Leadership Team

John Owen brings more than 20 years of experience in management and financial consulting to the leadership team. John joined Airshare as CFO in 2016 and became President and CEO in March 2018. He fine-tuned his consultative skills and financial acumen, working in progressively higher roles at State Street, Accenture, and KPMG. He previously was CFO for a supply-chain management company and most recently served as Vice President for a national executive search firm leading their private equity practice. John received a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Kansas and a master's degree in accounting from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Alex Franz has over 20 years of experience in aviation. Alex has been with Airshare since 2003 and has held several positions, including Line Captain, Base Manager, Check Airman, and Chief Pilot. Earlier in his career, Alex served as a captain for a freight airline and Flight Instructor for a flight school. He also spent some time as a Civil Engineer. Alex holds a bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Kansas. Alex is type rated in the Phenom 100 and 300 and has logged over 6,000 hours of flight time.

Andy Tretiak has over 23 years of experience leading marketing, strategic planning and brand development for consumer and business-to-business brands. As CMO for Airshare, Andy leads the company's strategic marketing and communications efforts. Prior to joining Airshare, Andy was managing partner and co-founder of the digital marketing agency Brand Propulsion. He previously was CMO of Major League Soccer club Sporting Kansas City, where he was the architect of the team's highly successful rebrand in 2010. Earlier in his career, Andy spent several years in sports marketing, brand activation and advertising. He holds a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Missouri.

Josh Johnson has nearly 20 years of experience in accounting, financial reporting, research, and enterprise risk services. He joined Airshare from NIC, Inc., where he served as vice president and corporate Controller. Johnson currently serves on the supervisory committee of CommunityAmerica Credit Union and the Accounting Advisory Board of the University of Kansas. He holds an undergraduate degree and a master's degree in Accounting & Information Systems from the University of Kansas.

Kate Gruell joined Airshare in 2022 and has spent her entire career in the hospitality industry, developing an expertise in enhancing the customer experience and optimizing programming, technology, design features, and brand loyalty for top luxury hotel chains including The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company and Marriott International. Prior to joining Airshare, she designed and executed customer experience initiatives for more than 7,000 Marriott hotels worldwide across multiple brands. Kate is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the customer journey for our customers and she will also assist in evolving and promoting Airshare’s family-oriented culture to attract and retain the best talent in private aviation. Kate has a master’s in business administration from the University of Maryland, was a graduate of the Executive Leadership Development Program from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Professional Development Program in Leadership from Cornell University and received her undergrad in Hotel and Catering Management from Strathyclyde Business School.

Lori Harlow joined Airshare in 2009 as Accounting Manager and was promoted to Controller in 2011. In 2015, Lori was promoted to Vice President of Accounting and Controller. Prior to joining Airshare, Lori started her career in public accounting and served both business and individual clients in tax, accounting, and attestation services before serving as a senior financial analyst at Sprint and then as an inventory accounting supervisor at Embarq. She holds designations both as a CPA and as a Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA). Lori holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from Baker University.

Brian Randow joins Airshare with 30 years of experience in aviation and a passion for operations. Most recently, Brian was V.P. of Operations at iAero Airways (Swift Air). Swift operates a fleet of 737 and 767 aircraft that fly sports teams, the U.S. Government and cargo companies. In this position, Brian restructured the Operations Control Center and played a key role in certifying their Boeing 767. Previous roles included serving as COO for Trans States Airlines, CEO of Ameriflight, the county's largest Part 135 cargo airline, and COO of Compass Airlines. An analyst at heart, Brian enjoys the daily challenge of finding efficiencies within operations to serve our customers best.

Steve Blanck joined Airshare in 2014 and has over 20 years of experience in private aviation. Prior to joining Airshare, Steve was a Partner in a local private practice where he specialized in assisting businesses and high-net-worth individuals buy and sell aircraft. He specialized in structuring acquisitions to maximize tax benefits. He holds a master of laws (LL.M.) in Taxation from the University of Missouri Kansas City, a law degree from Washburn University and received his undergrad from Kansas State University.

Gary P. Veer has over 40 years of working as a mechanic, inspector, and manager in aircraft maintenance. For the last 14 years have been with Airshare as the Director of Maintenance. Before coming to Airshare, he spent 18 years as DOM for several Air Ambulance operators maintaining rotor and fixed-wing aircraft. He has also spent time working in General Aviation as a manager of a 145 Repair Station.

Brittany Broxterman joined Airshare in 2019 with over 20 years of Human Resources experience. Her career has allowed her to experience a wide range of industries, including union/non-union, healthcare, technology, manufacturing and now aviation. After pursuing her Liberal Art and Science at the University of Kansas, Brittany also chose to gain her PHR and SHRM-CP credentials to advance her H.R. education and focus further. She uses her multiple industry experience to bring insight into the practical and cultural aspects of Human Resources.

Jared Porter brings over ten years of experience in aviation safety to Airshare, having served in various aviation safety roles within the government and commercial and private aviation industries throughout his career. Prior to joining the company, Jared was an Aviation Safety Consultant. He holds a bachelor's degree in Aviation Technology and a master's degree in Aviation Safety from the University of Central Missouri.

Kyle McCracken has over 18 years of experience in private aviation. He has been with Airshare since 2010 and has held a number of positions within operations, including Manager of Owner Services, Manager of Flight Control and Director of Scheduling. Prior to Airshare, Kyle worked in scheduling at CitationAir, a fractional aircraft operator in Greenwich, CT. Kyle is a rated pilot with a Bachelor of Science degree in Aviation Management from the University of Central Missouri.