March 7, 2024
Wheels Up today announced the appointment of Eric Jacobs as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer via a press release. In this position, Jacobs will oversee the finance and accounting, investor relations and strategic corporate development functions of Wheels Up, including treasury and mergers and acquisitions.
“We are thrilled to welcome a seasoned executive like Eric Jacobs to the Wheels Up team,” said Founder and CEO Kenny Dichter. “Eric’s extensive experience in various leadership roles and exceptional expertise as a public company financial and operational executive make him an ideal addition to the leadership team to support Wheels Up’s long-term strategic objectives. I very much look forward to working closely with Eric as we continue on our path to build out the Wheels Up offering and add new initiatives, all with the goal of serving the full private aviation needs of our members and enhancing their flying experience with us.”
In the release, Jacobs commented, “It is an incredible opportunity to join the Wheels Up team. I am fully committed and excited to help the company execute on its vision as it continues to transform private aviation. I look forward to contributing to our strategic growth initiatives and to driving maximum value for our investors.”
Prior to joining Wheels Up, Jacobs most recently served as Senior Vice President, Corporate Development of Cox Automotive, Inc. and Executive Vice President, Chief Financial & Administrative Officer of DealertrackTechnologies, Inc., collectively, the largest marketplace and leading provider of SaaS solutions to the U.S. retail automotive industry. Dealertrack, a high-growth publicly-traded technology company was acquired by Cox Automotive in October 2015.
Prior to working at Dealertrack, Mr. Jacobs was an attorney focusing on corporate mergers & acquisitions and securities law at O’Melveny & Myers LLP and an audit manager at KPMG LLP. He holds a J.D. with honors from Rutgers School of Law-Newark and a B.S. in Business Administration with a major in Accounting from Rider University and is a former Certified Public Accountant.
Wheels Up has built its pay-as-you-go membership franchise on the KingAir 350i turboprop with the Citation Excel/XLS as its private jet option for customers. Earlier this year it took possession of its first Citation X, giving it an aircraft with coast to coast range. Wheels Up has yet to announce any formal programs around its newest addition. Wheels Up membership is $17,500 in your first year and $8,500 thereafter. You then have fleet access with guaranteed availability and fixed one-way rates. You can reduce non-guaranteed dates by paying into a deposit account.
