Expert

Jennifer Pickerel

Vice President

Aviation Personnel International

As Vice President of Aviation Personnel International, Jennifer Pickerel has garnered more than 15 years of experience and expertise working mostly with Part 91 flight departments in the business aviation industry. Serving as the “chief of staff” to the company’s President & CEO, Pickerel manages all day-to-day operational functions, takes the lead on many strategic initiatives and is the primary point of contact regarding most of API’s recruitment projects and staff needs. 
 
Pickerel also works directly with API’s clients, most of whom are aviation directors, reporting executives and their corporate HR partners. In her role as a senior business aviation recruiter, she has a deep understanding of the workforce challenges facing the industry today. During the talent assessment process, she identifies the client’s professional needs, both from an aviation and a cultural standpoint, and then matches them up with a top slate of highly vetted, qualified API Registered Professionals™. 
 
Since joining API in 2015, Pickerel has held progressive roles, working in all areas of the company, including recruitment and placement, consulting and outplacement. In 2020, she was promoted to her current position from that of Director of Client and Candidate Services. 
 
A skilled and decisive leader with exceptional communication skills, Pickerel has the unique ability to build relationships, inspire confidence and unite teams. She draws on her highly focused subject matter expertise to educate constituents through her regularly published articles on employee attraction, retention and workplace satisfaction. 
 
Prior to API, Pickerel had many roles at MedAire, an International SOS company, including the positions of Client Services Manager and Senior Account Manager. During her 10-year tenure there, she gained significant leadership experience, developed key aviation industry relationships and honed her exceptional communication skills. 
 
Pickerel is a Chair of NBAA’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Working Group and a member of the aviation association’s Maintenance Committee and Business Aviation Management Committee. She is also a member of the Minnesota Business Aviation Association, the Pacific Northwest Business Aviation Association and Women in Corporate Aviation. 
 
Pickerel holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Nebraska, in Lincoln, Nebraska.