Kenn Ricci

Kenneth C. "Kenn" Ricci is an American aviation entrepreneur, the principal of Directional Aviation Capital, which owns or invests in various aviation enterprises including Flight Options and Flexjet, which he also serves as chairman. Ricci also is an operating partner at Resilience Capital Partners,[1] a private equity firm with a wide variety of portfolio companies, including an investment in Flight Options,[2] and has helped found or lead other companies, including Nextant Aerospace and Constant Aviation.

Corporate Wings

In 1981, Ricci began his entrepreneurial career by founding Corporate Wings, an aircraft management and charter operation company providing charter flight service. The company grew rapidly, with annual revenues increasing from $300,000 to approximately $3.4 million between 1981 and 1985.[3] The firm was named to the Inc. 500 list of America's fastest-growing companies.[4]

Over time, Ricci expanded Corporate Wings into a diversified service-oriented transportation firm that provided other aviation support services; including aircraft maintenance, fueling and storage, and other aspects of aircraft operations.[5]

In 2005, Corporate Wings acquired a stake in Mercury Air Centers, a company operating aircraft support facilities at airports around the U.S.[6] As chief executive officer, Ricci realigned its operating divisions, deployed $245 million of invested capital and eventually sold the company to the Macquarie Infrastructure Trust in 2007. The deal was valued at $615 million.[7]

Flight Options

Ricci founded Flight Options in 1998 in an effort to develop a nationwide fractional jet services ownership program. Flight Options enjoyed significant early success, with its annual revenues growing from $35 million to $300 million in 17 months of operations.[5] In December 2001, the company combined operations with Raytheon Travel Air, a subsidiary of Raytheon Company, doubling the company's size.

Ricci left the company in 2003,[8] but then re-purchased a stake in Flight Options[9] in April 2008 and rejoined the company as chairman that summer.[10] In March 2009, Directional Aviation Capital, an investment firm led by Ricci, and private equity firm Resilience Capital Partners, acquired an interest in Flight Options.[11]

Like other companies in the private jet market, Flight Options saw its business diminish during the recession of 2008. However, the firm has subsequently recovered.[12]

Flexjet

In September 2013, Ricci announced that Directional Aviation would acquire Flexjet, a provider of fractional, jet card and charter services, from Bombardier Aerospace,[13] for $185 million.[14]

Ricci also announced substantial investments in Flexjet's fleet during 2013, placing orders with Bombardier that, with options, could total $5.6 billion in new aircraft.[15][16] In 2014, Flexjet further expanded its fleet, moving beyond its former exclusive commitment to Bombardier-manufactured planes to add the Embraer Phenom 300 and Legacy 450. It also placed orders for up to 50 long-range aircraft from Gulfstream.[17] In total, Flexjet has confirmed orders for 207 new planes with options that could total up to 445 aircraft.

Also during 2014, Flexjet prepared to exit the charter market. As part of the first consolidation of its aviation companies, Directional Aviation combined the charter brokerage operations of its Flexjet, Flight Options and Sentient Jet companies under the Skyjet brand name, which it had acquired from Bombardier as part of the Flexjet transaction. Skyjet would concentrate solely on charter services, with other divisions continuing to offer fractional and membership programs.[18]

In November 2015, Flexjet announced that it had placed an order valued at $2.4 billion for 20 Aerion AS2 supersonic jets, with delivery to begin in 2023.[19] In June 2017, Flexjet announced based on strong sales it was hiring pilots for the first time since 2015.[20] In 2017, Flexjet received the first of its Gulfstream G650 business jets, which can travel 15 hours non-stop, giving it intercontinental range.[21]

Sentient Jet, Skyjet and PrivateFly

In June 2012 Directional acquired Sentient Jet.[22][23] In October 2017, Sentient introduced its first jet card with guaranteed WiFi.[24] In April 2018, Sentient Jet relaunched its website and at the same time projected $300 million in jet card sales for 2018. It said Q1 was its best quarter in more than 10 years in both sales and hours flown.[25] In September 2018, Directional Aviation announced it had acquired charter broker PrivateFly and would house it within OneSky LLC, which includes Flexjet, SentientJet, and Skyjet. The company said the acquisition furthers its global reach and technology-driven approach to selling private jet charter flights.[26] In July 2020, Ricci announced FXAIR as a new upmarket private jet charter brand. The broker will utilize 17 Bombardier aircraft coming off fractional contracts. They will be operated by Flexjet and flown by Flexjet pilots. [27]

Nextant Aerospace

Ricci also has founded or been involved with the management of several other companies, including Nextant Aerospace, which he serves as chief executive officer.[28][29]

Personal Background

Ricci is alumnus of the University of Notre Dame and the Cleveland–Marshall College of Law. He is a certified pilot for Gulfstream, Falcon and Citation jets.[30] He was the personal pilot of Bill Clinton during his first campaign for US president.[31]

Ricci is a member of the Board of Trustees for the University of Notre Dame, and also is a member of the boards of University Hospitals, the Smithsonian, several corporate boards and is the aviation advisor to the Guggenheim Aero Opportunity Fund.[32] He is also a member of the Young Presidents' Organization.[1][33][34][35]

In 2017, Ricci donated $100 million to Notre Dame, the largest unrestricted gift in the University's history, using a Philanthropic Succession Partnership, a giving mechanism he pioneered. Ricci also has made other donations to Notre Dame, including a $5 million gift in 2016 to create an outdoor home for the Band of the Fighting Irish.[36][37] In addition, Ricci has contributed funds to fight cystic fibrosis, including $2 million to establish the Austin Ricci Chair in Pediatric Pulmonary Care and Research at UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital in Cleveland.[38]

Accolades

Ricci has received a number of awards, including an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award[39] and four NEO Success Awards for business growth.[40] He also has been named one of the most influential people in aviation by Aviation International News.[40] In 2010, Ricci received the Harvard Business School's Dively Entrepreneurship Award.[7] In 2012, he was the recipient of the William A. Ong Memorial Award from the National Air Transportation Association.[41] In 2015, Corporate Jet Investor ranked Ricci as no. 1 on its Power List 2015 [42] and Nextant was selected as Aviation Week's 2015 winner of the Laureate for Business Aviation for introducing new technology to business aviation.[43]

In 2017, Ricci was named a recipient of the Living Legends of Aviation Lifetime Aviation Entrepreneur Award.[44] In 2018, the Living Legends of Aviation renamed its award honoring aviation entrepreneurs after Ricci. The award has been named the Kenn Ricci Lifetime Aviation Entrepreneur Award.[45][46] In 2019, Ricci was formally inducted into the Living Legends of Aviation.[47] Ricci was named to Town & Country magazine's Top 50 Philanthropists list for 2018,[48] and was also inducted into the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law Hall of Fame.[49]

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References
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  3. "To Have and to Hold, Cost Controls Article". Inc.com. 1 October 1988. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
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  6. "Terms of Service Violation". investing.businessweek.com. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
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  9. "Crain's Cleveland Business". crainscleveland.com. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  10. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-12-08. Retrieved 2012-02-09.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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  12. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-03-21. Retrieved 2012-02-09.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. Flexjet and Qatar Airways Launch Marketing Alliance Flexjet News Release, May 14, 2012
  14. Bombardier Bails out of its Flexjet Business by Jon Ostrower and Karen Johnson, The Wall Street Journal, September 5, 2013.
  15. Got Lear Jets? Flexjet Buys Dozens More. by Stephen Pope, Flying, October 22, 2013
  16. Flexjet Changes Ownership, Places Record Breaking Order by Pia Berggvist, Flying, September 6, 2013.
  17. Gulfstream Confirms New Business Jets: G500 and G600 Unveiled After Years of Secrecy Over Project by Jon Ostrower, The Wall Street Journal, October 14, 2014.
  18. Directional Revives Skyjet Charter Brokerage by Kerry Lynch, Aviation Week, June 30, 2014
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  31. "Forbes Video". Video.forbes.com. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  32. Notre Dame receives first-of-its-kind $100 million unrestricted commitment from entrepreneur Kenn Ricci, ND Newswire, accessed December 5, 2017.
  33. "Legacy Magazine, "Solving the Cystic Fibrosis Conundrum," Summer 2010" (PDF). Uhhospitals.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-11-28. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  34. Dame, Marketing Communications: Web // University of Notre. "Two elected to Board of Trustees". Notre Dame News. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  35. "Stonebriar Boosts Bizav Arm with Guggenheim Acquisition" by Samantha Cartaino, Aviation International News, April 12, 2016
  36. "Notre Dame to get $100 million from alumnus in biggest unrestricted gift ever for university," by Liz Moyer, CNBC, October 24, 2017
  37. "For Kenn Ricci, the University of Notre is the gift that keeps on giving – and vice versa," by Scott Suttell, Crain's Cleveland Business, October 26, 2017
  38. "Kenn Ricci: Like Father, Like Son," by Sally Anne Flecker, Mendoza Business Magazine, Fall 2014
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  40. "Management by Trust". managementbytrust.com. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
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  43. Business Aviation Laureate: Nextant Aerospace, BizAv Game Changer Aviation Week & Space Technology, March 20, 2015.
  44. “Ricci, Lacy To Be Honored as Aviation Living Legends,” by Kerry Lynch, AIN Online, January 5, 2017
  45. Living Legends Renames Award After Kenn Ricci," by Molly McMillin, Aviation Week, January 29, 2018
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  48. "Flexjet Chairman Kenn Ricci Among Town & Country Magazine's Top 50 Philanthropists". Businesswire.com. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  49. Cleveland-Marshall welcomes new hall of fame class, Bexky Raspe, Cleveland Jewish News, November 21, 2018
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