Embry-Riddle Welcomes Two Aviation Business Leaders to Board of Trustees

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University recently appointed two new members to its Board of Trustees. Leanne Caret and Kenn Ricci — two distinguished leaders in the aviation industry — bring decades of experience to the university's board.

Their appointments were officially confirmed March 29, 2024.

Meet Leanne Caret

Longtime CEO and Fortune 100 director Leanne Caret has been announced as the newest member of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Board of Trustees. 

A senior advisor to Blackstone, Caret currently serves as board director and chair of audit committee for both Deere & Company and RTX (formerly Raytheon Technologies). She is also a senior advisor to MyNextSeason, which offers coaching to C-suite leaders, and was most recently the executive vice president and senior advisor to The Boeing Company, where she also served as CEO and president of Boeing Defense, Space and Security. She retired in 2022.

“The greatest act that any of us can do, as Americans, is to pay it forward,” Caret said. “I look forward to doing just that at Embry-Riddle, in contributing to the university’s mission of developing the next generation of talent throughout the fields of aviation and aerospace.”

Across her 34-year career at Boeing, Caret led finance, operations and management divisions, as well as managed a $30 billion budget and oversaw 30,000 employees.

“Leanne is an expert in helping high-performing organizations reach the next level,” said Mori Hosseini, chair of Embry-Riddle’s Board of Trustees. “She is a highly strategic thinker with a wealth of experience in industry — exactly the type of person to help lead this institution into the future.”

Additionally, Caret serves on the boards of the Kansas State University Foundation and USO Inc. She is a member of the advisory boards for Virginia Tech National Security Institute and the Oklahoma Aerospace Defense Innovation Institute, as well as a fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society and an associate fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

“Trustee Caret has led change at global companies, mentored senior leaders and has helped transform industries by championing the integration of emerging technologies,” said Embry-Riddle President P. Barry Butler, Ph.D. “The university is sure to benefit from her wisdom and counsel.”

A graduate of Kansas State University, Caret earned her Master of Business Administration from Wichita State University. She earned an honorary doctorate from Embry-Riddle in 2022.

Meet Kenn Ricci

Flexjet Chairman Kenn Ricci — a leading aviation entrepreneur and philanthropist — was confirmed March 29 to serve on the Board of Trustees of Embry-Riddle.

Ricci is principal of Directional Aviation Capital, a firm that owns and invests in a wide range of aviation-related businesses. This portfolio includes Flexjet, a provider of fractional private jet services, and its many affiliates. Additionally, Ricci owns businesses serving numerous other sectors within aviation.

“Kenn is second to none when it comes to deep understanding of the aviation business and a successful track record in the industry,” said Chairman Hosseini. “He will not only be an outstanding board member but he shares our mission of molding the next generation of talent in aviation and aerospace.”

President Butler added: “Trustee Ricci is a pillar of the aviation industry. His unique leadership skills, business acumen, passion and vision will be incredible assets, and I look forward to working with him.”

In addition to assembling one of the world’s largest groups of private aviation companies — collectively, Ricci’s firms account for over $4 billion in revenue, operate more than 300 aircraft and employ over 5,000 people — Ricci has also shown a longstanding commitment to higher education.

“Investing in future aviators is one of the most important services that those of us who love aviation can perform; in fact, that’s one of the many reasons I felt it vital to develop the Flexjet Innovation and Career Center at Embry-Riddle in 2017,” Ricci said. “Embry-Riddle is the leader in inspiring and educating the future of our industry, and I am eager to collaborate to uphold the university’s mission of teaching the science, practice and business of aviation and aerospace."

Ricci began his aviation career as an Air Force ROTC cadet at the University of Notre Dame. In 1980, he founded his first company, Corporate Wings, which provides aircraft management and charter operations. An accomplished pilot in his own right, Ricci’s more than 40-year aviation career has taken him across the globe.

In 2016, Ricci was honored with the Lifetime Aviation Entrepreneur Award from the Living Legends of Aviation organization. Today that award bears his name. Three years later, the organization honored him as a Living Legend of Aviation.

Ricci’s charitable endeavors include Able Flight, which provides people with disabilities a way to challenge themselves through flight and career training. In 2014, he was honored by the Northeast Ohio Chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation for championing research and treatment of the disease.

In 2018, Ricci was named among the Top 50 Philanthropists in “Town & Country Magazine” for his outstanding support of higher education, including his creation of a groundbreaking giving structure called the Philanthropic Succession Partnership that led to the donation of $100 million to the University of Notre Dame — the largest unrestricted gift in the university’s history.

Ricci also serves on the University of Notre Dame’s board of trustees and the Smithsonian National Board of The Smithsonian Institution.

For further information, please visit Embry-Riddle’s Newsroom to access separate features on Leanne Caret and Kenn Ricci.

*Seth Robbins contributed to this report