Joel Best

Joel Best is the Director for Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia, Africa and the America’s for Global Military Sales and Strategy (GMSS) at Bell. Joel leads Team “EUMECAAA” and has overarching responsibility for developing Bell’s strategic opportunities across the globe. Current programs of record include the UH-1Y “Venom, AH-1Z “Viper” and the V-22 “Osprey.” Additional efforts include familiarization of Advance Future Vertical Lift concepts such as the V-280 “Valor” and 360 “Invictus”. Joel joined Bell in January 2013 as a Regional Manager and later was named Senior Manager for the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia. Forward deployed, he covered the region from the United Arab Emirate of Abu Dhabi and was a key enabler of achieving Bell’s first H-1 sales in the Republic of Pakistan and Bahrain. In August 2015 Joel transitioned to Prague, Czech Republic and opened European markets to Bell Military Programs. Joel repatriated to the US in May of 2018 and continues to lead “Team EUMECAA” with extensive travel from Bell Headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas. Prior to joining Bell, Joel served in the U.S. Army and Colorado Army National Guard. During his 33 year career he held all positions of command from Attack Helicopter Platoon Leader, to Regimental Commander and formalized the mission of the High Altitude ARNG Aviation Training Site (HAATS). HAATS is the U.S. Army’s premier environmental flight and power management training center. Joel’s career culminated as the Land Component Commander of the Colorado Army National Guard with a final promotion to Brigadier General. Retiring from active service in November of 2012, Joel is a Master Army Aviator with nearly 6,000 hours of flight experience, with more than 4,000 hours as an Instructor Pilot having flown the TH-55, OH-6, OH-58, UH-1, UH-60, C-12 and C-26 aircraft. He holds a Masters in Strategic Studies from the United States Army War College and Bachelors in Business Administration from Regis University.