Managing Director
AeroDynamic Advisory
Kevin Michaels is Founder and Managing Director of AeroDynamic Advisory, a boutique aerospace consultancy. He has 39 years of professional experience, including more than 600 consulting engagements for leading aviation and aerospace companies across the globe.
Kevin co-founded AeroStrategy in 2001 and successfully grew the consultancy until its acquisition by ICF International in 2011. Earlier, he was Director-Strategic Development at Rockwell Collins Government Systems and a Principal with The Canaan Group, a consultancy that co-founded the MRO Conference series with Aviation Week. He began his career as a project engineer with Williams International.
Kevin is a globally recognized expert in the aerospace manufacturing and MRO sectors and has significant functional expertise in corporate and business strategy, M&A advisory, technology and market assessment, and cluster development. His experience spans commercial and military markets.
Kevin is a contributing columnist to Aviation Week & Space Technology and is a board member for Proponent, a leading aerospace distributor. From 2013 – 2022, he chaired the Industry Advisory Board for the University of Michigan’s Aerospace Engineering Department. He was also a founding member of the Aerospace Industry Association of Michigan.
Dr Michaels holds BS – Aerospace Engineering and MBA degrees from the University of Michigan, and MSc and PhD degrees in International Relations from the London School of Economics.
Kevin authored AeroDynamic: Inside the High-Stakes Global Jetliner Ecosystem, winner of the 2019 Choice Outstanding Academic Title Award. In 2021, he was the recipient of the Annual Gilbert W. Speed Award for leadership across the global aerospace supply chain. He also received the 2022 Alumni Merit Award from The University of Michigan’s aerospace engineering department.
He is currently co-authoring Time Machines: A Modern History of Business Aviation with his colleague Richard Aboulafia.