Guilford, Connecticut-headquartered aircraft brokerage, appraisals and consulting company Guardian Jet has named Rafael Mugnaini as vice president, South America.

“I accepted the opportunity to join Guardian Jet with great enthusiasm,” says Mugnaini. “Guardian Jet possesses a unique and high-quality solution that I believe isn't found in any other firm in our industry. Our unified team and strong intelligence platform truly make us a strong competitor in a global market. My biggest mission in this new chapter is to continue to offer the best information on the market in an ethical, transparent manner. I want to keep our clients well-informed on all their important aviation decisions, while creating professional, long-lasting relationships in the process.”

Mugnaini brings with him a rich history in the aviation industry. For more than 20 years he has developed new markets for companies and sales teams in client-facing positions, which makes him the perfect candidate to foster Guardian Jet's relationships in the South American territory.

In this new role he will be responsible for establishing and maintaining relationships with the company's aircraft brokerage and consulting prospects and clients. He will also manage vendor relationships to expand upon industry partners.

“I'm incredibly excited about Rafael joining the Guardian Jet team," says managing partner Don Dwyer. "For those of you who know me, you know that my time in Latin America was an immensely important part of my career, specifically Brazil. I have some great friends in Brazil, and it has always had a special place in my heart because, for me, it's where my career took off. I think Rafael shares Guardian Jet's desire to be a customer centric organisation; he has all the tools to be successful. We're looking forward to a great partnership going forward.”

Previously, from 2019, Mugnaini served as commercial director at Comexport, the first and largest Brazilian trading company. It was there that he created a marketing intelligence department to develop new opportunities for the company.

Before that he was sales director at TAM Aviação Executiva where he led a sales team and worked closely with Textron Aviation, Bell Helicopters and FlightSafety, and sales lead at Embraer Executive Jets in the Latin American region.

Mugnaini earned a bachelor's degree in production engineering from the University Center of FEI in São Paulo, Brazil, as well as a post-graduate certificate in marketing from Fundação Armando Alvares Penteado and an MBA from Insper Instituto de Ensino e Pesquisa.