Entrepreneur Janine K. Iannarelli ’83: Making a Market in the World of Business and Private Jet Brokerage

Janine K. Iannarelli ’83, founder and president of Par Avion Ltd., has never been one to shy away from a challenge and has always looked for adventure. Leadership and rising to the occasion has been evident throughout her life, particularly high school, where she pursued a wide variety of activities.

“I am a second-generation American,” she says. “My Italian-American parents insisted on a well-rounded education. For me, that meant classical training in clarinet as well as being a drum majorette at my high school. I participated in softball the year the sport was inaugurated in my home town and played the position of pitcher. I mostly remember having a lot of fun.” 

When she decided to continue her education at Montclair, she brought the same high energy to campus life. In addition to joining the Marketing Club and Sigma Delta Phi sorority, Iannarelli was president and co-captain of the University’s Equestrian Team. “There was so much camaraderie,” Iannarelli reminisces. “I have fond memories of trips to the barn, the horse shows, and meeting people from other schools. I am still in touch with a few of those who I rode with at that time.”

Eager to put her major in Business Administration – Marketing to use while still in school, Iannarelli had been eyeing the world of advertising and a position with one of the big firms based in Manhattan, when a temp job introduced her to the world of aviation. “My reality was that I needed to work,” she recalls. “Through Montclair’s Career Services, I found a part-time position with an aviation company that specialized in market research for the business aviation sector of the industry. The founder of this business was herself a woman entrepreneur who developed a new information product for the aviation marketplace and she needed support to take it to the next level.”

Iannarelli rose to the challenge of helping develop, refine and market the new product – a collection of data about aircraft available for sale along with recent sales. In addition to getting great experience, she was able to use the new opportunity and its abundance of learning to earn credit for one of her marketing class requirements. 

“At that time, the only data source for this information was the FAA registry that included each plane’s manufacturer, model, and serial number with an address that was often just a P.O. Box or registered agent’s address – that was it,” she explains. “Whoever got to an available airplane first had the opportunity to buy and resell it. We created an owner’s list, putting valuable contact information into the industry’s domain. It leveled the playing field. And we did it the old-school way, utilizing public information resources, where often the library was the only resource. The information was typed out and mimeographed as there was no such thing as spreadsheet software!” 

When considering whether to stay with this start-up after graduation or to return to her original goal to work in advertising, Iannarelli took the unusual step of reaching out to some of the people in advertising who had interviewed her for positions. “One of the ad executives pointed out the benefits of working for a very small company early in my career,” she says. “I would get rapid-fire exposure to a lot of things. I would learn firsthand business management and best practices and be directly accountable in part for the growth and success of the company. An opportunity that is rare and unheard of in corporate at the time. He was right. In addition to research, I helped train new employees, developed promotional and advertising concepts for the company and was directly responsible for the sale of the research services.”

Within a year, however, changes at the start-up – and a thirst for adventure – led Iannarelli to negotiate a position with AeroSmith/Penny, Inc., a Houston-based international business aircraft dealer. She was with the company for 13 years, rising to the role of vice president of sales and marketing. In 1997, Iannarelli formed Par Avion Ltd.

“I had reached the limit of learning and earning potential there,” she says. “It was time to strike out on my own.” 

By this time, Iannarelli had already traveled extensively, building cultural bridges around the world. She had studied French at L’Alliance Française and earned continuing education from Rice University. She built Par Avion Ltd. from the ground up, chasing the hardest deals first as they were ones that were made available to her – those that involved at times complex international considerations. One notable transaction required ferrying a Falcon 10 and 100 from the tip of South Africa to Texas in 1997, making her the first woman aircraft broker to undertake such an endeavor.

In addition to building her company, Iannarelli has contributed generously to her profession and to her community. Currently, she is a member of the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) and serves this organization as a mentor to young aviation professionals as well as a resource who is “available to comment” to local, national and international media. She is active with the European Business Aviation Association (EBAA), providing expert input on international sales transactions as chair of its Associate Members Advisory Council (AMAC) Sales and Acquisition committee. In 2019, she was elected vice chair of the AMAC and in 2023 was elected chair and seated on the EBAA Board of Governors as the representative of over 500 associate members. Iannarelli also participates in Women in Aviation, International (WAI) and the American Marketing Association.  

Iannarelli, a senior fellow of the American Leadership Forum, further contributes her time as a Texas Children’s Hospital ambassador, a Houston PetSet advisory board member, a sponsor and advisory board member of the Pin Oak Charity Horse Show, a sponsor of the Houston Mounted Patrol, and a souvenir program committee member for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Texas Governor Greg Abbott reappointed her to the Texas Aerospace and Aviation Advisory Committee in 2016, where she served as presiding officer until the spring of 2020.

Iannarelli’s hard work, generosity and accomplishments have been recognized in the community. She was named a Great Woman of Texas by the Fort Worth Business Press in 2011; one of the final four in the Texas Women’s Chamber of Commerce Texas Business Woman of the Year competition in 2016 and 2017; one of three inducted into the Aviation Hall of Fame of New Jersey in 2016; named among the 99 finalists for inclusion to the National Aviation Hall of Fame of Dayton, Ohio from 2016 to the present; honored by Texas Executive Women as a Woman on the Move in 2016; and named a 2017 Enterprising Women of the Year Champion by Enterprising Women magazine. Iannarelli was honored as one of the Women Who Mean Business, Outstanding Leader in Professional Services by the Houston Business Journal and as one of four Houston area women honored by GIRLSTART for leadership in STEM related fields. Houston Woman Magazine named her as one of Houston’s 50 Most Influential Women of 2017. In 2019, Corporate Jet Investor declared Iannarelli as one of America’s Top Dealmakers. This past September, the Greater Houston Women’s Chamber of Commerce named her a 2024 Role Model in Aviation.

In 2023, Iannarelli joined the board of directors of Vermont-based Heritage Aviation. She is seeking additional board placements that align with her skill set.

As she considers all that she has accomplished to date, Iannarelli is grateful for the value she has gotten from her Montclair education. “Family finances were definitely part of my decision to study at Montclair,” she says. “I got a great return on our investment. The professors, especially the adjuncts, were such a wonderful resource. It was like having your own brain trust – local experts who were on a big stage and who were eager to share their real-world knowledge and experience.”

“Also, I was a commuter student, which meant getting to campus on time in all kinds of weather,” Iannarelli adds, recalling the hilly trek to campus during winter months. “Learning to push through those kinds of challenges helps you develop the tenacity to master difficulties and disappointments. It is one of the qualities that employers look for when they are making hiring decisions.”

Iannarelli’s Houston location makes it difficult to get to campus often, although she was able to lend her knowledge and experience to a panel, “How to Grow Your Business,” during the University’s 2015 Women Entrepreneurship Week conference. “It was a unique experience to present in a classroom environment as well as the panel discussion,” she says. “There were about 70 students in the audience. My advice to them was to always do more than what is expected of you. That’s how you stand out. Demonstrate that you can use good judgment and rise to the occasion, and you will be noticed.”