president and CEO. After a career as a US Army aviator, he joined the FAA, where he served as director of the Office of General Aviation Safety Assurance before joining VAI. James holds ATP ratings in both airplanes and helicopters and is a CFII.
