Aviation club names COO in preparation of another funding round

Paolo Ferreri was brought on as an interim for the role with the intent of it becoming permanent eventually.

By Amanda Postma
| 5:30 p.m. March 2, 2023
| 2 Free Articles Remaining!

Manatee-Sarasota

As the company prepares for another funding round, an interim COO has been named at the AeroVanti Club.

The former CEO and chair of Piaggio America Inc., Paolo Ferreri will fill the role on an interim basis. Piaggio America was formerly a subsidiary of Italian company Piaggio Aerospace. The subsidiary is no longer in operation. Piaggio Aerospace is an aerospace manufacturing company.

“While Paolo has been selected interim COO, it is the hope of both parties that he ultimately serves as our permanent COO,” Patrick Britton-Harr, founder and CEO, writes in an email to the Business Observer. “Now that we're in our growth phase, Paolo — particularly due to his experience at Piaggio — is perfectly suited to help us grow and prepare for our next round of funding.”

The company was previously led by a business developer and pilot by trade who was with AeroVanti through its first phase of being a startup.

“I’m thrilled to join the leadership team at AeroVanti,” Ferreri says in the release. “My experience with Piaggio, an aviation pioneer in its own right, perfectly prepared me to lead AeroVanti’s operations during this exciting time in the company’s history.”

AeroVanti is dual-headquartered in Sarasota and Annapolis, Maryland, and has grown 400% in revenue since launching in July 2021, according to the release.

That growth can be attributed to two funding rounds of more than $100 million as well as several mergers and acquisitions. The company also recently became the exclusive private aviation provider for the University of Maryland Athletics, University of Central Florida Knights and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

According to the release, AeroVanti completed 6,000 flight hours last year. So far, the company is on track to complete 12,000 flight hours this year with 30 pilots onboard.

“When we launched AeroVanti, we set out to completely disrupt the private aviation model, proving that luxury travel can be delivered at a competitive price point and an incredible value,” Britton-Harr says in the release. “Not only have we delivered upon that, but we’re positioned to continue to scale in an unprecedented manner both operationally and financially.”