Cobec On Air

Kim Coplen's career in the FAA began by chance, and became a robust career of successful, respected leadership. She started out in Oklahoma City at the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center working in various positions, then came to DC and has been a key mentor to many at the FAA. Kim and Hisham discuss their philosophies as leaders who put their people first, and how to prioritize finding the rig...

Today on the Podcast Hisham sits down with Trevor Bron. Trevor is a leadership coach and author of The Leadership Lie: & The Six Secrets of Great Leader s. They discuss how Trevor got into his career as a coach, whether leaders are born or made, and of course some of the foundational leadership lies Trevor covers in his book.    Buy The Leadership Lie: & The Six Secrets of Great Leaders :...

Angela McCullough's experience spans the United States government. She got her start in the Air Force and retired as a Senior Executive at the Federal Aviation Administration. As Angela rose through the ranks, she compiled her lessons learned and sought out more from her colleagues. She and Hisham discuss all this, and how she synthesized her stories, and those of others, in her most recent bo...

In this episode Hisham sits down with Talethia Thomas, former FAA Vice President and Current CEO of E2T2 Resources. They talk about Talethia’s trajectory from Intern to Executive and how careful observation, allyship, and courage makes for great leadership.   Shoutout to Talethia for this great interview and reminding us all to bloom where we are planted.

Today on the podcast Hisham sits down with Nick Fuller. Nick serves as Acting Deputy Chief Operating Officer for the Federal Aviation Administration’s Air Traffic Organization. Nick has been in Air Traffic and safety for his entire career- beginning as an air traffic controller in the United States Navy and working all the way up to the Senior Executive Service.   Nick's journey is marked by deter...

Today on the podcast, Hisham sits down with retired Brigadier General Shawn Campbell of the United States Air Force. Over the course of his career, General Campbell rose from enlisted airman to senior officer and most recently played a key role in standing up the U.S. Space Force as one of its early human capital leaders. Today, General Campbell brings his deep experience in leadership, organizati...

On this episode, Hisham sat down with one of our most esteemed guests yet. Michael Huerta, former FAA Administrator, stopped by the studio to discuss his incredible career. His tenure at the FAA was the safest period in U.S. aviation history.   Michael is the 2026 recipient of the Glen A. Gilbert Memorial Award, the highest honor given by the Air Traffic Control Association. In celebration of his...

In this episode, Hisham sits down with Chris Wilbanks, Vice President of Mission Support Services for the FAA’s Air Traffic Organization, for a thoughtful conversation on discipline, humility, and the personal standards that support mission success. Chris reflects on the role of self-awareness, physical readiness, and strong relationships in sustaining effective leadership. This episode offers a g...

In this episode, Hisham is joined by Dave Spero, President of the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists (PASS) union, for a candid conversation about labor leadership, trust, and advocacy. Dave shares his journey, what it means to represent the aviation safety workforce, and how strong, principled labor leadership protects both workers and the public they serve. This episode offers a clear, gro...

Cobec’s first-ever podcast is taking off! Listen in to Cobec On Air, the podcast where our CEO and Co-founder Hisham Jalil interviews people focused leaders from government, industry, labor and more. Hisham helped build a people-first company that employees love, and now he is sitting down with leaders who share that same people-centered philosophy.  In Episode 1, former FAA Deputy Assistant Admin...