March 24, 2024
Online focused private jet charter broker Victor has appointed Joe Cohen as CEO. According to a press release, he is tasked with accelerating the company’s growth and leading its aspirations to become a global player. The company is based in London and has been building its U.S. profile over the last several years.
Cohen co-founded Property.Works, a commercial property marketplace providing transparency and convenience for SME businesses seeking new workspace. Before that he was founder-CEO of online ticket marketplace Seatwave, establishing a mainstream model for the buying and selling of tickets to sports, music and cultural events before its acquisition by Live Nation Entertainment-owned Ticketmaster in 2014. Cohen was also Global COO of Match.com, responsible for the operation and technology-driven expansion of several online dating businesses across 43 countries and 18 languages.
Between 2010 and 2017 Cohen held a non-executive board position with Sofar Sounds, another global, marketplace-dynamic business specifically launched to connect performers with fragmented audiences and develop their profile. He has additionally worked in senior roles for Ticketmaster, Virgin and Disney.
“A passion for delivering world-class customer experiences through technology has propelled Victor’s success to date and now, buoyed by recent investment, the company has the means to match its ambitions,” Cohen says. “I’m looking forward to elevating product development, and developing a dynamic, values-led culture within the team that, ultimately, allows us to serve the highly fragmented jet charter market with its most seamless and pivotal customer proposition ever.”
Cohen replaces Victor founder Clive Jackson, who launched the business in 2011 and was appointed founder-CEO of investment vehicle Alyssum Group this January. Alyssum Group, whose subsidiary businesses include Victor and aviation flight-planning and services provider RocketRoute, is pursuing a long-term acquisitive strategy as it seeks to create a connected ecosystem for major stakeholders within private aviation.
“Joe is the ideal candidate to lead the next stage of Victor’s journey,” Jackson says. “He has over 20 years’ experience of creating compelling customer offerings in fragmented industries – of growing big tech brands that put customers first and, by making accessibility and acceptability part of their DNA, generate real customer love. Joe also brings great passion and energy to what he does. I’m really looking forward to working alongside another highly-experienced founder-CEO within Alyssum Group.”
Victor currently employs a staff of 115 spread between offices in London, New York, Santa Barbara and mainland Europe. In a press release, the company said Cohen will be based in the U.K., however, he will be focused on developing Victor’s presence in North America, where it opened a Manhattan headquarters in 2017. Victor, which made the FT1000 list of Europe’s fastest growing companies for its second consecutive year last month, has seen revenue growth of 726% over a four-year period (to 2016) and 95% year-on-year (Q1 2018 vs. 2017).
Last year Jackson told Private Jet Card Comparisons that Victor plans to introduce a jet card program variation in the U.S. this year, however, so far the company been mum about any further developments in that area. PrivateFly, another U.K.-based, app focused charter broker acquired broker Bird Dog Jet in 2017 as part of its efforts to grow its North American business. It offers a basic deposit jet card program.
