As Head of Legal, Compliance, and Contracts for VAS Aero Services, Clifton Strickler oversees all legal, compliance, and contracts matters for the company’s local and global operations. He plays a critical role in steering many aspects of the company’s operations and strategy development and ensuring compliance with evolving regulations across diverse markets. He also serves as corporate secretary for board meetings and manages corporate governance and shareholder matters as part of the senior leadership team.

Clifton brings a wealth of corporate counsel experience to VAS. He began his career as a finance and corporate attorney at the global law firm Latham & Watkins LLP, where he represented lenders and sponsors in project finance and M&A transactions. Thereafter, Clifton moved in house and worked in legal roles at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. and Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation in Tokyo and Nagoya, Japan, and Spirit AeroSystems, Inc. in Wichita, Kansas, during which time he managed legal teams and cross-border sales, procurement, engineering, and infrastructure project development transactions. In his most recent role prior to joining VAS, Clifton was Senior Legal Counsel in the Legal and Compliance department of Airbus Americas, Inc., supporting Airbus’ services and aftermarket business in the US region actualized by Satair USA, Inc. and Airbus Americas Customer Services, Inc.

A licensed attorney in California and Texas, Clifton holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School and is registered as Authorized House Counsel in Florida.

Christiane Reis is the Assistant Director of International Law Programs at the University of Miami School of Law, where she oversees all aspects of those Master’s and Doctoral programs, including, but not limited to, recruiting, admissions, curriculum, practicum/externship placements, lecture events, Bar qualifications, post-graduate job opportunities and course advising. She is a Brazilian attorney and holds a Juris Doctor and an LL.M. in International Arbitration from the University of Miami School of Law (2020), as well as a Bachelor of Laws from Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo (PUC-SP), Brazil (2006). She has published articles on arbitration correlated to other areas of law, and she is fluent in Portuguese, English, and Spanish. Christiane is passionate about promoting global legal education and fostering cross-cultural dialogue.