Kenneth Ricci has spent over 30 years developing innovative services in the aviation industry. In 1980 Kenn founded Corporate Wings, an aircraft management and charter operation providing charter flight service to corporate clients. He expanded Corporate Wings’ operations to include other aviation support services including aircraft maintenance, fueling and storage.
 Kenneth Ricci In 1998, Kenn revolutionized the fractional aircraft ownership industry by founding Flight Options. His marketing and strategic leadership took the company from inception to annual sales of more than $600M in a period of 4 years. A pioneer in the field, Flight Options outperformed over 50 other start-ups in this industry. Flight Options merged with Raytheon Travel Air in 2002, and with a fleet of over 200 aircraft, 1,500 employees and almost 1,000 pilots, Kenn had grown Flight Options to rank as the second largest company in the industry. Today, Kenn is the principal of Directional Aviation Capital which owns various aviation enterprises including Flight Options, Nextant Aerospace, and Constant Aviation, In addition, Directional recently restructured the Mercury Air Centers, a $200mil company operating aircraft support facilities at 24 different airports. Acquiring a stake in 2005, Kenn, as CEO of the company realigned its operating divisions, deployed $245mil of invested capital and sold the Company to Macquarie Infrastructure Trust in 2007 in a deal valued at $615mil. Under Kenn’s leadership, Corporate Wings was named to the Inc. 500. For nine consecutive years, Corporate Wings was included in the Weatherhead 100. He is also a four time recipient of the NEO success award for business growth. Kenn was honored as an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of Year in 2000 and has been named one the most influential people in aviation by Aviation International News. In 2010 Kenn received the Harvard Business School’s Dively Entrepreneurship Award. Kenn graduated from the University of Notre Dame and the Cleveland Marshall School of Law. He holds an airline transport pilot license with more than 6,000 hours. Kenn is type rated in Gulfstream, Falcon and Citation jet aircraft and has flown around the world on numerous occasions. A member of the Young Presidents Organization, Kenn also serves on the Business Advisory Council of the University of Notre Dame, the Board of Trustees of University Hospitals, Arizona Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Childhelp, and Gilmour Academy, and several Corporate Boards. |
