Featured Employees

Tobi Lee
Program Manager

Tobi has been interested in aircraft since she was a teenager, but knew that the lifestyle of a pilot was not for her. She graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and started working at the beginning of the Dash8-400 program as a Methods Analyst 26 years ago. Tobi also spent some time in Liaison Engineering and Structural Design for the Global Express and in the Dash 8-400 Interiors Design team before taking the leap 10+ years ago to join the Dash 8 Program Management Office.

The most challenging part of Tobi’s role as a Program Manager is getting people who have very different roles and priorities in the organization to come together, develop a plan and solve a problem together. De Havilland Canada is a very diverse organization and she is constantly learning how the teams’ combined knowledge and experience fit into the bigger picture.

“I love that I can walk past aircraft and smell the jet fuel on my way into the office. I don’t think many people get to do that,” Tobi says. She finds it amazing to see all the bits and pieces of aluminum, wires and composites come together as completed aircraft and watch them fly off to their new homes. However, the heart and soul of De Havilland Canada, she feels, are the people. She has made many friends over the years that are like family -- celebrating each other’s achievements, supporting each other through tough times and working many long hours together to support the business.

A naturally quiet person, Tobi used to prefer working in the background. However, she has come to realize the quiet people in this world have a lot to contribute and should get out of their comfort zone more often, and share their ideas, knowledge and viewpoints. “You don’t have to be the loudest one in the room to be an important part of a team,” she comments.

One thing many people don’t know about Tobi is that through the Royal Canadian Air Cadets, she earned her glider pilot license and private pilot license. She later became an officer and was a gliding instructor during her time in university.

When not at work, Tobi loves to cook -- pierogi, fancy cakes, dumplings, paella and the list goes on. She also loves to preserve food -- making different types of pickles, salsa, jam etc. that are often left on friends’ desks at Christmas time. Cooking allows her to disconnect from daily stresses, be creative and share her creations with family and friends.

Marian Rajesh
Senior Analyst, Configuration Mgt

Marian grew up in Dubai where her love of aircraft was fueled by attending the biennial Dubai Airshow. She went on to earn a Bachelor’s Degree in Aerospace Engineering, launching her on an aerospace career of 18 years and counting. Marian later became a Professional Engineer (P.Eng). After graduating as one of only two women in a class of 30, Marian began her career in India, before moving to London, back to Dubai and finally to Canada.

She started out performing wind tunnel testing on fighter jet models, then worked at various MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) facilities in quality and maintenance scheduling, and as a Technical Specialist for end-of-lease deliveries. Marian also spent several years participating in techno-commercial contractual negotiations for a major airline in Dubai, assisting with the introduction of the A380 aircraft into their fleet. Having worked on different aircraft types in varied roles with lessors, MROs and operators, Marian’s well-rounded knowledge of the life of an aircraft through an operator’s eyes made her an excellent candidate for her current role at De Havilland Canada. Her duties include 24/7 technical support to operators and our internal teams, analyzing engineering designs and recommending spares configurations.

Marian loves the people and the culture at De Havilland Canada, and especially enjoyed learning that several generations from a number of different families have worked at De Havilland Canada over the years.

Marian is a “cricket mom” in summer, and enjoys traveling, experiencing other cultures, sketching and hand embroidery in her free time.

Her wish is that more women spread their wings by envisaging a career in aviation.

Thineshan Kathirchelvan
Senior Engineering Specialist, Acoustics and Vibration, Research and Development

Thineshan has been working in Acoustics and Vibration for eight years. Having gained a broad understanding in the Engineering Science program, he pursued Aerospace Engineering, since it seemed like a challenging option and has a strong experimental component.

Growing up, Thineshan loved listening to and playing music and had even built a home studio to do a bit of music production. It seemed natural then to fuse his engineering background with his passion for sounds. Offered an internship position at an acoustics, noise and vibration consulting firm, he was involved in acoustics design for auditoriums, studios, buildings, and environmental noise. Naturally, having done his major in aerospace, he then wanted to explore aircraft acoustics.

Straight out of school, he worked on multiple developmental and sustaining programs, gaining experience in experimental acoustics and working on research and development projects leading to a number of patents.

At De Havilland Canada, his responsibilities include cabin acoustics, community noise, and system vibration. He is most proud of his work on the improvement of the Dash 8-400 aircraft’s active noise and vibration suppression system and more recently, the research he has done on disease transmission and collaboration in the development of RAY, the autonomous UVC disinfecting robot manufactured by aero hygenx.

Thineshan says his working style is very similar to how he plays music. He improvises based on fundamentals, and he absolutely loves it when De Havilland Canada gives him an empty canvas to work with.

In his free time, Thineshan loves being in and around the ocean. He loves snorkeling and is working toward his full scuba diving certification. With the pandemic keeping him at home, he has switched to a stand-up paddleboard to enjoy Ontario’s beautiful lakes.

Anastasija Visnakova
Director, Sales, EMEAR
(Europe, Middle East, Africa and Russia)

Anastasija Visnakova has been working in aviation for over 15 years, mainly with airlines of varying sizes and types – from legacy carriers to ultra low-cost carriers.

Over the years, she has fulfilled different roles on the commercial side of airline operations (sales, marketing, network planning and development, revenue management, business development and others). Her forte is creating product for passengers and then selling it.

Anastasija has been with De Havilland Canada for almost two years and is finding her job quite different from her previous roles. Nevertheless, she is finding that her previous experience helps her a lot. She knows the “behind the scenes” life of operators; what drives decisions and how they are made. She understands operators’ struggles and challenges and the correlation between new aircraft acquisition decisions and the external/internal factors that influence them.

Anastasija’s passions come down to two things: people and aviation. They are what make her a perfect fit for her job. She loves hearing people’s stories, learning how they operate their airlines, discovering their challenges and showing them how De Havilland Canada can help them.

The aviation/aerospace industry is full of truly passionate people and Anastasija finds that many of them tend to take decisions based on their passion. Benefitting from her previous and current experiences, Anastasija is able to coach airline executives to focus on the numbers, because “numbers don’t lie.”

One might think that being a Sales Director at De Havilland Canada only entails selling aircraft – yet that is far from the truth. Business cycles in commercial aviation are extremely long and comprehensive. Very often Sales Directors, together with a whole team here at De Havilland Canada, are actually helping build new operators from the ground up, helping them develop solid business cases for investors and governments. It is an exciting and very challenging process.

Another part of her job that Anastasija loves is the opportunity to travel to visit customers and to learn to communicate with different cultures and dispositions: “You have to be very flexible to effectively communicate in varied environments,” she says. For Anastasija, the best day at work is when the company signs a contract with a customer! On a daily basis, the most satisfying days are when she sees progress in what she does, however small; when she is able to help a customer operate an airline more efficiently.

When she first joined, Anastasija was blown away by her coworkers’ level of commitment and enthusiasm, as well as their professional skills and knowledge. As for the Dash 8-400 -- it is a very unique aircraft and it’s a good feeling to offer our customers a product that gives us immense pride.

Anna Baginski
Supplier Manager– IGS Lead

Anna has been working in the Supply Chain and Procurement field for 14 years.

She began her career as an Expeditor in the Oil and Gas industry; she was basically the person in the Procurement department that the vendors would do their best to avoid. She gradually advanced to negotiating and awarding contracts, then transitioned into the Healthcare Sector where suddenly every vendor wanted to become her best friend! Anna has been lucky enough to touch almost every aspect of Supply Chain management in multiple sectors -- working in warehouses, at job sites and in the office -- before turning that experience to aviation.

It has been an exciting journey, and now she looks forward to the challenges and rewards that her career at De Havilland Canada brings each day.

Anna believes that what makes De Havilland Canada a unique place to work is first and foremost a fantastic culture that’s truly focused on home-grown quality and where innovation is in the DNA of the company. She says that De Havilland Canada is a place where you can feel the energy and dedication of everyone around you; where you feel you contribute to every achievement. The fact that the company is Canadian-owned and operated is very special to Anna.

Anna’s favourite day on the job was having the opportunity to walk the production floor for the first time and see the Dash-8 400 aircraft up close. Driving past the Delivery Centre when the bay doors are open and seeing a completed aircraft in its customer livery still puts a smile on her face.

Outside of work, Anna enjoys travel, camping, exploring the Canadian wilderness, and most recently paddle boarding. One thing most people don’t know about her is the fact that she also has a degree in Philosophy.

Her personal motto is “In Omnia Paratus” – Ready for Anything.

Luis Sodre
Field Service Representative

Luis was born in Brazil and was always fascinated by airplanes. He was doubtless influenced by his father who worked offshore and frequently flew on helicopters. Luis started working as an intern at an MRO facility in 2008 during the last year of his bachelor’s degree in Aeronautical Engineering.

Throughout his career, Luis has performed several different engineering roles, from airplane development, testing and certification, to customer support. He has worked as a Field Service Representative since 2018 and says that all his previous experiences have helped him build the perfect skillset needed to support De Havilland Canada’s customers in Europe and the Russia CIS region.

Having a customer support role within the aviation industry means having the opportunity to support many people of different backgrounds and cultures around the world. Luis feels lucky to have met amazing people from the airlines, MROs and leasing companies. Kupang (Indonesia), Taipei, Toronto and Warsaw are among the many unforgettably amazing places he has flown to in order to support De Havilland Canada customers.

For Luis, the most interesting part of being a Field Service Representative is always having to wear two hats at the same time. He must represent De Havilland Canada when dealing with airlines by providing technical support and advice, and he must also advocate for the airline within De Havilland Canada by internally negotiating adequate response times, ensuring quality, and engaging the right people to resolve any customer issues.

Luis says that in addition to the remarkably efficient, uncommonly quiet, and exceptionally clean Dash 8 family of aircraft, the passionate, knowledgeable and deeply committed staff at De Havilland Canada make the company a unique place to work. When he travelled to the Toronto facility to meet his Canadian colleagues for the first time, their pride in the company and their drive to resolve customer issues and meet their expectations, instantly convinced him that he was working for the right company.

When not working, Luis enjoys hiking. He finds that spending a sunny weekend surrounded by nature in the mountains with family, his dog and his friends is the perfect way to recharge his batteries and come back renewed and ready for the work week.

Piotr (Peter) Twarecki
Principal Engineering Specialist

Piotr grew up under the watchful eye of his father who designed, built and repaired electronic equipment. He also crafted scale aircraft models with meticulous attention to every detail, igniting Piotr’s early passion for aviation. As a child, Piotr spent every summer on his grandparents’ farm, often tinkering next to his grandfather, who was an inventor and a hobby farmer. These strong influences in his early life, along with the splendour and allure of aircraft, made becoming an engineer an easy choice for Piotr.

Piotr is always proud to point out the advanced De Havilland Canada aircraft in the sky to family, friends, and even strangers. He considers De Havilland Canada to be a very special place to work and appreciates that the company is always engaged directly with customers to keep focused on what is important to them. Moreover, Piotr feels very fortunate to be surrounded by a team of highly skilled and capable professionals who have always been more like a family to him than colleagues.

Every day on the job is unique and interesting for Piotr. From solving complex, multi-disciplinary problems and developing design solutions, through engagement with the regulatory authorities, the aviation industry and our customers, to development of engineering processes and professional mentorship – there are plenty of learning opportunities to fuel his engineering curiosity.

Piotr sometimes describes himself as a mechanical engineer “with an electrical problem.”. Electronics is one of his hobbies and over the years this has proven to be a great professional asset, providing a much broader experience and knowledge basis to draw upon.

When not at work, Piotr loves cooking with his family. He finds it very humbling to realize how complex and how incredibly satisfying preparation of even the simplest foods can be. And yes, the food on his family’s table is usually later than planned.

Iain Fraser
Methods Analyst Sr., Methods Engineering

Iain began his aviation career over 35 years ago. He first worked for a major supplier on the Dash 8 Series aircraft, then moved to Bombardier, and finally to De Havilland Canada in 2019.

Iain has always been interested in aircraft and aviation, undoubtedly influenced by his father, an RCAF pilot during World War II, who continued flying after the war. Iain’s passion for aircraft began with scale model airplane assembly and progressed to working on full-sized aircraft.

After attending Ryerson University in Toronto, Iain’s first job in the field as a budding Aerospace Engineering Technologist was with Fleet industries in Fort Erie as a Process Planner for the Dash 8-100 metal-to-metal bonded components.

Iain’s career has developed steadily over his years in the aviation Industry. The vast majority of his time has been spent on the manufacturing side, with short stints in product development as the opportunities arose. Initially a Parts Planner, he learned on the job with the help and support of more experienced colleagues -- developing the necessary skills to go from parts planning to assemblies and then to major components. Eventually Iain was able to move into Change and Configuration Management where he continues to learn new ways to build aircraft.

Iain feels that the most interesting and fun thing about his job is that in his current position he is involved in the whole building process of the airplane, from the initial customer requests to the final certification. He loves to see each Dash 8 aircraft go to its new home knowing that he had something to do with it.

When he is not at work, Iain enjoys spending time with his family and is still very involved in the plastic scale modelling community.

Bashaar El-Yamani
Aftermarket Material Services Specialist

Bashaar El-Yamani fell in love with aerospace after he accepted a job as a Customer Service Representative (CSR) in the AOG (Aircraft on Ground) department; a position he happily filled for 10 years. During that time, he made a point of learning all aspects of his role as a CSR. Three years ago, he moved into his current role in Material Services as a member of the then newly formed “Smart Services” team.

Working closely with our suppliers to source parts for airlines operating Dash 8 Series aircraft is Bashaar’s main responsibility. Other responsibilities include keeping our Customer Services team up to date on backorders, clearing any snagged supplier invoices, and working with our quality control and inventory teams.

Bashaar loves to learn about the roles and processes of other teams and seeks to do his job in a way that makes it easier for them to do theirs. He enjoys having the opportunity to take on additional challenges and lead teams on special projects. Bashaar takes every challenge to heart and truly thrives on always being available to help others in their roles. He firmly believes in going above and beyond and truly values the appreciation and trust he receives from his colleagues and team leaders.

In the aftermarket field, many challenges arise on a daily basis, but rather than becoming frustrated, Bashaar says the unpredictability keeps things fun and interesting. He often gets the opportunity to spontaneously collaborate with someone from a different department, division, company, city or country towards the successful outcome of a common mission. Each of these interactions gives Bashaar the opportunity to learn something new and build great relationships.

Bashaar has discovered that the aerospace industry is full of very hard-working, inspired and inspiring people, and De Havilland Canada’s global reach means that almost everyone in the organization has the opportunity to interact with people in many parts of the world.

When not at work, Bashaar spends time with his family, enjoys basketball and explores finance.