CAVU International

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CAVU Coach Kelvin Gumbs is checking in from an offshore rig in the Gulf of America, and his message says it all:"Remarka...
06/08/2026

CAVU Coach Kelvin Gumbs is checking in from an offshore rig in the Gulf of America, and his message says it all:

"Remarkable crew, motivated to develop as leaders, life is good.”

Kelvin brings more than 25 years of leadership experience from complex, high-risk environments, including a distinguished career as a retired U.S. Navy Chief Warrant Officer, senior staff leadership across the Pentagon and Pacific theater, and executive leadership in military education and strategic partnerships.

Today, as a Safety, Performance and Leadership Coach with CAVU, Kelvin helps teams build trust, strengthen communication, challenge the way they think, and develop the leadership behaviors that drive performance where it matters most.

Whether offshore, in the classroom, or alongside leaders in the field, Kelvin brings operational credibility, strategic perspective, and a deep commitment to helping people and teams get better.

Proud to have Coach Kelvin Gumbs representing CAVU.

Jim Travers is out on site at the rig, bringing decades of experience leading teams in complex, high-risk environments a...
06/04/2026

Jim Travers is out on site at the rig, bringing decades of experience leading teams in complex, high-risk environments around the globe.

A retired Navy Commander, Jim has more than 30 years of operational and maintenance experience across submarines, warships, maritime vessels, and executive management. He also served as Second in Command of the Navy’s largest base, supporting more than 30,000 people, 1,800 facilities, and 65 major tenant organizations.

Today, Jim brings that same calm, disciplined, mission-focused leadership to the field - helping teams strengthen performance, communication, and safety where it matters most.

CAVU is proud to highlight an upcoming poster session at the IADC World Drilling Conference June 16–17, 2026, at the Est...
05/28/2026

CAVU is proud to highlight an upcoming poster session at the IADC World Drilling Conference June 16–17, 2026, at the Estoril Congress Center in Portugal.

The poster, “Back to the Future: Transformational Steps in Operational Leadership, Human Performance and Crew Resource Management in Banyu Urip Drilling Operations,” highlights ExxonMobil Cepu Limited’s adoption of CRM and human performance principles to strengthen non-technical skills like communication, decision-making, situational awareness, and trust-based safety leadership.

The result: more than 700 days of safe, efficient performance.

For CAVU, this work reflects a core belief that has guided our approach across high-risk industries: human performance is not a soft skill. It is an operational advantage.

The poster will be presented by:

David Ehrmann, CAVU International
Richard Wright, CAVU International
W.C. Morris, ExxonMobil Cepu Ltd.
J.P. Clayton, ExxonMobil Cepu Ltd.
B.T. Cook, ExxonMobil Cepu Ltd.

Read the full blog here: https://www.cavu-intl.com/latest-news/back-to-the-future-advancing-operational-leadership-human-performance-and-crew-resource-management-in-drilling-operations

Strong leadership teams do not happen by accident. They are built with intention, clarity, accountability, and the coura...
05/27/2026

Strong leadership teams do not happen by accident. They are built with intention, clarity, accountability, and the courage to make difficult decisions when needed.

That is why we are excited to announce a brand new module inside the Executive Presence course: EP-6: Building the Leadership Team

Inside EP-6, participants will explore:

⭐Recruiting and Hiring the Leadership Team
How to identify the leadership roles your organization needs and select leaders who align with your mission, vision, values, and long-term strategy

⭐Executive Interviewing
How to evaluate executive-level candidates with greater consistency, clarity, and intention

⭐Corporate Policy, Governance, Compliance
How leaders set expectations, reinforce standards, and ensure the leadership team operates within organizational requirements

⭐Remediation vs. Removal
How to determine when a leader needs coaching and development, and when a leadership change may be necessary

At the executive level, presence is not just about communication. It is about judgment, standards, accountability, and the team you build around you.

EP-6 is now live in the Executive Presence course! Access it here:
https://courses.cavuleadershippro.com/p/executive-presence

CAVU Coach Ira Marcum delivering a Team Resource Management presentation, helping teams strengthen the communication, de...
05/15/2026

CAVU Coach Ira Marcum delivering a Team Resource Management presentation, helping teams strengthen the communication, decision-making, and leadership behaviors that matter most in high-risk environments.

Ira brings more than two decades of leadership and human resources experience, including 20 years of service in the United States Marine Corps. His background in military leadership, operational risk management, employee development, and training gives him a practical perspective on what it takes to build stronger, safer, more aligned teams.

Great work, Ira, and thank you to our offshore client for the opportunity to support your teams.

05/07/2026

New segment: difficult conversations

Difficult conversations define your impact as a leader. In this new segment, we share how to approach feedback, conflict, and accountability with clarity, courage, empathy, and respect.

Watch now inside Executive Presence by Leadership PRO

Last week, CAVU CEO Dave Burnham presented at the 2026 Energy Safety Conference & Tradeshow in Banff on Transformational...
05/06/2026

Last week, CAVU CEO Dave Burnham presented at the 2026 Energy Safety Conference & Tradeshow in Banff on Transformational Leadership for High-Reliability Teams: Lessons from Military and Industrial Operations.

His session focused on a challenge every high-risk industry knows well: how do organizations consistently achieve operational excellence, prevent incidents, and maintain team cohesion under pressure?

The answer starts with leadership.

High-reliability teams are built through clarity, trust, disciplined planning, effective communication, and a commitment to learning. When leaders set expectations, create space for people to speak up, and respond to failure with curiosity instead of blame, they help build teams that are prepared to perform when it matters most.

Read the full blog post: https://www.cavu-intl.com/latest-news/dave-burnham-presents-at-the-2026-energy-safety-conference-tradeshow-in-banff

Last week at WindEurope 2026, CAVU Safety, Performance & Leadership Coach Julie House joined the “Health and Safety Reim...
05/05/2026

Last week at WindEurope 2026, CAVU Safety, Performance & Leadership Coach Julie House joined the “Health and Safety Reimagined” panel for an interactive discussion on what it really takes to strengthen safety performance in wind.

The session used a staged incident scenario to explore the factors that often sit beneath serious events: competency, worn equipment, decision-making under pressure, simultaneous operations, leadership expectations, fatigue, and whether team members feel safe enough to speak up.

Julie’s portion of the panel focused on reimagining safety leadership through trust, psychological safety, and Crew Resource Management. Because in high-risk work, safety is not just about procedures and compliance. It is about the culture leaders create before the pressure moment.

One of the biggest takeaways: audits should not only be inspections. When designed as trust-based learning opportunities, they can help leaders uncover weak signals, normalized workarounds, and system pressures before they contribute to an incident.

Read the full blog post: www.cavu-intl.com/latest-news/reimagining-health-and-safety-leadership-in-wind-key-takeaways-from-windeurope-2026

CAVU’s David Ehrmann recently delivered a Well Operations Crew Resource Management (WOCRM) workshop in the Kingdom of Sa...
04/27/2026

CAVU’s David Ehrmann recently delivered a Well Operations Crew Resource Management (WOCRM) workshop in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, helping leaders and teams strengthen the human performance skills that matter most in high-risk well operations.

WOCRM is built around practical, repeatable behaviors that improve communication, decision-making, situational awareness, teamwork, and leadership under pressure.

These are the skills that help teams operate with greater clarity, confidence, and consistency when the stakes are high.
Thank you to our partners and participants in Saudi Arabia for the engagement, discussion, and commitment to building safer, more reliable operations.

04/21/2026

New segment now live in the Executive Presence by Leadership PRO course: EP-4.4 Leadership KPIs – Knowledge, Performance, and Inspection.

In this segment, leaders are challenged to think beyond surface-level metrics and focus on the performance drivers that really matter: giving people the right technical knowledge for their role, building reliable ex*****on through a disciplined operating rhythm, and creating a culture where inspections are welcomed as part of learning and improvement.

Using lessons drawn from high-stakes operations aboard a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, this segment connects military-grade reliability to modern executive leadership. The message is clear: strong leaders don’t just expect performance — they build the conditions that make reliable performance possible.

Because when teams are equipped with the right knowledge, trained to execute with discipline, and encouraged to identify and correct errors early, they don’t just operate — they excel.

ContinuousImprovement ExecutiveLeadership

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