Jamie Walker will move from Chairman to Executive Chairman as Brent Wouters exits nearly two years after taking the CEO role.
Jamie Walker is moving from chairman to executive chairman at Jet Linx Aviation.
The change comes nearly two years after Brent Wouters joined as CEO.
At the same time, Wouters will exit the Omaha-based private jet flight provider.
Walker had previously been the chief executive of the nation’s ninth-largest private jet operator, ranked by fractional and charter hours, for more than two decades.
The CEO role will not be filled.
Instead, three senior executives will report directly to Walker, who will assume the combined roles of chairman and CEO as executive chairman.
The company has been privately communicating the changes to aircraft owners over the last several days.
No formal announcement has been made.
However, Walker confirmed the changes.
In an email to one private jet owner we reviewed, Walker wrote:
‘After stepping back as CEO of Jet Linx in August of 2023, I am pleased to share that I am stepping back in to lead the company in its continued support of you.
As a founding family member of Jet Linx in 1999, and having led the Company for over 20 years as the CEO, I am excited to re-engage in the daily strategy and direction to continue building the best aircraft management and jet card company in the industry for our clients and team members.
As part of this transition, I will be assuming leadership responsibilities from our current CEO, Brent Wouters, who will be transitioning out of the company at the end of July. I would like to thank Brent for his tireless efforts to improve and streamline the company’s infrastructure as we continue to grow and extend our unique, personalized private jet services to more clients nationwide.
Based upon my previous experience helping build Jet Linx since its inception, I believe I know the areas of support we need to focus on to better serve you, but I am always grateful to hear directly from you to ensure we are providing you with the best service possible. If I can be of assistance in meeting your expectations as a client, please don’t hesitate to email me to setup a time to visit – our greatest client service improvements have always come from our client’s feedback.’
Walker says he credits Wouters with providing a fresh perspective.
“When you live in a nice house for 25 years, and everything is working, sometimes you don’t see the opportunities,” he says.
“Brent came in and drove efficiency and created the infrastructure that will now enable us to continue our growth trajectory,” Walker tells Private Jet Card Comparisons.
In his role as chairman, Walker continued as the company’s liaison to industry associations.
Most importantly, he continued to lead mergers and acquisitions.
Currently, there is an “exciting pipeline” with at least one deal possibly closing before the end of the year.
Under Wouters, Jet Linx expanded both aircraft management and jet card sales nationally.
Walker says that part of what became clear is that the company’s strength is based on its unique structure of local bases with private terminals, something that will now receive more focus.
“Brent has done a fantastic job of positioning us where we need to be,” Walker says.
Walker also said Jet Linx is not the mystery customer that ordered 50 jets from Bombardier last month.
The three direct reports to Walker are Nate Legband, who continues as CFO and COO.
Paul Kloet becomes senior vice president of sales and marketing.
Dan Pasque assumes the role of senior vice president of aircraft management and client relations.
In January, Jet Linx surpassed 200 million miles flown since its founding in 1999.
The achievement was equivalent to around 840 trips to the moon, the company noted at the time.
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