Will Ashcroft – Founder & Chief Executive Officer

Will Ashcroft is the founder of Jumpjet. He has spent the last six years building Jumpjet. He has an aviation background with fifteen years in rotary wing and jet operations. Will has more than 3,000 incident and accident-free flight hours of rotor wing flight time including film, heavy lift, medical transport and VIP offshore transport. He has managed several aviation operations. His last rotor wing aviation venture, an air medical company in New Mexico, operated the complex Dauphin N2 and was responsible for a coverage area of 75,000 square miles. Prior to this Will owned the helicopter concession at the Atlantis Hotel and Casino in the Bahamas. Flying an Agusta 109 he operated the only helicopter in the entire island chain. Will directed project development for several corporate charter companies using helicopters including Analar and Helicopter Transport Services.. Will is an avid cyclist and former rugby player. Will’s support of charitable organizations has included raising funds for the children whose parents had perished in the first Gulf War (1991) where Will ran more than fifteen marathons in full combat gear, boots and a fifty-pound pack. He has also advised the London, UK based Athos-Carlyle residential development partnership. Will grew up in England and attended the Stowe School.

Martin Hedley – Chief Operating Officer

Martin has spent twenty-five years in the airline industry with British Airways, American Airlines (AMR Corp) and Saudi Arabian Airlines. He was responsible for a number of cutting edge programs including development of the world’s first frequent flyer program, the introduction of the PC into mainstream airline IT, the introduction of formalized project management and quality processes throughout the airlines.

Key aspects of Martin’s work at the airlines are seen as critical to Jumpjet – in particular the management and smooth operation of high volume transactions or travel and the ability to build high performance teams in high stress situations. Martin has led diverse teams that have predicted engine problems; run major airport hub operations; set up call centers teams and introduced one of the first international business class brands. Martin was charged with a complete organizational restructure of a major Middle Eastern airline to realign operations with the new vision and marketing strategy. Mr. Hedley spent ten years in the international banking industry with Chase Manhattan Bank and Citibank. His focus was on global operations and service excellence in global infrastructure.

Martin has an engineering degree from Newcastle University with Joint Honours in Geomatics.  He is also a graduate of the Advanced Management Program in Finance for Senior Executives at the Harvard Business School. He has a published author of a book and several articles on aviation topics, and has given speeches at aviation conferences worldwide.

Ira Gershkoff – Chief Information Officer

Ira is a 25-year airline industry veteran. He has held executive positions with American Airlines, United Airlines, Sabre, and has also served as CIO of Polar Air Cargo. Prior to developing the critical software for Jumpjet, he served as Managing Partner of Phoenix2000 Group, a strategic IT consulting firm. Prior to joining Phoenix2000, Ira served as Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Polar Air Cargo, a $350 million transportation company. As CIO, he led the successful transition of the company to a new Enterprise Resource Planning system (JD Edwards). He also worked in several capacities within the passenger airline industry over an 18-year period, including both United Airlines and American Airlines. At Sabre Inc., Ira was Vice President in the Product Development, Research, and Consulting areas. He managed the development of the company’s flight operations applications, as well as directed a number of high-level consulting projects for airlines around the world, focusing on operational issues that could quickly add bottom-line value. He has B.S. and M.S. degrees in Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Jason Weiss – Senior Vice President, Programs and Partnerships

Jason arrives at Jumpjet with 14 years of experience as a successful entrepreneur and business development manager. He is currently an advisor to Big Sky Venture Capital where he advises on both partnership and investment opportunities. Prior to this, Jason was the director of Business Development exclusively for the CEO of Signature Estate and Investment Advisors, where he focused only on high net worth Individuals. SEIA is based in Century City, with over $2.5 billion under management. In 2006 he started Weiss Estates, a Los Angeles based real estate brokerage servicing the high end markets from Malibu to the Hollywood Hills. The company enjoyed sales in excess of $10MM per year. In prior years Jason has held sales positions with Sotheby’s and The Los Angeles Dodgers where he focused solely on high volume transactions. Jason recently held a director position at the SEA*THOS Foundation, a non-profit whose mission is to aid in the prevention of over fishing and reduce plastic pollution in our Oceans. He holds Real Estate and Mortgage Licenses as well as his Series 7. He brings relationships to JumpJet that span the globe and include industry moguls from Wall Street to Hollywood. Jason played Division 1 College Tennis on a full athletic scholarship. He attended the University of Wisconsin, Madison and has his BA in Communications.

Andrew Mahr – Director of Member Services

Will Ashcroft created Jumpjet with a number one priority: customers.  He set out to find someone with experience not only for tending to clientele aboard aircraft, but someone who would go the extra mile to ensure only the best experience for his jets’ passengers.

Andrew Mahr’s education includes formal training as a butler, The Ritz Training Academy and classical French cooking at the famed Le Cordon Bleu.  He brings not only the passion Jumpjet needs when caring for every aspect of a guest’s experience, but the skill set as well: down to the design of the aircraft.

Andrew Mahr began his career in the aviation industry working for Continental and Delta airlines as an International Flight Attendant.  He excelled into positions with more responsibility, serving on various committees including product development and implementation.

With responsibility, came more experience and Andrew soon was working in various corporate flight operations.  He has contributed to the design, interior completion, and introduction of a Global Express Jet into a private fleet.

Mr. Mahr’s career has brought with it tending to a variety of elite guests on a variety of elite aircraft.  He has served as a private flight attendant for well-known CEOs, A-list celebrities, the White House Press Corps, Vulcan, Inc. and key government personnel including a former director of the CIA.  The care of these guests led him to flights around the world, on everything from the luxurious Gulfstream and Global Express jets to the Boeing 747.

Given the responsibilities in his past career, it’s clear that Mahr cares about the guest experience from what they eat or drink, to their degree of comfort, down to the very aesthetics of the flight.  Andrew will provide our members with what we have built our foundation on: an upgraded, stress-free passenger experience from takeoff to landing.

Martin Clarke – Jumpjet Board Member

Martin joins the Jumpjet board with over thirty five years of aviation experience and more than 18,000 hours of flight time. Twenty five of those years have been spent with one of the largest airlines in the world. He has been a captain and has managed flight operations through some of the most difficult situations in aviation. He has experience flying international routes and is type rated on the following aircraft : Boeing 777-767-727, BAe 146 and MD80 . He has also flown private jets including Lear and Citation. He is a qualified instructor and holds his CFII, MEI, and is rated as an aerobatic instructor. Martin has a Bachelors degree in Aeronautical Science from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. In his spare time Martin can be found flying the skies in his own Christen Eagle Bi-Plane.

Len Moscati - Jumpjet Board Member

Len Moscati brings more than 30 years of experience in Global Capital Markets and Investment Banking to Jumpjet’s board. Mr. Moscati is currently a Managing Director at Barclays Capital. He is responsible for developing Senior level relationships and is a trusted strategic advisor to the firm’s key clients. He’s played a pivotal role in winning significant mandates and strategic transactions for the firm and driving long-term revenue growth. Mr. Moscati‘s Group reports directly to the President of Barclays Capital. Prior to Barclays Capital, Mr. Moscati spent 17 years at Morgan Stanley where he was a Managing Director in the Institutional Securities Division. Mr. Moscati started his career with L.F. Rothschild followed by Smith Barney Harris Upham. Mr. Moscati received a B.S. (B.A.) degree in Economics from Manhattan College and an MBA in Finance degree from Pace University. He currently lives in Greenwich, Connecticut.