Membership-based private aviation company Wheels Up has named Jim Pyne as chief partnership officer to develop its alignment with complementary brands. It believes that potential partners will be attracted by the opportunity to market themselves to its members via signature experiences, ambassador events, in-flight activations, digital integrations and member communications.

As a membership operation Wheels Up does not require the ownership of an asset, a long-term agreement or a minimum hours' commitment. Established just over five years ago, the operator now claims to have more than 5,000 members.

“We are thrilled that Jim, who has been a mainstay and leading contributor to our sales organisation over these past five years, will take on this additional responsibility for us,” says co-founder and CEO Kenny Dichter. “His extensive experience and expertise in the sponsorship and partnership world make him an ideal choice to lead our efforts in this growing area to support the Wheels Up brand and our business objectives.”

Pyne is a founding partner at Wheels Up and has a long history in the partnership space. Before Wheels Up, he served as the chief partnership officer for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and prior to that, with IMG as its vice president of national sales. The Buccaneers were ranked number one in the NFL for new business under Pyne's leadership, and he sold the largest sponsorship in college sports history to UPS while at IMG.

“Kenny has built an amazing company and brand with Wheels Up, and to date, the company has had great success with experiential marketing, working with an impressive roster of existing partner brands,” Pyne notes. “Our legendary member benefits have become synonymous with sports events and we are looking to now expand and diversify to match the passion points of our customer base. Our new strategy will integrate our events platform, as well as create cross-marketing initiatives that will help us to scale our business in the air and on the ground.”