Cliff Gibbons
General Manager
Cliff Gibbons brings more than 20 years of ground support equipment (GSE) experience to his general manager role, a position he has held with Triumph since 2004. He is responsible for the site’s GSE and the Operation Control Center. Prior to Triumph Group being awarded the San Antonio GSE contract in 2004, Mr. Gibbons was a GSE Manager for The Boeing Company from 2000 to 2004 and was responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of logistics, a supply warehouse, and the maintenance team in support of flight-line operations. Mr. Gibbons began his career as a mechanic supporting the U.S. Navy’s Training Command Squadrons at NAS in Kingsville, Texas. He supported several flight training programs including the T2C Buckeye, the A4 Skyhawk, and the T45 Goshawk, while working for UNC Aviation and McDonnell Douglas.
Mr. Gibbons earned his bachelor's degree at Texas A&M in Kingsville in 1996 while working full time on the second shift supporting the T45 Goshawk for two years. In addition, he has taken numerous professional development training courses and has received several Distinguished Service Awards.
William "Billy" Martin
Sales and Marketing
Billy Martin has more than 30 years of industry experience, primarily as a military pilot. He leads Triumph San Antonio Support Center’s sales and marketing activities and was named to his current position in 2009. Mr. Martin joined Triumph in 2005 as the Director of Operations at Triumph Accessory Services - Wellington. From 1980 to 2005, he served in the U.S. Navy as a test and evaluation pilot, where he conducted operational flight testing on seven different aircraft, flying more than 11 dissimilar aircraft during his naval career.
Mr. Martin holds bachelor’s, master’s and MBA degrees from St. John’s College, the Naval War College, and Newman University, respectively. In addition, he is a graduate of the Naval Post Graduate School’s Aviation Safety Officer School.
Mike Palacios
Quality
Mike Palacios has 20 years of ground support equipment experience (GSE). As Triumph San Antonio Support Center’s quality assurance leader, he has overall management of the quality control system to ensure compliance with the ISO 900 2008 standard. He also conducts tools audits, technical audits, and inspects work performed by mechanics. He also maintains various databases to track scheduled preventive maintenance and unscheduled maintenance, and manages the site’s training and safety program. Mr. Palacios began his career with UNC Aviation Services at NAS Kingsville, Texas, which eventually became McDonnell Douglas. When Boeing opened a T45 program in Meridian, Miss., Mr. Palacios transferred to start up the support equipment shop and managed that for three years before returning to Boeing in San Antonio, Texas. When Triumph Group was awarded the GSE contract in 2004, Mr. Palacios took the position of Quality Assurance Manager.
Mr. Palacios has completed course work toward a degree in information technology. While studying at Palo Alto College, he won first place in a state computer information skills competition and went on to compete in a national competition. He holds an A+ certificate in computer technology and also developed a database in Microsoft Access that enables the company to track equipment maintenance, calibrations, and training.