Kenny Dichter’s Real Jet has added four more partners as the private jet charter brokerage expands staff and sets growth targets.
Atlanta, Georgia-based Real Jet has expanded its leadership team, naming four new partners.
Kenny Dichter and Robert Withers founded the 2025 start-up.
It is part of the Real SLX group.
Dichter previously founded Marquis Jet Partners and Wheels Up, with Withers serving as a key executive at both private jet companies.
NetJets bought Marquis Jet in 2010.
Dichter then founded Wheels Up in 2013 before exiting in 2023.
New Real Jet founding partners are Brad Pendergrass (top right), Lee Esposito (top left), and Charly Martin (bottom left), with Nicole Hammond joining as a partner.
For the new partners, joining Real Jet is a reunion.
Hammond brings 20 years of private aviation experience.
Most recently, she was a senior vice president at Wheels Up based in Los Angeles.
Before that, she spent 10 years at Marquis Jet and NetJets as a senior sales executive.
Hammond said, “When I was considering where to continue my career, there was a shared vision with Kenny and Robert: The customer truly sits at the center of everything we do.”
Pendergrass is based in Atlanta, where he most recently served as senior vice president at Wheels Up since 2015.
Before entering private aviation, he held positions in football operations at major collegiate programs.
That included the University of Wisconsin, the University of Tennessee, and Mississippi State University.
Esposito, based in Nashville, was with Wheels Up from 2015 until joining Real Jet last year, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Seattle-based Martin played with the NFL’s Panthers and Seahawks before moving to private aviation.
Dichter said, “I’ve had the pleasure and the privilege of working with Nicole, Brad, Lee and Charly, and each one of them delivers above and beyond on what matters most in our business: service and relationships.”
Withers added, “We are putting together what I believe is one of the most talented teams in private aviation,” continuing, “They all come with deep experience and share a true passion for providing outstanding customer service.”
Additional recent additions include Matt Godwin and Lars Kenyon as vice presidents of charter operations.
Withers tells Private Jet Card Comparisons the new additions give the charter brokerage 25 employees across sales, charter operations, safety, accounting, technology, and marketing.
Withers says current employees average 12 years of private aviation experience.
Dichter says Real Jet growth is being fueled in part via synergy with the event division of Real SLX.
Gary Spitalnik heads events.
Spitalnik is also a Marquis Jet and Wheels Up alum.
Dichter says the activations during the Super Bowl, the Masters, and other tentpole events have provided a “healthy funnel” of new customers.
About half of the flyers are new to private aviation.
Plans call for growing charter sales to over $100 million, although the executives declined to provide a timeline.
Find the perfect solution for your private aviation needs
Save Time. Buy Confidently.
Receive an apples-to-apples comparison of programs that meet your needs from more than 500 jet card and fractional options covering 65 points of differentiation and over 40,000 data points.
