Baines Simmons appoints Steve Hough as Senior Consultant
Baines Simmons has appointed Steve Hough as a Senior Consultant at the firm, as part of a trio of hires to the firm’s UK team. Hough is joined by Associate Consultants Ludo Forrer and Ferdi Taljaard.
Baines Simmons is an aviation safety consulting specialising in aviation regulation, compliance and safety management. The firm is part of the Training & Consultancy division of global aviation services group Air Partner, and has been growing its team throughout the last year, with a string of hires in 2018.
Continuing its headcount growth into the New Year, Baines Simmons has announced the appointment of Steve Hough as Senior Consultant, while Ludo Forrer and Ferdi Taljaard have been appointed Associate Consultants. All three will report directly to Mike Wallace, Head of Training & Consulting Operations.
Steve Hough has over 25 years’ experience in civil and military aviation and has a wealth of expertise in safety management and investigation. He began his career in the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a Navigator on Chinook helicopters before becoming a Flight Safety Officer. Upon leaving the RAF, he joined Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) as Chief Investigator, later becoming Head of Safety Office and Safety Manager. It was in this role that Hough first became acquainted with Baines Simmons, with the firm advising SAS on enhancements to the group’s airworthiness and safety management performance.
Steve Hough, who is also the Chairman of the IATA Accident Classification Technical Group, said at the time, “We have all been very impressed by the approach Baines Simmons takes to training and consulting; corridor feedback from our management team months later remains excellent. Thanks to their help, we have been able to re-focus our efforts to drive a cohesive Group-wide approach to further improve our standards of Airworthiness and Safety Risk Management.”
Ludo Forrer meanwhile brings rich experience from across the aircraft lifecycle, spanning initial design, airworthiness, engineering management and flight crew operation. He has held a variety of aviation roles, including Design Engineer at landing gear manufacturer Messier-Dowty Ltd, Continuing Airworthiness Manager at 2Excel Aviation Ltd, and Engineering and General Manager at 2Excel Engineering. He has a first-class degree in Aerospace Engineering, is a member of the Royal Aeronautical Society and is an active commercial pilot.
Ferdi Taljaard’s CV boasts 35 years of military and civil aviation experience, with the new Baines Simmons consultant having developed extensive exposure across maintenance, operations and regulatory compliance service lines. He enjoyed a successful career in the South African Air Force (SAAF) in a variety of roles, before joining geoscience company CGG as Chief of Aviation Services. Taljaard later started his own consulting business in 2015. He is also a qualified ISO 9001 Aviation Auditor.
Commenting on the new appointments, Ian Holder, Managing Director at Baines Simmons, said, “We are delighted to welcome Steve, Ludo and Ferdi to the team. Their multi-disciplinary knowledge and experience will be extremely advantageous to our diverse range of clients.
