NBAA to Honor James Lara, Standard-Bearer for Professionalism, With Doswell Award

The National Business Aviation (NBAA) has announced that James Lara, founder and principal of Gray Stone Advisors and a steadfast champion for industry professionalism and safety, will receive the association’s prestigious John P. “Jack” Doswell Award at the 2024 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE) taking place Oct. 22-24 in Las Vegas, NV.

First bestowed in 1987, the award honors high standards for lifelong individual achievement on behalf and in support of the aims, goals and objectives of business aviation.

“Jim Lara is a distinguished leader who sets his own high bar for professionalism and safety, and helps others to do the same,” said NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen. “We are honored to bestow the Doswell Award to him this year.”

After holding leadership roles with Levi Strauss & Co., Brunswick Boat Group and others, Lara formed Gray Stone Advisors in 1996 to provide value-added support to help organizations manage complex challenges within the business aviation industry. His consultancy bridged the gap between a company’s aviation operations and larger organizational objectives, established process excellence and created solutions for impacting both safety and efficiency.

In 2004, Lara was recruited to serve as president and COO for MedAire, growing the company’s global presence and leadership in providing medical and health services to remote travelers worldwide. He left MedAire in 2007 to focus on Gray Stone Advisors.

Business aviation has played a significant role in Gray Stone’s success, with Lara operating Gray Stone’s Beechcraft Baron throughout the country, so that team members can provide in-person client support. NBAA detailed the ways business aviation has benefitted his company in a feature story in the association’s Business Aviation Insider magazine.

Last year, Lara was among nine recipients selected to receive the peer-nominated NBAA Tony Kern Professionalism in Aviation Award recognizing leadership in the areas of professional ethics, engagement, image and selflessness, as well as vocational excellence and continuous improvement. He has held several leadership positions on the NBAA Safety Committee. In 2022, Lara received the FAA’s Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award.

Lara graduated from San Francisco State University and has performed post-graduate studies at Stanford University, Southern Methodist University, Northwestern University’s Kellogg School, Thunderbird University and the University of Virginia.

Learn more about the Doswell Award.

NBAA-BACE, taking place Oct. 22-24 at the Las Vegas Convention Center and Henderson Executive Airport (HND), is the world’s most powerful business aviation event of the year. Learn more about NBAA-BACE.