Wheels Up has named Gail Grimmett as chief experience officer. Grimmett will oversee every aspect of the Wheels Up member experience, including event programming, marketing, public relations, social, digital and member benefits. The newly-created role comes after Wheels Up recently announced a groundbreaking partnership with Delta that combined Delta Private Jets with Wheels Up and introduced cross-platform benefits for Wheels Up members.

Grimmett joins Wheels Up after 20 years of building brands and turning around businesses in both commercial and luxury travel industries. As Delta's senior vice president New York, Grimmett oversaw the transformation of Delta in New York state, delivering the airline's first-ever profit in the state and ultimately contributing $6 billion dollars in annual revenue while deepening the company's brand presence in the market. Grimmett also led the $1.4 billion redevelopment of Delta's state-of-the-art Terminal 4 at JFK, which first opened in 2013, and the largest hub expansion in over 40 years at LaGuardia, which grew Delta's schedule at LGA by more than 60 percent, in 2012. Most recently, Grimmett was president of Travel Leaders Group Luxury Brands, where she had responsibility over $5 billion of revenue, leading five separate luxury brand companies.

Honoured as one of the ‘50 Most Powerful Women in New York’ in 2013, 2015 and 2017 by Crain's New York Business, Grimmett is regarded as an expert in aviation marketing, policy and infrastructure. Grimmett served as Governor Andrew Cuomo's appointee on both the New York State Tourism Board and the New York City Regional Economic Development Council for over a decade and pioneered Delta's partnership with the Food Bank for New York City and other community organisations.

Grimmett will be based at Wheels Up's global headquarters in New York City reporting to Wheels Up founder and CEO Kenny Dichter and working closely with the company's executive leadership team.

Dichter founded Wheels Up in 2013 and since then has grown the company through its membership programmes, innovative features and cutting edge-technology. Wheels Up has achieved an enterprise valuation of over $1.5 billion, sold over 8,000 memberships, owns and manages a fleet approaching 200 private aircraft and employs over 1,000 people across the United States. The brand's ambassadors include Tom Brady, Serena Williams and Russell Wilson, among others.

“Gail is a powerhouse, and we are proud to welcome her to the Wheels Up team at this exciting time in our company's growth,” says Dichter. “She shares our vision for democratising private aviation and continuing to invest in our member experience. Her proven track record of innovative marketing and execution of large-scale business strategies is already an undeniable asset.”

“I am thrilled to join the Wheels Up team during this momentous era for the company, and I look forward to continuing our commitment to our thousands of members both on the ground and in the air,” adds Grimmett. “Kenny and his team have created exponential growth over the past six years, and his pioneering vision in the private aviation industry is unmatched. I am excited to be a part of the company's next phase of expansion.”