Proven leadership in transportation, aviation technology, and sustainability
Carl Albert
Chairman
Carl has deep experience in the aviation industry, as principal investor and Chairman & CEO of Wings West Airlines, a regional airline, operating as American Eagle, acquired by AMR, parent of American Airlines. Carl acquired and served as Chairman & CEO of Fairchild Aircraft for 10 years. Fairchild acquired the German aircraft manufacturer Dornier Luftfahrt. Fairchild and Dornier manufactured regional airline aircraft and Dornier was the exclusive manufacturer and supplier to Airbus for large fuselage sections and primary structural components of every Airbus model aircraft except the A380. Fairchild also operated Merlin Express, a cargo airline serving UPS and FedEX. As Chair & CEO of Fairchild and Dornier, Carl managed investments in engineering programs for certification of aircraft Type Certificates and Supplemental Type Certificates issued by the FAA, EASA and other authorities. Carl has served on the Board of Directors of several private and public companies, serving as Chair of the Board, Audit, Compensation and Nominating Committee Member and Chair and served on the Regional Airlines Association Board of Directors. Prior to his aviation industry experience, Carl was an attorney specializing in business matters.
Deanna White
Interim CEO & COO
Deanna brings years of aviation experience and commitment to transforming flight. She served as COO at Kitty Hawk, where she led the business operations and commercialization of an R&D eVTOL aircraft program. She also served as CFO and CEO of Bombardier Flexjet. She holds a BS in accounting from the University of Tampa, and and MBA and MA in Cybersecurity from the University of Dallas.
Oliver Reeves
Chief Financial Officer
Oliver brings with him his deep experience with capital markets strategy. Oliver most recently served as Chief Strategy Officer of Xinuos, Inc., the developer and licensor of the UnixWare and OpenServer operating systems. Earlier in his career, Mr. Reeves gained investment experience by holding several asset management positions: first as an Investment Analyst at Coliseum Capital Management, then as a Vice President at Gerson Global Advisors, and finally as a Senior Vice President at Phoenix Star Capital. Mr. Reeves received his MBA from Columbia Business School and graduated Summa Cum Laude from Babson College.
Sudhin Shahani
Co-founder
Sudhin Shahani has served as a director of the Company since July 2023. Mr. Shahani is the co-founder and served as the Chief Executive Officer of Surf Air Global Limited from 2013 to July 2023. Prior to his role at Surf Air, Mr. Shahani was an Entrepreneur in Residence at Anthem Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm, where he worked with a number of portfolio companies, led investments, and served on the board of Madefire from July 2013 to December 2018 and Panna from March 2012 to April 2019 (until their sale to Discovery Networks). Prior to his role at Anthem Ventures, Mr. Shahani co-founded Musicane, a digital music and social shopping network from 2004 to 2009. Mr. Shahani holds a B.S. with honors in Business Administration & Entrepreneurship from Babson College.
Liam Fayed
Co-founder
Liam Fayed is a serial entrepreneur and creative executive. As the co-founder of Surf Air Mobility. Liam is guiding SAM’s trajectory toward becoming the world’s most sustainable air travel brand that reimagines how green flying can change the world. He oversees brand, marketing and platform and has helped redesign the customer experience from the ground up with hospitality-inspired service. Previously, he was founder, creative director, and CEO of menswear label BESPOKEN New York. He also serves as a board member of the British clothier, Turnbull & Asser. Liam has worked with and been an early investor in fast growing consumer brands including Warby Parker, Harry’s and Away Luggage.
David Anderman
Chief Legal Officer
David Anderman is a seasoned executive with a passion for business strategy and dealmaking in the technology, digital media, aerospace, and consumer sectors. He most recently served as the General Counsel of SpaceX, Elon Musk’s rocket company, where he supported the launch of NASA astronauts to the International Space Station (the first-ever launch of humans by a private company), the maiden flight of Starship (SpaceX’s Mars colony ship), and the rollout of the Starlink global satellite internet system. Prior to SpaceX, Mr. Anderman spent 16 years at Lucasfilm Ltd., George Lucas’s entertainment empire, starting as the junior lawyer and rising through the ranks to become Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel.
Ido Gruberger
Chief Strategy Officer
Ido has over a decade of experience in aviation. He joined the Surf Air management team in 2016 and has led corporate development, strategy and air-operations. He is also an advisor to early stage startups in the LA area. Prior to Surf Air, Ido is a former military aviator and worked at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). He holds a BA in economics from Ben Gurion University and an MBA from MIT’s Sloan School of Management.
Marcel Reichart
Advisor
- EVP Digital Dev & Corp. Center Board Bertelsmann
- Investment Committee of Bertelsmann Investments
- Co-Founder of DLD Conferences
- Board, Fotografiska, Neue House & BBTV
