Engineering Scalable Performance for the Global Aircraft Fleet
Aero Design Labs (ADL)
What We Do
ADL develops aerodynamic retrofit solutions designed for in-service aircraft. Rather than relying on new aircraft platforms, ADL enhances existing fleets by identifying and correcting inefficiencies in airflow, reducing drag, and improving overall performance.
Each solution is developed using high-resolution modeling and validated through flight testing, with regulatory certification integrated from the outset.
Why It Matters
Commercial aircraft operate for decades, often without significant aerodynamic redesign. At the same time, advancements in computational modeling and data analysis now make it possible to identify performance improvements that were previously unattainable.
This creates a unique opportunity to enhance existing aircraft, improving efficiency without requiring new production or major structural changes.
A Different Approach to Aircraft Performance
Data-Driven Engineering
Every solution is based on advanced computational modeling and high-resolution analysis.
Validation Through Flight Performance
Performance improvements are confirmed through real-world flight testing and operational data.
Certification from the Start
All work is developed with regulatory certification in mind from the outset, enabling scalable deployment.
Experienced Aerospace Leadership
Lee Sanders
Lee Sanders
Founder, CEO & Chairman
Lee Sanders has nearly 40 years of experience leading, growing, and managing public and private companies in numerous industries as a visionary leader, but most predominantly in the Aerospace sector.
In 1997 Lee founded an aviation company and led it to a successful IPO on the NASDAQ stock market. He has led sales teams that have sold hundreds of millions of dollars in products and services to major airlines throughout the world and is a seasoned veteran in international business transactions.
As founder of Aero Design Labs, Lee was determined to recruit some of the brightest minds in aerospace to develop the aero enhancement kits for installation on airliners around the world. Lee received his Bachelor’s Degree in Business from The University of Tennessee in 1982.
Dale Stolzer
Dale Stolzer
VP of Engineering
Dale Stolzer is a seasoned Aviation Technical Leader with over 35 years of experience. He is not only an engineer but an all-around aviation enthusiast who is also an active FAA-certified mechanic and general aviation pilot. For the past twelve years, Dale has provided support to existing airlines, new airline startups, and Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) organizations in over 9 countries.
Dale has also been providing “Operator Perspective” assistance and guidance to airframe and component OEMs such as Boeing, COMAC, FACC AG, and Aviation Partners Boeing during new product development and design reviews. Dale was also a leader within the Southwest Airlines Maintenance organization for twenty years and before this, he was a Lead Liaison Engineer for Bell Helicopter.
Dale was chosen by Boeing to be a member of an International Steering Committee for the initial design and development of the 737 Next Generation family of aircraft. Dale served as the initial Industry Steering Committee (ISC) Chairman for the development of the new 737NG MSG-3 Maintenance Program, and conversion of the 737 Classic fleet Maintenance Program to MSG-3 standards. Dale also served as the industry’s 737NG Lead Airline Chief Spokesperson for the 737NG fleets Entry into Service (EIS) and leadership for the first ten years of revenue service.
Eric Ahlstrom
Eric Ahlstrom
Chief Technology Officer
Eric Ahlstrom has 40 years of engineering and management experience in the aerospace industry. His commercial and military career has spanned airline maintenance, major alteration, flight controls, flight test, drag reduction and certification. Outside of aviation, Eric’s research led him to a variety of fields from particle physics and radiation effects, to semiconductor equipment and process design where he holds a patent in ultra-pure gas process equipment.
Eric founded Star Aerospace in 1998 specifically to explore drag reduction in air racing. Eric has achieved successful drag reduction efforts on 18 aircraft of 9 types, with improvements ranging from 5% to 40%. In 2013, these techniques were applied to an S550 business jet, demonstrating a 23% range improvement and potential for 35%. Using these skills honed over the decades, Eric has applied these techniques to commercial aircraft research. Eric has built or modified speed vehicles in various forms of motorsports.
During the years 2006-2008, Eric was program manager of world renowned adventurer and industrialist Steve Fossett’s “Absolute Land Speed Record” team where Eric directed engineers to build one of the fastest cars the world has ever seen. Eric is also a former Marine.
Jamil Appa
Jamil Appa
Co-Head CFD Engineering
Jamil Appa is an internationally recognized technology leader in computational engineering and high-performance computing (HPC) with modern hardware. In a variety of roles at the BAE Systems Advanced Technology Centre, Jamil provided technical leadership to over 40 staff developing world-class tools for aerodynamics, acoustics, electromagnetics and material dynamics to live programs including Eurofighter Typhoon and Airbus A380.
Jamil leads the development of advanced computational engineering software, using the latest hardware, software and AI technologies.
Jamil provides guidance to numerous commercial and national and international organisations including the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) Advisory Group.
David Standingford
David Standingford
Co-Head CFD Engineering
David Standingford is a technology leader and manager with experience in the UK, Australia and the USA. Prior to co-founding Zenotech Ltd, Standingford worked as a lecturer in mathematics and fluid dynamics at the University of Adelaide, as a postdoctoral researcher on the NASA Microgravity Programme at the University of Delaware, and most recently at BAE Systems Advanced Technology Centre as the Theme Technology Leader for Design and Materials Technology, responsible for Computational Engineering, IT Strategy, Materials Science and Stealth.
David manages Zenotech financial, commercial, licensing and legal operations, as well as project management, university and industrial partnerships, bid writing and proposals. David co-ordinates communications and press releases for the company. David leads on wind energy consultancy programmes, including international partnering.
David acts on the advisory board for the UK Fluids Network and is a member of UK EPSRC College of Peer Reviewers providing industrial expertise. David is the Chairman of the European Research Community on Flow, Turbulence and Combustion (ERCOFTAC).
Oliver Darbyshire
Oliver Darbyshire
CFD Engineer
Oliver is the Lead CFD Engineer, specialising in the application of our advanced simulation methods for high fidelity aerodynamic analysis. Following a PhD from the University of Cambridge in the numerical simulation of combustion funded by Rolls-Royce, Oliver worked at the Met Office before joining BAE Systems Advanced Technology Centre in 2012 working in the Computational Engineering group. Here he led the team delivering CFD and acoustic support to the Successor programme as well as contributing numerous other CFD and aero-acoustics programmes.
Oliver is responsible for consultancy services supplying simulation data for the design and certification of civil and military aircraft. Oliver has also produced a number of training and support videos. He also develops the fluid structure interaction capability in zCFD, leading multidisciplinary optimisation (MDO) with use of AI and machine learning technology. This includes the distributed coupling of different analysis processes across the Internet, as well as automated validation and verification.
Matthew Wilson
Matt Wilson
Director of Engineering and Product Development
Matthew Wilson has been with ADL since 2019 and is currently functioning as the Engineering and Product Development Director. Matt has experience with aerospace design, testing, and certification in both commercial and defense aerospace applications, and has been responsible for creating and maintaining the technical documentation for the ADL kits. As a student and hobbyist, Matt has participated in sounding rocket design and launch competitions including being part of the winning team of 2008 NASA's USLI competition. Matthew graduated from University of Utah with a master's degree in Aerospace Engineering in 2013.
Board
Adam Palmer
Adam Palmer
Vice-Chairman
Adam J. Palmer has spent the last 25 years with The Carlyle Group, most recently as a Managing Director/Partner. Since 2012, Adam has served as the Global Head of the Aerospace, Defense and Government Services investment team and, more recently, added the additional responsibility of Fund Head for Carlyle’s Equity Opportunity Funds I and II to drive better performance across a portfolio of middle-market businesses in Carlyle’s core industry sectors.
Before joining Carlyle, Mr. Palmer was with Lehman Brothers in their Technology Corporate Finance Group focused on mergers and acquisitions and financings for defense electronics and information services companies. He graduated from Duke University with a B.A. in International Political Economy. Adam currently serves on the Board of Directors of Sequa Corporation and StandardAero and is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Smithsonian Institution’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. Adam is also a founding member of Halcyon Angels, a network of angel investors committed to fueling the growth of early-stage impact-focused ventures.
He lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife and twin children where he is currently an embattled little league coach and chauffeur for a young equestrian.
Suzanne Yoon
Suzanne Yoon
Board Member
Suzanne Yoon is the Founder and Managing Partner of Kinzie Capital Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm that invests in lower middle-market companies in the manufactured products, consumer and business services industries.
Yoon has over 20 years of experience investing in and advising companies. She is a respected leader in both the business and civic spheres, serving as the Chair of the Board of Trustees for The National Philanthropic Trust (NPT), the largest independent Donor-Advised Fund manager in the world with approximately $17B under management, and on the board of numerous other civic organizations.
Yoon earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the University of Iowa and is an Executive Scholar of Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Mergers & Acquisitions named her one of the Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A in 2020 and 2021 and the Wall Street Journal recognized her as a Top Female Deal Maker Shaping Private Equity’s Present and Future in 2019. Three years after its founding, Kinzie was recognized by the Private Equity Women’s Investor Network (PEWIN) as Female Founded Firm of the Year.
Jeb Hensarling
Jeb Hensarling
Board Member
Jeb Hensarling is presently Managing Director and Executive Vice Chairman of UBS Americas. Prior to joining UBS in 2019, Mr. Hensarling served in the U.S. Congress for eight terms which included three terms as Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee.
Prior to his service in Congress, Mr. Hensarling was an officer of Maverick Capital and Vice President of Communications for Green Mountain Energy, one of the nation’s leading retailers of renewable energy.
Mr. Hensarling earned a BA in Economics from Texas A&M University and a JD from the University of Texas. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Cox Media Group, an industry-leading media company based in Atlanta, Georgia. He resides in Dallas with his wife and children.
Tim Anderson
Tim Anderson
Board Member
Tim Anderson is a result-driven board member and c-suite executive who has focused on middle-market companies for over a decade. He is passionate about unlocking growth opportunities for businesses whose leadership, history or processes have forestalled value creation. His experience is unique among executives and spans engineering, investment banking, portfolio management and operations, with a proven track record of upscaling and growing businesses.
Tim started his career as an engineer for Boeing. He was a publishing research analyst for Citigroup focused on optical components, telecommunications equipment and semiconductors. He was instrumental in bringing several companies public and placing over $15B in both debt and equity securities. Subsequently, he worked with Oaktree Capital and Morgan Stanley as a portfolio manager on two global alternative asset funds.
His last foray in public asset management was as an international portfolio manager for Columba Asset Management, where he and the team managed several investments aggregating to $5B in value across all industries in more than twenty countries. Following his departure from Wall Street, Tim has run four different manufacturing and service companies, served on the boards of two others, invested in another six and provided advisory to businesses ranging in size from start-ups to several hundred million in revenue. Tim is a graduate of Purdue University, the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and is an avid pilot.
Tom McReynolds
Tom McReynolds
Board Member
Tom McReynolds is a seasoned software engineering leader with a distinguished career in innovative technology and automotive solutions. Educated at the US Naval Academy, Georgetown University, and Santa Clara University, he specialized in Physics and Software Engineering. Tom’s career began at Sun Microsystems and Silicon Graphics, followed by roles at GigaPixel and 3DFX, where he managed software architecture.
Currently, as Senior Director in NVIDIA’s Automotive division, Tom has significantly contributed to collaborations with Automotive Tier 1 suppliers and OEMs across Europe and Japan. His noteworthy achievements include working on advanced systems such as F22 cockpit displays.
In addition to his industry roles, Tom is passionate about aviation and has competed in the Reno Air Racing Sport Class. As an esteemed member of the Khronos Group working groups and a chair at the Community Airport Alliance, he is active in the technology and aviation communities. He is also a prolific author and presenter, known for his contributions to SIGGRAPH and the co-authored book “Advanced Computer Graphics Techniques with OpenGL.”
Advisory
Kenneth E. Gazzola
Kenneth E. Gazzola
Industry Advisor
Ken Gazzola retired in September 2006 as Executive Vice President from the McGraw Hill Companies (MHP) after a distinguished 30-year career. As Executive Vice President/Publisher of Aviation Week Group, he served an audience of over a million professionals and enthusiasts in more than 180 countries.
Aviation Week is the world’s largest multimedia information service provider to the global aviation and aerospace industry. Ken began his publishing career at McGraw-Hill, where he held several management positions before moving on to serve as Group Publisher of Aviation/Aerospace Publications for Ziff Davis (later Murdoch Magazines). He later rejoined MHP as Executive Vice President/Publisher of the Aviation Week Group. Ken is a Board Member Emeritus and still active with the board at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum, former Co-Chair of the International Committee of the American Business Media Association, a Board Member of the Wings Club, and Board and advisory council member of AIRLINK, nonprofit providing lift for NGOs responding to disasters worldwide. He was President of the Wings Club in 2004-2005.
He is Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society and the past chairman of the Washington D.C. branch. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Fordham University Business School and an honorary doctorate from Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology. He is a current, instrument-rated, multi-engine general aviation pilot. He also serves on the Board of the Washington Airports Task Force. In addition to his serving as a Founding Board Member of Aero Design Labs, Inc., Ken is also is President and CEO of Four Stars Aviation and Gazzola Consulting.
Mark Powers
Mark Powers
Financial Advisor
Mark Powers joined ADL in June 2021. His extensive financial and management experience includes the CFO of JetBlue in New York and Etihad based in Abu Dhabi. Prior to these CFO roles, Powers held senior leadership roles with Northwest Airlines in Minneapolis and Tokyo, GE Aircraft Engines in Cincinnati, and Continental Airlines and Texas Air in Houston.
Mark is also a Professor of Practice, Finance in Tulane University’s A. B. Freeman School of Business where, since 2017, he has taught valuation and financial management to undergraduate and MBA candidates.
James Acree
James Acree
Technical Pilot
Highly experienced FAA test pilot and aviation professional with decades of flight operations, certification, and safety evaluation experience. Proven expertise in aircraft performance testing, regulatory compliance, and systems validation across a wide range of aircraft platforms. Recognized for technical precision, safety leadership, and deep knowledge of FAA certification processes.
Chad Hennings
Chad Hennings
Advisory Board Member
Chad Hennings succeeded in a nine year NFL career and three Super Bowl Championships with the Dallas Cowboys. Chad flew forty five successful combat missions flying A10 jets with the U.S. Air Force and is one of the most decorated college football players in NCAA history.
Chad has traveled across the world as a motivational speaker at the invitation of some of the most distinguished executive audiences including those from American Airlines, Bank of America, General Motors, Citigroup and multiple U.S. Governmental agencies. He has also been a philanthropic leader in the Dallas Fort Worth area as a member of the board of directors of Christian Community Action, an organization that provides assistance to at risk families, and the establishment of Wingmen Ministries.
In addition to a successful career as an entrepreneur, speaker/author and real-estate professional, Chad also consults ADL on issues regarding military aircraft
David Campbell
David Campbell
President Emeritus
David Campbell Joined ADL as Chief Operating Officer in April 2021. Dave has over thirty years of experience in Aviation Operations, Safety, Regulatory Compliance and Technical Operations. Dave served as President & CEO of Horizon Air, served as Vice President of Technical Operations at JetBlue Airways and for over 25 years was in various leadership roles at American Airlines. Dave is a veteran having served as an Aircraft Technician in the United States Air Force.
Dave’s undergraduate degree is from Louisiana Tech and he received his MBA at the University of Texas, Arlington.
Doug Bennett
Doug Bennett
Financial Advisor
Doug Bennett has been been working in an executive capacity in both public and private companies for over 30 years. He is an executive with a strong track record and a proven ability to create successful business models, market strategies, and products.
Doug has a strong knowledge of the management of people, processes, performance and financials. He knows how to drive change through the use of technology. Demonstrated ability to drive success across diverse industries including Aerospace, Media, Publishing, Digital Marketing and Internet. Doug graduated from Coe College (Cedar Rapids, IA.) with degrees in Economics and Business.