Our Company
WHAT WE DO
Founded in 1994, CPaT Global is the market leader in Distance Learning solutions for Airlines, Training Organizations, Aircraft Maintenance Companies and Aviation Professionals.
We offer Distance Learning Courses and Learning Management Systems for most of the world’s commercial aircraft; including: Boeing, Airbus, McDonnell Douglas, Embraer, Fokker, and ATR. Our library of Aviation General Subjects and Specialty Courses cover a wide range of Aviation, Airline and Safety Subjects. Our one-of-a-kind, dynamic software platform, CPaT Invent, allows trainers to truly customize their curriculum or CPaT's, quickly and easily.
All of CPaT’s distance learning solutions follow FAA, EASA, ICAO, and DGCA guidelines for developing distance learning courseware for aviation, and meet IOSA standards.
OUR EXPERIENCED LEADERSHIP
Dave Rapley joined CPaT Global in February 2023 as President and CEO of the company. With more than 30 years of aviation training experience, Mr. Rapley's extensive background includes founding Aerosim Technologies Inc. and serving as CEO for Aerosim’s Flight Training Acquisitions division. He later served as Vice President of Technology for L3 Commercial Training Systems. Prior to joining CPaT, Mr. Rapley most recently served as the Chief Technology Officer for Britespot Solutions, where he analyzed fit-for-market strategies for companies to help them maximize product sustainability and go-to-market planning. His history in the training market began with Simulation Software Development at Singer Link Miles. Mr. Rapley holds a HNC/OND in Electromechanical Engineering Technology from the Chichester College of Technology.
Tony Vidrick joined CPaT Global in January 2021 as Vice President of Finance and Operations and currently resides as Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Mr. Vidrick brings a versatile experience to CPaT in the financial and accounting industry. Previous to CPaT, he worked for KPMG, LLP, as an external auditor before transitioning to KPMG’s Deal Advisory practice, where he managed projects related to corporate bankruptcies, sell side accounting, change accounting, restatements, and on-call accounting advisory for private and public companies primarily within the Energy sector. Mr. Vidrick is a Certified Public Accountant and holds both his Bachelor of Administration in Accounting and Master of Accountancy from Texas State University.
Steve Dennis joined CPaT in February 2024 as Vice President of Training Design. Steve is a seasoned aviation training expert with a demonstrated history of success in leading global training organizations. With extensive experience in operations management, business analysis, and organizational improvement, Steve has spearheaded innovative initiatives to improve training effectiveness and ensure regulatory compliance. During his tenure as the Director of Training Design at CAE, he pioneered cutting-edge training strategies in a highly technical and regulatory-intensive setting.
Steve holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Commercial Aviation and is an IATA accredited CBTA course designer. He brings a wealth of expertise to our team, poised to drive excellence and innovation in CPaT’s aviation training solutions.
Capt. Gregory Darrow joined CPaT Global in 2014 as Vice President of Sales and Marketing. With over 34 years in sales and marketing experience, including 25 years in flight training sales, Capt. Darrow’s extensive background includes sales management positions with IKON Office Solutions, Flight Training International, International Aviation Training and Services and Pan Am International Flight Academy. As an accomplished sales professional, he has earned numerous awards including seven years as Salesperson of the Year for IKON Office Solutions, Sales and Marketing Professional of the Year for the State of Hawaii and multiple sales management performance awards. As an accomplished professional pilot, Capt. Darrow has a long history of flight operations and pilot training. He has experience as an Airline Captain, Type Rating Instructor, and Type Rating Examiner. With over 25,000 flight hours, Capt. Darrow has flown the B777, B767, B757, B737, DC-10, MD-80/DC-9, Airbus 320, and numerous turboprops.
Simon Newcombe joined CPaT in January 2023 as International Sales Director with a focus on the Europe and Middle East region.
Simon brings with him 17 years of Sales and Business Development experience, predominantly in the Commercial Aviation industry. Most recently he worked as a lecturer for a technical college in the South of England. Prior to that, he built his career in Aviation Technology Sales as Commercial Director for the EMEA region for Global Simulation Manufacturers. His primary focus is to provide Airlines and Training Organizations with solutions to support their training needs as well as deliver high levels of customer care and relationship development.
Naveed Iqbal joined CPaT in February 2024 as an International Sales Associate focusing on the European, Middle Eastern and African region. Naveed has 11 years’ sales experience working in the Financial Services Industry within the Insurance sector. Naveed will assist the International Sales Director for the region, and looks forward to expanding his experience focusing on outreach to spread awareness for CPaT’s training solutions to the Aviation Industry.
Angelica Baron joined the CPaT Global sales team in January 2022 as an Account Executive and as of July 2022 was promoted to International Sales Director. Ms. Baron began her career with CPaT in June of 2020 as a Customer Service Representative and brings with her extensive knowledge working directly with clients around the world and assisting them with our products, specifically CPaT's Access LMS. With a background in Customer Service in various industries, her goal is to assist Airlines, Flight Schools, Universities and TRTO’s in the North and South American regions to find the best training solutions that CPaT has to offer. She prides herself on her excellent customer service and making sure all of her client’s needs are met and supported.
Desh Boparai joined CPaT in August 2024 as International Sales Director, with a focus on the Asia Pacific region. Mr. Boparai brings 7 years of Sales and Business Development experience, predominantly in the Commercial Aviation industry. Previous to CPaT, Mr. Boparai was a Key Account Manager and Regional Sales Manager. Mr. Boparai looks forward to fostering client relationships and driving business growth. Mr. Boparai is dedicated to elevating CPaT’s presence in the Asia Pacific market and establishing it as a leading name in the industry.
Mr. Boparai holds an Aviation Business Administration Degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
Remus Low joined CPaT in August 2024 as International Sales Director, with a focus on the Asia Pacific region. Mr. Low brings 14 years of Sales and Business Development experience predominantly in the Commercial Aviation industry. Prior to CPaT, Mr. Low was the Global Customer Manager at Collins Aerospace, and an Aviation Business Development Manager for Bose Aviation. Mr. Low looks forward to driving customer satisfaction and business sustainability in the region by offering best practices and solutions that address the unique business needs of his clients.
Mr. Low has flight experience with the Youth Flying Club as well as ground school training on Frozen ATPL. He holds a degree in Marketing from Singapore University of Social Science.
Victoria Rduch joined CPaT Global in 2015 as a Customer Support Representative. Ms. Rduch has grown throughout her tenure with CPaT and now serves as the Director of Client Success. Ms. Rduch leads all customer engagement and service for our clients, including onboarding, customer service inquiries, curriculum conversion, and more. Previous to CPaT, Ms. Rduch spent five years in Education as a substitute teacher for Spanish, a one-on-one teacher at the Alternative Education Center, and an English Teacher in Chile for the Chilean Ministry of Education. Ms. Rduch holds a B.A. in Spanish from Amherst College.
Amie Smith joined CPaT Global in August of 2020 as the Director of Marketing. Mrs. Smith brings more than 15 years’ marketing and communications experience to CPaT, primarily in the Oil and Gas industry. Previous to CPaT, she was the Marketing Manager for GeoTree, an acquisition division of Clockspring|NRI, where she was responsible for rebranding the business and bringing the division to market through strategic and tactical marketing. Prior to GeoTree, Ms. Smith has held various mid-senior level Communications and Marketing positions in the Energy sector, ranging from small to midsized, and Fortune 500 companies.
Cindy Kirk joined CPaT Global in 2008 in Courseware Development and is currently the Director of Production. Ms. Kirk brings more than 30 years in Aviation Training to CPaT. Prior to joining the company, she held a variety of roles primarily in the aviation training industry and has airline customer service experience.
AVIATION SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS
Michael Shanks started his aviation career as a Naval Aviator in the US Navy flying the SH-60B helicopter and the C-12 transport aircraft. After 11 years in the Navy, Mr. Shanks became a commercial airline pilot with Continental Express/ExpressJet Airlines flying the ATR-42, ATR-72, EMB-145 and ERJ-175. While there, he was a Lead Line Check Airman on the 145 and Line Check Airman on the 175. He left ExpressJet in 2020 and joined CPaT as a full time, in-house Consultant and one of CPaT’s Subject Matter Experts (SME).
Stephen Gatlin joined CPaT Global in November 2022 as Cabin Crew Training Program Director. With over 30 years of experience in both the airline and general aviation industry, Mr. Gatlin’s extensive background includes teaching pilots and cabin crews as an aviation instructor. Mr. Gatlin’s experience comes from many years as a systems ground instructor teaching and developing training programs for the Airbus A320, A330 and Boeing 737 aircraft as well as cabin crew training programs and instructor for a major airline and has several years as the Manager of Courseware development for a Part 142 training center in Miami.
Mr. Gatlin is a graduate of The Ohio State University and holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from the College of Aviation and is a member of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, a lifetime member of the Experimental Aircraft Association, and the National Association of Flight Instructors. He holds several FAA pilot certificates including the Advanced Instrument Ground Instructor, and Remote Pilot certificate.
Bill Severn started his aviation career in the US Air Force as an instructor where he served for 20 years. After leaving the Air Force, Mr. Severn began his civilian career as a Ground School Instructor, which lasted 30 years and included aircraft such as the B737, B757, B767, B787, L-1011 and A330. During his career he worked as an Instructional Systems Designer for AQP on the B737CL and curriculum developer for an A330 course. Mr. Severn worked as a Ground School Instructor for United Airlines and is now a consultant for CPaT where he brings his rich experience and expertise to the Airbus A320 and A330 CBTs as well as CPaT’s library of Boeing CBTs. Mr. Severn is one of CPaT’s Subject Matter Experts, (SME), that supports the development of our software engineering and courseware development teams with his aviation expertise.
Jim Tucker started his flying career with a 6-year tour as a Navy pilot flying an S3A of the USS America. After leaving the Navy, Mr. Tucker started his career as a commercial airline pilot with Braniff Airways flying a Boeing B727. This began a flying career that spanned three decades on aircraft ranging from the DC9 to the Boeing B777. After his flying career, Mr. Tucker joined the staff of United Airlines training center in Houston where he trained B737 pilots until his departure in 2017. Mr. Tucker augments CPaT’s staff of experts as a consultant with expertise with the B767, B757, B777, B737, and MD-80. Mr. Tucker is one of CPaT’s Subject Matter Experts, (SME), that supports the development of our software engineering and courseware development teams with his aviation expertise.
Paul McDermott attended USAF undergraduate pilot training in 1971. His first assignment after pilot training was Forward Air Controller (FAC) flying the OV-10 Bronco in Southeast Asia. He returned to the USA a year later and flew the KC-135 until 1978. He upgraded to Aircraft Commander, instructor pilot, and Standardization Pilot during those 5 years. He left active duty and was hired by Braniff Airlines in 1978, where he was Flight Engineer and First Officer on the Boeing 727 until 1980. He was hired by the USAF Reserves in 1982 flying the KC-10 tanker until retiring in 1994. During this same period, Paul was hired by Continental Airlines. He was a B727 Captain for 10 years until cross training to the B737 where he was a B737 Captain and Line Check Airman for eleven years until retirement in 2006. Mr. McDermott was hired as a B737 ground school instructor in 2012 on the B737 and joined CPaT’s SME consulting team in 2017. Mr. McDermott is one of CPaT’s Subject Matter Experts, (SME), that supports the development of our software engineering and courseware development teams with his aviation expertise.