David Olsen - Abridged Bio (Retired)

In the course of a very long and notable career, Mr. Olsen has worked with ICAO, Vancouver Airport Services, Victoria Airport Authority and QualaTech Aero Consulting Ltd. amongst many other Organistions. As a Senior Consultant with QualaTech, David assisted with numerous projects including Safety Assurance, Quality Assurance and assorted training in aviation Safety and Human Factors.

In 2004 under QualaTech, Mr. Olsen worked on the design and production of the Safety Management System (SMS) Manual (Plan) for the Victoria Airport Authority (VAA). Additionally, in 2006, Mr. Olsen was assigned to work on the SMS for Kelowna and Gander International Airports including: Gap Analysis, Hazard Analysis, Training and the Safety Management Manual. Also in 2006, he further carried out the pre-certification and Safety Assessment of five International Aerodromes in the Dominican Republic. Later Mr. Olsen completed a range of work for Vancouver Airport Services including preparation of complete ICAO compliant Aerodrome and Safety Management Manuals. He was also a regular contributor to “Wings“ Magazine.

Between 1988 and 2001 Mr. Olsen's activities were concentrated in Europe, Central America, North America, Africa and Asia. He advised on the commercialization of airports and air traffic services, and was Consultant to the Performance Review Commission (PRC) of the European Agency for the Safety of Air Navigation (Eurocontrol) in Brussels. With Integra Consult of Denmark, he developed regulatory requirements and Safety Management guidelines for the Civil Aviation and Airport Administrations of Latvia and Poland and other European countries in preparation for their entry into the European Union. He had a major consultancy role in the setting up of the autonomous Civil Aviation and Airport Authorities of the Czech Republic, Kenya and Uganda and has acted as Consultant in the areas of safety, re-organisation and commercialisation in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Korea. He has acted as Consultant to Vancouver Airport for management of airports in Latin America, the Caribbean and Cyprus. He was the supervising editor of the ICAO Millennium publication and has been an author for several other major ICAO publications. Other global experience includes work for several international agencies in airport, ATM and airline orientated consulting, including developing operational, airspace and safety procedures for the Seoul (Inchon) Airport in Korea.

Between 1994 and 1998 he was Audit Team Leader for the European Commission, Auditing and monitoring a major ATM project in Central America. He also headed the Expert Witness Team for a group of multinational companies at the London Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 Enquiry.

David Olsen is experienced as an international aviation Consultant and a leading international writer for prestigious aviation publications. He has undertaken in-depth reviews of airline, airport and ATM operations throughout the world. He was a major contributor to the ICAO 50th Anniversary publication and contributed to the ICAO CNS/ATM book for the 1998 Rio de Janeiro international conference. He was the final editing authority for the ICAO Millennium publication in 2000 and wrote major parts of the ICAO publications for the 100th Anniversary of Flight (2003) and ICAO 60th Anniversary (2004). During his earlier service with ICAO he was Chief Editor of the ICAO Air Traffic Services Planning Manual. On behalf of the author (Richard Profit - Group Director Safety Regulation UK Civil Aviation Authority) he edited the book “Systematic Safety Management in the Air Traffic Services”. This book became the authoritative work on the subject, used throughout the world. For almost 7 years he was an airport and air traffic management-consulting editor of the magazine “Airports International”, and has also contributed extensively to other publications such as “Air Traffic Management”, “ICAO Journal”, “Jane's Airport Review”, “Wings”, “Eurocontrol Skyway” and others.

For several years Mr. Olsen was retained by Eurocontrol in Brussels to write, edit and manage the production of a wide range of publications and documents including: Annual Reports and Program Reports, "One Sky for Europe" (the first Eurocontrol corporate brochure) and; Performance Review Commission Reports. As General Manager Marketing for International Aeration (AIL) and as a Divisional Director of Raytheon Europe, David Olsen successfully practiced a wide range of marketing and public relations skills. He was subsequently retained and engaged by major companies and international institutions to advise them on technical marketing and public relations activities. In addition, he is a qualified ISO/Canadian Standards Association Lead Auditor.