Ira Gershkoff is President and CEO of SlipStream Aviation Software, Inc. He has more than 25 years focused on strategic and operational information systems in the airline industry. His proven track record analyzing complex business processes, together with experience as a line manager has given special insight into the people, process, and systems issues that must be in place to have a successful corporate transformation. At SlipStream Aviation Software, he has applied these skills to architecting the ScheduFlex™ process for airlines and the RouteFlex™ process for air taxi and air charter companies, both of which offer the capability of tailoring capacity to demand on a day-to-day and market-to-market basis. He is an expert on airline operating procedures, flight dependability, operations control and recovery, flight crew scheduling, and general cost containment. Through his association with airlines as an executive and consultant, he has redesigned flight operations and crew scheduling procedures to streamline operations and reduce costs. He has architected fuel management and conservation initiatives within several airlines, by aligning the airline’s policies with the aircraft performance characteristics and then designing management procedures to monitor compliance in the field. As Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Polar Air Cargo, a $350 million international air freight company, he led the successful transition of the company to a new Enterprise Resource Planning system (JD Edwards). At Sabre Inc. in the 1990s, Ira was Vice President in the Product Development, Research, and Consulting areas. He managed the development of the company's flight operations applications, as well as directed a number of high-level consulting projects for airlines around the world, focusing on operational issues that could quickly add bottom-line value. At American Airlines and United Airlines, he worked in both the business and systems areas of airline management, working on business process optimization from both those perspectives. In addition to his executive responsibilities, Ira has written more than 20 technical papers and trade magazine articles over the years. A recent paper, "Cutover—Out with the Old, In with the New," explored challenges involved in replacing one set of systems or procedures with another. Other articles and papers have explored various aspects of transportation and airline operations management. Ira’s areas of in-depth expertise include transportation management, logistics, operations research, statistical analysis, and optimization techniques. His professional affiliations include the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS). He is a frequent speaker at both information technology and transportation industry conferences.