Mooney informed employees by email that CEO Vivek Saxena and the company “have decided to part ways,” ending a tenure that lasted less than a year but saw significant positive developments at the Kerrville, Texas, light plane manufacturer with the recent certifications of the M20 Acclaim and Ovation Ultra models.
Mooney’s new owner, the Chinese conglomerate Meijing Group, is spending millions of dollars to revamp the company with modern manufacturing equipment after a lengthy production hiatus. At Sun ‘n Fun earlier this month Saxena told reporters that Mooney planned to shelve the proposed M10 light trainer and apply what it learned from that program to the next generation of Mooney products targeted to go after the market share dominated by Cirrus with the SR22.
With Saxena suddenly out, the true fate of the M10 and Mooney’s plans for the immediate future are unknown. Meijing has recently worked to modernize the production line in Kerrville and create a research facility in Chino, California.
The email said Albert Li will serve as executive director until a new CEO is named.
