Kenn Ricci is principal of Directional Aviation Capital, a firm that owns and invests in a range of aviation-related businesses including Flexjet, at which he serves as chairman.
His portfolio also includes Flexjet affiliates FXAIR, a private jet charter company; Sentient Jet, a jet card provider; SIMCOM; Stonebriar Commercial Finance Co.; and REVA Air Ambulance.
Additionally, Ricci owns businesses serving numerous other sectors within the aviation industry, such as aviation sustainability initiatives (4AIR), maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services (Constant Aviation and Flying Colours), aircraft engineering (Nextant Aerospace), aircraft brokerage (FXSolutions) and aircraft management (Corporate Wings).
He has assembled one of the largest groups of private aviation companies. Collectively, his firms account for over $4 billion in revenue, operate more than 300 aircraft and employ over 5,000 people.
An industry leader who has been recognized as a Living Legend of Aviation, Ricci has also been honored for his philanthropy and commitment to higher education.
Ricci began his aviation career as an Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps cadet at the University of Notre Dame, in Indiana. In 1980, he founded his first company, Corporate Wings, which today continues to provide aircraft management and charter operations.
Ricci’s more than 40-year aviation career has taken him across the globe. An accomplished pilot in his own right, he has also flown many influential leaders.
In 2016, Ricci was honored with the Lifetime Aviation Entrepreneur Award from the Living Legends of Aviation organization. Today, the award bears his name. Three years later, the organization honored him as a Living Legend of Aviation.
Ricci’s charitable endeavors include Able Flight, which provides people with disabilities a way to challenge themselves through flight and aviation career training.
His other philanthropic causes extend to medicine and higher education. In 2014, Ricci was honored by the Northeast Ohio Chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation for championing research and treatment of the disease, which affects 30,000 children and adults in the United States.
In 2018, Ricci was named a Top 50 Philanthropist by “Town & Country Magazine” for his outstanding support of higher education, including the creation of a groundbreaking giving structure called the Philanthropic Succession Partnership that led to the donation of $100 million to the University of Notre Dame — the largest unrestricted gift in the university’s history.
Ricci also serves on the University of Notre Dame’s board of trustees and the Smithsonian National Board of The Smithsonian Institution.
Ricci’s relationship with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University began in 2017 with the launch of the Flexjet Innovation and Career Center at Embry-Riddle, which introduces students to career opportunities in the rapidly growing business aviation sector.
Housed in the John Mica Engineering and Aerospace Innovation Complex (MicaPlex) at the Research Park in Daytona Beach, Florida, the Flexjet Innovation and Career Center has expanded to contain office and research spaces; meeting areas for student organizations and clubs; and a student lounge and coffee bar to promote collaborations.
The space also serves as the base for Flexjet-sponsored internship programs. Numerous Embry-Riddle interns have gone on to work for Flexjet and its sister companies.
“Investing in future aviators is one of the most important services that those of us who love aviation can perform. In fact, that’s one of the many reasons I felt it vital to develop the Flexjet Innovation and Career Center at Embry-Riddle in 2017,” Ricci said. “Embry-Riddle is the leader in inspiring and educating the future of our industry and I am eager to collaborate with fellow board members, faculty and stakeholders to uphold the university’s mission of teaching the science, practice and business of aviation and aerospace."
