Vice President of Business Development, FirstKem
Rachel Niederer will serve as the 2026 Supplier Chair and a member of the Board of Directors for the Air Carriers Purchasing Conference (ACPC). In this role, she will lead the Supplier Committee and help shape the Orlando conference with an emphasis on strengthening connections between airlines and suppliers.
Aviation has been in Rachel’s blood from the very beginning. Her father, Larry Gats, was a lifelong entrepreneur who introduced her to the industry at an early age. By the time she was eight, Rachel was working in his warehouse, core-marking electrical tape, and learning the value of hard work and relationships. She went on to spend many years in the family business, with her father teaching a hands-on understanding of distribution, customer service, procurement, and the critical role of suppliers in aviation, the foundation that still guides her today. That early experience sparked a lifelong love and career in aviation and gave her a deep appreciation for the people and hard work behind the scenes that keep air travel moving.
Rachel is now the Vice President of Business Development for FirstKem, a global distributor of aerospace consumables, where she leads sales strategy, customer relationships, and industry growth. She is also the CEO of SourceCo, a diverse company specializing in aerospace rotables, where she continues to expand her impact across the aviation supply chain.
Her involvement with ACPC spans several years, beginning as a volunteer in 2015. She is passionate about the role ACPC plays in strengthening partnerships across the industry and is honored to contribute as Supplier Chair in 2026.
Rachel lives in North Georgia with her two children, Morgan, a freshman at the University of Georgia, and Wallace, a high school sophomore, her boyfriend Jeff, along with her dogs Bartleby and Daisy Mae. Life at home is shared with her boyfriend, Jeff, and two dogs, Bartleby and Daisy Mae, who are well known for running the household. Outside of aviation, Rachel is an avid traveler, fitness enthusiast, and enjoys discovering live music such as Mike Ballou’s Steele Peach Band.