Don has been involved with AST since its inception in 2008. He is a founder and Senior Managing Director of the Dillon Kane Group (“DKG”), an advisory firm and business incubator based in Chicago.

Don drove the evaluation of the market opportunity to commercialize Dr. Rado’s intellectual property. Working with Bob Francis, a former Vice Chairman of the NTSB, Dr. Rado and Mike Dahl, he met with Air Carriers, Pilots, FAA and other aviation industry participants over several years. The process lead to the development of a business model which included industry and FAA validation and the introduction of the SafeScan technology at airports. Don helps coordinate a wide set of resources within DKG supporting AST.

Don works closely with Joe Vickers, our CEO, to support the commercial rollout of AST’s service offering. AST is evolving from a shared services to a dedicated resource model. He will continue to support efforts to build both domestic and international networks of connected fleets and airports. In addition, he is focused on the longer term strategy of AST’s business model. AST will remain focused on developing new technologies and service offerings which are transformational for network participants.

Don founded DKG with David Dillon in 2001. Prior to founding DKG, he worked at Goldman Sachs for 14 years, leaving the firm as a Managing Director in the Investment Banking Division. He specialized in Financial Services and established the firm’s Financial Institution’s Technology Practice. He worked closely with senior management of major financial institutions evaluating strategic and financial options during a time of tremendous industry change.

Don is married with 4 children and graduated from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern and the University of Illinois.