The AutoPILOT Magazine

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Our History The Story of The AutoPILOT For several years now, The AutoPILOT has had the privilege of writing about men and women who have made significant contributions to aviation. The AutoPILOT reaches a community of readers that are all held together by a common thread: their love and passion for aviation. The beauty of The AutoPILOT is that it tells the stories of the people who promote aviation ’s positive aspects and inspire others to take up the challenge. An Unlikely Team Bob Rosenburg, Brenda Tran and Ketan Solanki are the individuals responsible for the tremendous growth of The AutoPILOT. Despite coming from very diverse business backgrounds, they have been successful as a team and have proven that with hard work, success is achievable. Nothing in Rosenburg ’s early life indicated he would be successful in the aviation business. Rosenburg learned about business through his 20 years of experience in the fast food industry. “I had the opportunity to work with some really great people who took the time to teach me about the importance of vision and perseverance, ” he says. After leaving the fast food industry, Rosenburg found himself looking for a job. With determination, he began planning his next move. When he was approached by a pilot about a fractional aircraft ownership, he was intrigued. Though he knew nothing of the aviation industry, Rosenburg began working on a business plan that called for selling shares in new aircraft. When he showed the plan to friend David Lee, AirShares Elite was born. A New Direction As AirShares Elite grew, so did the need for marketing. They started with direct mailing. “With the best lists money could buy, we sent out two mailings and got the same results: nothing! ” Rosenburg explains. "I realized that we had to find a better way to get our message into the hands of pilots. ” Solving Problems The answer was a newsletter. Rosenburg designed a slick informational newsletter and sent it to the list with results —not just sales results, but aviation businesses called to ask about advertising. “We actually had more advertising space than we could put in a newsletter, so I decided to publish a magazine. ” Rosenburg worked on the magazine during his spare time. As both businesses grew, Rosenburg had to decide where to spend his time. Ultimately he hired a management staff for the magazine and dedicated most of his time to AirShares Elite. After a disagreement lead to a misstart, AirShares Elite was in need of a new marketing program. They decided to hire a marketing manager, and Brenda Tran was one of the applicants. Though she made it through two phone interviews, though she was not initially hired. Months later, when a receptionist position opened, Rosenburg called Tran and offered her the job. She took the job, and on her first day her performance exceeded expectations! AirShares Elite had put together a program with Mid-Atlantic Diamond to display an airplane at one of Atlanta ’s shopping malls. Tran arrived just as the marketing director resigned and she was promoted to that role.

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