Heilbron joined Copa Airlines in 1988. Under his leadership, the Hub of the Americas® was established in Panama, the first and most successful connecting hub in Latin America. He negotiated a successful alliance with Continental Airlines (now United Airlines), took the airline public on the New York Stock Exchange in 2005, and launched the ultra-low-cost carrier Wingo in 2016.

Copa is a leading airline in Latin America and has received several prestigious international awards, including “The World’s Most On-Time Airline in 2018,” according to OAG, and, for the past ten years, “The Most Punctual Airline in Latin America,” according to Cirium (2024).

Heilbron graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, with a bachelor’s degree in economics, and from George Washington University in Washington, D.C., with a Master of Business Administration.