ASTAR Air Cargo Executive Team

A new company guided by years of experience.

ASTAR Air Cargo is led by an executive team with years of experience in the airline industry and an established track record of success.

John Dasburg served as Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and President of the Burger King Corporation from April 2001 to January 6, 2003. He led the turnaround of the company that culminated in its December 2002 sale. Prior to joining Burger King, Dasburg served 10 years as President and Chief Executive Officer of Northwest Airlines, the world's fourth largest airline. Under Dasburg's leadership, Northwest Airlines established its reputation for operational excellence, experienced consistent and profitable growth, and became known as a strategic innovator.

Before his airline career, he served as president of Marriott's Lodging Group and executive vice president and CFO of Marriott Corp. As President, he was responsible for the full range of Marriott's lodging products as well as their development. He joined Marriott in 1980. Prior to his tenure at Marriott, he was a partner with KPMG, an international CPA firm.

Dasburg is a recipient of the 2001 Horatio Alger Award for Distinguished Americans and a recipient of the Commercial Air Transport Laureate Award in 2001. He was named airline industry "Man of the Year" in 1994 by Travel Agent magazine and has received numerous awards and recognitions of business distinction.

Dasburg received a bachelor's degree in engineering, a master's degree in business administration and a law degree, all from the University of Florida. He served three years in the U.S. Navy with one year in Vietnam. He was appointed by President George Bush to the White House Fellows Committee in 1991. He was also appointed by Governor Jeb Bush as a member of the Board of Governors of the Florida university system in 2003. He is active in civic affairs and serves as a director for many profit and not-for-profit enterprises.



Gary L. Hammes, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer

Gary Hammes serves as Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for ASTAR Air Cargo. Gary has been with the company since 2002 and previously served as Senior Director of aircraft maintenance and engineering.

In his 16 years in the industry prior to joining ASTAR, Gary held management positions with Northwest Airlines, where he was the Director of Component Maintenance, United Airlines as 737 Fleet Operations Manager, and Evergreen International Aviation as Director of Maintenance/Business Services.

Gary has also served on numerous industry oversight committees. He is currently a member of the Senior Advisory Committee for the ATA and previously served as Chairman of the Boeing 737 Structures Task Group. He was also a member of the ATA Repairs assessment task group steering committee.

Gary and his family reside in the Cincinnati area.