David Wheeler

David Wheeler Email and Phone Number

Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary @ Firefly Aerospace
Cedar Park, TX, US
David Wheeler's Location
Cedar Park, Texas, United States, United States
David Wheeler's Contact Details
About David Wheeler

Proactive Legal Executive with 20+ years of big firm and in-house experience managing an extensive spectrum of domestic and international issues for private and public companies. Deep M&A, commercial and corporate expertise, with broad compliance and litigation management experience. Hands-on General Counsel and business savvy problem solver who implements strategies that meet business objectives, support growth, reduce risk, and ensure global compliance.Specialties: Corporate & Commercial Transactions | M&A, Securities & Finance | Corporate Governance | Real Estate Compliance & Ethics | Intellectual Property | Litigation & Risk Management | Internal Investigations | TaxVanguard LawDavid Wheeler - BBA Aviation30,000 feet and Climbinghttps://www.vanguardlawmag.com/case-studies/david-wheeler-bba-aviation/

David Wheeler's Current Company Details
Firefly Aerospace

Firefly Aerospace

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Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary
Cedar Park, TX, US
Website:
fireflyspace.com
Employees:
800
David Wheeler Work Experience Details
  • Firefly Aerospace
    Senior Vice President, General Counsel And Secretary
    Firefly Aerospace
    Cedar Park, Tx, Us
  • Firefly Aerospace
    Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary
    Firefly Aerospace Jun 2022 - Present
    Cedar Park, Texas, Us
    ● Head of legal and compliance for a private equity owned pre-IPO space transportation company that provides rockets, lunar landers and spacecraft to global government and commercial customers.● Principal advisor to CEO and CFO; strategic partner to executive team; Board of Directors Secretary.● Responsible for corporate governance, risk management, contract negotiations and management, litigation management, and export and regulatory matters.● Manage legal budgets and select and supervise outside counsel and expert advisors as required.Selected Achievements:● Built small, high performing legal and compliance team from scratch.● Led structuring & negotiation of $2.5B joint-development program with Northrop Grumman for a medium lift launch vehicle.● Responsible for and closed out a monitoring agreement with the U.S. Air Force resulting from a CFIUS investigation.● Assessed, designed, and implemented a new, comprehensive compliance program.● Closed the bolt-on acquisition ($45M) of a launch and spacecraft aggregator.● Oversaw Series C equity offering ($192M), coupled with an asset backed credit facility ($122M).
  • Squire Patton Boggs
    Of Counsel
    Squire Patton Boggs Nov 2021 - Jun 2022
    Cleveland, Ohio, Us
    Represent public and private companies in domestic and cross-border M&A transactions.
  • Signature Aviation Plc
    Vp/Division General Counsel
    Signature Aviation Plc Aug 2015 - May 2022
    Orlando, Florida, Us
    GENERAL COUNSEL, Global Engine Services (2019 – 2021)GENERAL COUNSEL, Global Engine Services & Ontic (2015 – 2019)● Led legal operations for Global Engine Services ($550M P+L; sold for $230M) and Ontic ($220M P+L; sold for $1.4B) overseeing all commercial, corporate, compliance, risk management, and litigation matters.● Principal advisor to division CEO and CFO; strategic partner to division executive team.● Managed legal budgets and selected and supervised outside legal counsel and expert advisers as needed.● From 2015 to 2018, also led global ethics and compliance for Signature Aviation ($3B public company), including policy development, employee training, program benchmarking, and reporting to the Board of Directors and executive management.Selected Achievements:● Part of turn-around team improving Global Engine Services business from a loss position in 2015 to $45M EBITDA in 2020.● Conducted global compliance risk assessment across Signature Aviation to identify risks, test internal controls and mitigation strategies, and ensure all businesses were operating within agreed risk limits.● Managed all aspects of a U.S. Department of Justice deferred prosecution agreement resulting from an FCPA violation, including annual status reports, design and implementation of compliance program enhancements, and development of worldwide compliance training materials.● Streamlined the legal department to improve service to the businesses while reducing expenses.
  • Ge Aviation
    Senior Counsel
    Ge Aviation Aug 2010 - Jul 2015
    Cincinnati, Oh, Us
    Senior Counsel, BGA / General Counsel, Unison, Power, Mechanical Systems, & Passport Engine ($2.1B P+L) 2013 – 2015Senior Counsel, Business Development / General Counsel, Avionics ($700M P+L) 2012 – 2013Senior Counsel, Business Development / General Counsel, Unison & Power ($1.3B P+L) 2010 – 2012● Senior M&A counsel for GE Aviation ($26B P+L), handling acquisitions, divestitures, Joint Ventures, and other strategic transactions from structuring and negotiating transactions to closing and overseeing the subsequent integrations.● Led legal activities for GE Aviation Systems businesses, including commercial contracts, risk management, compliance, and legal policies.● Collaborated with executives and management to develop and grow new and existing business lines and products, and drove legal initiatives for commercial best practices, localization, growth, and simplification.●  Provided insider trading training to GE Aviation executive leadership and acted as corporate governance subject matter expert for all GE Aviation subsidiaries and Joint Ventures.Selected Achievements:● Closed $1B Joint Venture for the development of technology for GE9X engines for Boeing 777x aircraft.● Closed $100M Joint Venture for the development and manufacture of SiC fiber resulting in $650M of projected cost savings over the first 10 years based on CMC components in engines in GE’s engine orderbook.● Closed $2B Joint Venture for the development, manufacture, and servicing of GE Passport engines, serving as the lead lawyer for the Passport engine program (estimated $10-20B in life of program revenue).● Led negotiations with Boeing for power and avionics products on the 777x aircraft ($1B contract value).
  • Ge Aviation
    Senior Counsel
    Ge Aviation Apr 2013 - Apr 2013
    Cincinnati, Oh, Us
  • Ge Aviation
    Senior Counsel
    Ge Aviation Oct 2012 - Oct 2012
    Cincinnati, Oh, Us
  • Pme Of Ohio, Inc.
    Interim Vice President
    Pme Of Ohio, Inc. Feb 2010 - Aug 2010
    Six-month interim engagement for multi-site machining business (Squire Sanders client) to improve the overall performance of the business, increasing profitability, growing the business, and ensuring compliance with legal obligations. Selected Achievements:● Led sales, administration, quality, and finance activities, restructured the sales function, and managed the re-certification of the company's quality system (ISO 9001:2008).
  • Squire, Sanders & Dempsey Llp
    Principal
    Squire, Sanders & Dempsey Llp Mar 2003 - Feb 2010
    Cleveland, Ohio, Us
    ● Structured domestic and cross-border acquisitions, divestitures, leveraged buyouts and joint ventures, ran auctions, drafted and negotiated deal agreements, managed due diligence processes, and planned and supported integrations and divestitures for public, private, and private equity clients. ● Specialized in middle-market M&A transactions ($50M to $500M) for aviation, financial services, healthcare, and industrials. ● Represented borrowers and lenders in a variety of acquisition financing transactions, syndicated credit facilities, second lien debt, subordinated debt transactions, and asset based and unsecured loans.Selected Achievements:● Represented a private equity firm in the simultaneous $300M IPO of its investment fund and closing of a $225M credit facility, immediately followed by the acquisition of four (4) portfolio companies for $215M in the aggregate.● Prepared prospectuses for IPOs and follow-on offerings, proxies for annual and special stockholder meetings, and periodic securities reports (Forms 8K, 10Q, 10K) typically involving drafting the business, risk factors, and MD&A sections.● Completed numerous private placements in connection with formation of private equity and hedge funds.● Represented an investment fund in the creation of pooled trust preferred securities vehicles involving the design of a template security and the subsequent purchase of the security upon issuance by regional banks.● Provided Board advisory services, typically involving fiduciary duties in connection with M&A transactions.● Represented the Enron unsecured-creditors committee in the $850M divestiture of power generation projects in 13 countries.

David Wheeler Education Details

  • University Of Cincinnati College Of Law
    University Of Cincinnati College Of Law
    Business And Taxation Emphasis
  • University Of Vermont
    University Of Vermont
    Professional Accounting Curriculum
  • Phillips Academy Andover
    Phillips Academy Andover
    High School

Frequently Asked Questions about David Wheeler

What company does David Wheeler work for?

David Wheeler works for Firefly Aerospace

What is David Wheeler's role at the current company?

David Wheeler's current role is Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary.

What is David Wheeler's email address?

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What is David Wheeler's direct phone number?

David Wheeler's direct phone number is +121435*****

What schools did David Wheeler attend?

David Wheeler attended University Of Cincinnati College Of Law, University Of Vermont, Phillips Academy Andover.

Who are David Wheeler's colleagues?

David Wheeler's colleagues are Adrian Benavidez, Chris Jandt, Brian Stancik, Steven Dorlac, Davis Glass Iii, Jesse Gallegos, David Heffley.

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