Casey Pullman, the new general manager for Castle and Cooke Aviation at Van Nuys Airport, has strong local roots in the industry, going back to his nine years of service in the U.S. Navy, which included a stint at Naval Base Ventura County-Point Mugu working with the C130 squadron.

“I loved aviation when I was a kid,” said Pullman, who is originally from Northern Utah. “I didn’t know my career was going to be in aviation. Being around aircraft and going on deployments really stirred me up with aviation again.”

While at Point Mugu, Pullman continued his studies at the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University campus on the base, helping drive his interest in continuing into civil aviation.

After concluding his service, Pullman worked for the Ventura County Department of Aviation, which oversees the Camarillo and Oxnard airports, and served as the first full-time manager of the Carson City (NV) Airport before spending the past seven years as general manager for Atlantic Aviation at Hollywood Burbank Airport.

At Van Nuys, Pullman is responsible for directing and supervising all of the FBO activities for Castle and Cooke, which serves 60 tenants at the airport and has 12 hangars.

“Safety is paramount,” he said. “That is probably my main objective, to run a safe and efficient operation. The vision of Castle and Cooke Aviation – the true vision of the company – is to absolutely provide the best customer service experience possible.”

Pullman said he is very happy to have landed at Van Nuys.

“Who wouldn’t want to work here,” he said. “I had always eventually wanted to move over here if I had the opportunity. I always loved the environment [and] the tradition of the airport. So far it has exceeded my expectations.”