The FAA is continuing to realign its senior ranks, naming long-time agency official Liro Liu to succeed Earl Lawrence as executive director of the Aircraft Certification Service, effective May 8. Lawrence, meanwhile, will shift to a new role as deputy assistant administrator of the NextGen Office.
Liu brings a lengthy background in certification and regulation to her new position, having spent more than 30 years with the agency in roles such as executive director for rulemaking, executive director for operational safety in the Commercial Space Transportation Office, and acting deputy associate administrator for the Office of Aviation Safety. In her current capacity as acting director for the Office of International Affairs, she oversees international policy across the FAA and the international offices in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
She joined the agency in 1991 in the Los Angeles Aircraft Certification Office as a structural engineer and served as a program manager for Robinson Helicopter.
Lawrence moves out of the Aircraft Certification Service after serving as its executive director since 2018 and steering the branch through the Boeing 737 Max return-to-service activities and other changes that came in the aftermath of the Max crashes. Before taking the position, he was executive director of the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration Office and also has been manager of the FAA’s Small Airplane Directorate.
He joined the agency in 2010 after serving as v-p of industry and regulatory affairs for the Experimental Aircraft Association. The FAA said that in his new position, he will play an instrumental role in the integration of drones into the U.S. aviation system.
“These moves are strategic in nature and are designed to take advantage of the strengths that each executive brings to the FAA,” the agency said. “Both executives are dedicated public servants with a deep commitment to all aspects of aviation safety.”
The changes, however, come at a time when most of the agency’s upper echelon has or is, undergoing a turnover. Former FAA Administrator Steve Dickson left the agency at the end of March to spend more time with his family. Replacing him on an acting basis is Billy Nolen, who joined the agency at the beginning of the year to serve as associate administrator of aviation safety. In that role, he succeeded Ali Bahrami, who stepped down at the end of June.
Temporarily replacing Nolen as acting associate administrator of aviation safety is 20-year FAA employee Christopher Rocheleau, but he is leaving the agency in June to join NBAA as COO. Also in a little more than the past year, the agency has received a new deputy administrator, Bradley Mims; associate administrator for airports, Shannetta Griffin; and acting Air Traffic Organization COO Timothy Arel.
