TEAM

JONATHAN
EVANS

CEO

KinectAir was conceived by Jonathan, a lifelong aviator. After selling his drone software company, Skyward to Verizon in February of 2017, he assemble this team of aerospace and software experts to fulfill his dream of building a truly on-demand flight network.

BEN
HOWARD

CTO

Ben is a multiple startup company veteran who has built teams and brought products to market. Technologies include a fixed-wing UAS, SaaS image processing, and AI based insights on big data. He formerly worked at Intel Visual/Parallel Group. 

KATIE
BUSS

COO

Colonel Katie Buss, USAF, Ret. brings decades of aviation and leadership experience to KinectAir. A combat C-17 special ops pilot, she also flew as an instructor pilot on the King Air 250 amassing over 4500 hours. Katie has also served in diplomatic roles as military attache and Senior Defense Official at the US Embassies in Colombia and Bolivia. Bringing those leadership skills back to the States, Katie taught courses on the subject at the University of Kentucky, and has served on the leadership teams of two previous start-ups.

LISA
CHRISTENSEN

CHIEF CULTURE OFFICER

Lisa Christensen joins KinectAir following her 20 year Air Force career most recently piloting Special Air Missions for the top brass in Washington and running “America’s Airfield” as the 89th Operations Support Squadron Commander.  A combat veteran, Instructor pilot, retired Lt Col Christensen has over 3300 hours flying the C-17, Gulfstream III, V and 550.  She brings the same commitment to excellence to the Kinect Air company culture and customer experience.

JOHNNY
CORBETT

CMO

A marketing professional with 15+ years of experience, Johnny has worked in a range of complex businesses – Hiscox, Diageo, Birdseye & AkzoNobel – on brands like Smirnoff, Birds Eye & Dulux, as well as bringing a range of innovative consultancy and communications agency experience. Johnny loves getting to grips with what makes customers ‘tick’ and then using that knowledge to drive awesome business and brand outcomes.

JOHN
HILMES

CHIEF EXPERIENCE OFFICER

A multidisciplinary architect and product designer, John’s hospitality mindset ensures that KinectAir meets the highest standards of product excellence across every aspect of our brand. 

Portrait of Chris Rogers

CHRIS
ROGERS

DIR. COMMUNICATIONS

Strategic communications veteran of 15 years. Chris is focusing on brand strategy,  reputation and demand generation for KinectAir. Formerly at Grayling, he led some of the worlds most famous technology brands like PayPal, Facebook, British Airways, and Microsoft for the agency in EMEA. He is an investor & exited entrepreneur with Dovetail Lab, a blockchain consent app for medical data.
Portrait of Nick Rogers

NICK
ROGERS

CHIEF COMMERCIAL OFFICER

A successfully exited aviation entrepreneur & pilot. Passionate about leading aerospace, future safety, and innovation for next generation air travel using AI, machine learning and connectivity. British Airways Captain | 10,000 hours (747, A320).

REID
WYNANS

DIR. OPERATIONS

Experienced leader, pilot, aviation consultant, university educator, and innovation director with over two decades of aviation experience. Retired Air Force Lt Col Reid Wynans is a combat veteran and instructor pilot with 3100+ hours in the C-17 Globemaster. Reid provides a rich and diverse cross-functional perspective to the intersection of operations and strategy.

KEVIN
GUARDIA

Dir. FINANCE

Kevin brings to the KinectAir team deep finance experience across M&A, startup fundraising, accounting audits, and years of strategic FP&A oversight across industries like agriculture, healthcare, education, and technology. The past 3 years before joining KinectAir Kevin has focused his efforts on shepherding the financials at startups from inception to Series A to growth stage.

LAUREN
RUTAN

CONTROLLER

Lauren received her degree in Finance from Kent State University – and now has over 15 years of experience in finance, accounting, HR management, and all payroll functions. When not on the clock, her free time is split between competitive powerlifting and taking care of 5 children.

LIZ
SMITH

FLIGHT SPECIALIST

TIM
FLUHARTY

FLIGHT COORDINATOR

A 20-year Air Force veteran with nearly 5000 hours as a flight engineer at the highest levels within the DOD, Tim’s military career culminated in him serving aboard Air Force One. He is a combat veteran with extensive experience maintaining and crewing the Lockheed C-130 and C-5, Gulfstream G-V/550, Boeing C-17, KC-10, and 747. He is an A&P mechanic with decades of experience spanning multiple aircraft. With a background in aviation safety and as a flight engineer instructor/evaluator, Tim brings a wealth of aviation operation knowledge to the KinectAir team.

JOSH
BUTLER

ANALYST

Josh Butler is a senior at the University of Oregon, majoring in finance with a double minor in economics and music. He found his passion for finance from an organization at the University called the University of Oregon Investment Group, where he would create 5 equity research reports and eventually become president of the group. He joined KinectAir because of the exciting, innovative atmosphere a start-up provides, and an overall belief in the business model’s ability to democratize a better travel experience for all! Outside of school and work, he enjoys playing the saxophone, backpacking, and cooking with his dutch oven.

INVESTORS & ADVISORS

ANDY TUNG

LEAD INVESTOR

Andy brings extensive operating experience in the transportation sector, holding a number of senior positions in container shipping and airline companies. He currently serves on the boards of Cathay Pacific Airways, Orient Overseas International Limited, and Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited. He is former CEO of Hong Kong based Orient Overseas Container Lines (OOCL), a business which his family exited in 2018. Andy graduated from Princeton University with a BSE in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, and Stanford University with an MBA.

GUR KIMCHI

VESTED ADVISOR

Gur is a veteran of the tech industry who most recently served as Amazon’s VP, Prime Air, from 2014 to 2020, where he set up the future of drone delivery. Gur will advise KinectAir in the movement and connection of fleet in time and space according to real-time, dynamic pricing. He’ll also advise, with deep regulated tech expertise, on KA’s emerging portfolio of advanced air mobility OEM partners to join our future electrified fleet.

DAN TAYLOR

INVESTOR / ADVISOR

Dan is the VP of Global Ads at Google, where he is currently leading their global business strategy and product commercialization for Google Display Ads, Google Marketing Platform, Audiences and Privacy. Dan will advise KinectAir in building sophisticated demand gen engines, and especially how to leverage the Google platform itself with our brand program and app-based service.