Carl Hirschmann, Jet Aviation’s former CEO and the eldest son of company founder Carl W. Hirschmann, died on July 31 in Zurich, Switzerland, after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 61. The younger Hirschmann, who was groomed by his father to lead the Zurich-based company, joined Jet Aviation in 1975 and rose to the position of CEO during the mid-1980s. Following a disagreement with his father, in 1984 Carl Jr. left the company, which was eventually taken over by his younger brother, Thomas Hirschmann, after the retirement of his father. Thomas stayed at the helm until 2003, and the Hirschmann family sold Jet Aviation to private equity firm Permira in 2005. At that time, in a surprise turn of events, Carl Jr. maintained his minority shareholder status and returned to the company as vice chairman of Jet Aviation Holding AG. In 2007, he served as interim CEO until current president Peter Edwards joined the company. “He always represented the strong principles and values of Jet Aviation,” said Edwards. Gulfstream parent company General Dynamics acquired Jet Aviation from Permira two years ago.