Wheels Up Experience Inc. announced the appointment of Stevens J. Sainte-Rose as Chief People Officer. In this role, Sainte-Rose will lead all aspects of human resources and culture at Wheels Up including organizational design, talent acquisition, development and retention, as well as diversity and inclusion functions. Sainte-Rose will report directly to Wheels Up Chairman and CEO, Kenny Dichter.
“Stevens brings a unique mix of long-term, strategic planning with the agility and speed necessary to operate in a rapidly growing business,” said Dichter. “His experience in consumer-packaged goods and retail across global brands is a huge asset to Wheels Up as we continue to attract world-class talent, continue to build our culture through diversity and inclusion, and reinforce our foundation as a high-performance organization.”
As a seasoned HR veteran, Sainte-Rose has expertise across a diverse range of industries including fast moving consumer goods, retail, hospitality, food service, manufacturing & production, and managed services. Stevens previously served as Senior Vice President of HR at The Coca-Cola Company International, as Chief Human Resources Officer at U.S. Walgreens, Chief HR and Transformation Officer at Dawn Foods Global and most recently Chief HR Officer at Parallel Inc. He holds a master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania in Organizational Dynamics and an undergraduate degree from Cornell University in Industrial & Labor Relations.
“I couldn’t be more thrilled to join Wheels Up as Chief People Officer,” said Sainte-Rose. “I have long admired the Wheels Up brand, its disruptive spirit, and am inspired by the vision to build a marketplace in private aviation. I am excited to help accelerate the development of Wheels Up as a growth-minded, high-performance culture, with the customer at the center of everything they do.”
In addition to the appointment of Sainte-Rose, Wheels Up recently expanded the roles of two members of the Executive Leadership Team: President, Vinayak Hegde, and Chief Marketing Officer, Lee Applbaum. Hegde will now have integrated ownership and accountability for both the demand generation and supply side of the Wheels Up marketplace, which includes all sales functions, member services, account management, technology, product, operations and supply. This seamless connection of supply and demand, and holistic ownership of the functions is a critical step in the delivery of a transformative private aviation marketplace. Additionally, the offices of the Chief Experience Officer and Chief Marketing Officer have been combined under Applbaum to provide integrated ownership of the customer experience funnel from acquisition through loyalty, including a continued focus on building the iconic Wheels Up brand. Both Hegde and Applbaum will continue to report to Dichter.
