John is a seasoned aviation industry executive with over 30 years of experience in various senior sales, marketing and management positions focused on nurturing creative ideas, building productive teams, and driving positive results.
He is currently the Managing Partner of 5x5 Trading, a global aircraft sales and acquisitions company. Prior to founding 5x5 Trading, John was a Senior Vice President with Wheels Up from 2020-2023 where he and his partners built out the Wheels Up Aircraft Sales business unit to provide aircraft brokerage and inventory solutions to Wheels Up, their members and other retail customers.
In 2015, John Co-founded QS Partners, a wholly owned NetJets company focused on whole aircraft sales, acquisitions and transition services, and grew it into a leading global brokerage company. John started his career at NetJets in 2002, where he initially held a variety of territory sales and sales management positions, including Head of Sales for the US, that drove leading top-line fractional aircraft sales revenues and built long-term customer relationships. In 2011, he led efforts within the NetJets Asset Management Group to build out a robust broker network to handle the efficient sale of retired aircraft assets into the retail marketplace. The growth of this business unit ultimately led to the founding of QS Partners.
John began his sales career in 1997 as a Regional Sales Manager with Raytheon Travel Air, a start-up fractional aircraft ownership company.
John is a 1989 graduate of the John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences at the University of North Dakota with a B.S. in Airway Systems Science. He received an M.B.A. in Finance in 1994 from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN. He holds a Commercial Pilot certificate in both Aircraft and Helicopters with Multi-engine, Instrument and Seaplane ratings. He is also a Certified Flight Instructor Instruments in both Aircraft and Helicopters.
John currently serves as the Vice-Chairman of the International Aircraft Dealers Association (IADA), which represents the leading aircraft broker/dealer organizations in the world.
He and his wife Paula reside in Ocala, FL.
