Military Service

U.S. Marine Corps Captain

Experience

10 years served

Future

Seeking a career in defense, aerospace, & aviation

Location

Garden City, NY

About Dennis

Dennis, a native New Yorker, lives in Garden City with his wife, Kerrie, and their son, Sean and daughter, Grace. Dennis grew up in College Point, under the approach path of La Guardia Airport. Airplanes have been his passion ever since.

Dennis Santare currently serves as a Partner in Oliver Wyman's Aerospace and Defense Practice. Prior to Oliver Wyman, he served as a Managing Director of Proudfoot, an operations transformation consultancy, as well as Chief Revenue Officer of APS, a small aviation services company.

Prior to APS, Dennis spent 5 years as Vice President of Business Development for AAR Aircraft Component Services in Garden City NY, Miami, FL and Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Prior to joining AAR, Dennis worked as an Associate in the New York office of Oliver Wyman, a leading management consultancy. He specialized in strategic development, organizational design, procurement, and process optimization in the aviation industry.

Before joining Oliver Wyman, Mr. Santare served for ten years as an officer and fighter aircraft aviator in the United States Marine Corps. During his military career, he developed extensive expertise in the areas of safety, maintenance, training, and operations. He has international experience working alongside aviation forces in the Middle East and Pacific Rim.

A combat veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Dennis’ military career highlights include the following:

• Developed and then supervised the training plan for a fighter aircraft squadron. Initiated innovative techniques to maximize training in spite of limited financial and manpower resources. Instructed, counseled, evaluated, and fostered the development of 36 junior aviators. Squadron was presented with Marine Corps Fighter/Attack Squadron of the Year Award for its subsequent performance in Iraq. Personally awarded Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal for training efforts.
• Coordinated and controlled over 50 close air support aircraft attacks under hostile fire while serving with ground troops engaged in intense fighting during initial invasion of Iraq. Communicated effectively and made strategic, time-critical decisions under extreme pressure to facilitate safe return of 140 Marines from battle.
• Graduated Top Gun (Navy Fighter Weapons School) and Marine Weapons and Tactics Instructor School, the top academic and flight instruction programs for Navy and Marine Aviation. Selected from among top 5% of Marine F/A-18 aviators.
• Executed 100 combat missions as a flight leader requiring detailed coordination with large, diverse military teams separated by geography, nationality, and occupational function. Awarded Air Medal for flying achievement over Iraq in 2005.
• Managed teams of between 8 and 35 Marines responsible for the maintenance of aircraft hydraulic and flight control systems, the care of aircrew life support systems, and technical Quality Assurance.
• Maximized $14M worth of government-funded flight hours by continuously eliminating waste and orchestrating non-traditional training events. Translated strategic plans into a daily flight schedule to support training agenda.

Dennis holds a B.S. in control systems engineering from the United States Naval Academy (graduating with distinction) and an M.B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School (graduating with honors). He is also a graduate of the United States Navy’s Aviation Safety Officer School. He has knowledge of Spanish and Arabic and international experience in Japan, Thailand, Australia, Indonesia, Spain, Mexico, Hungary, and Iraq.

Dennis tries to maintain a work-life balance despite being a new father and business leader. His interests include water sports, golf, snowboarding, personal fitness, and the New York Football Giants.