Story ID: 
Boom Expands Leadership Team
By: Kerry Lynch
Caption: Boom brought in Kathy Savitt as president and CCO, Joe Massaquoi as CFO, and three more board members as it accelerates activities.
Word Count: 362
Boom Supersonic, prepping for the first flight of its XB-1 supersonic technology demonstrator, is expanding its leadership team and board of directors as it continues to accelerate efforts to develop the Overture supersonic airliner.

The company brought Kathy Savitt on board as president and chief commercial officer and Joe Massaquoi as chief financial officer. Savitt, who was a founder of growth and change management consultancy Perch Partners and a board member of Alaska Airlines, has served as a Boom adviser. Massaquoi takes the senior financial post at Boom after serving as CFO of Initium Aerospace, a joint venture established by Boeing and Safran to develop aircraft auxiliary power units. He also has held corporate development roles with Boeing and Boom said he has led strategic and financing transactions that have resulted in more than $36 billion in new capital infusion.

In addition, Boom added three new board members: Ray Johnson, who was also a Boom adviser and former senior v-p and chief technology officer for Lockheed Martin; Michael Marks, a founding managing partner of WRVI Capital and co-founder of construction technology company Katerra; and Jacqueline Reses, former head of Square Capital and chief development officer at Yahoo.

The additions, Boom said, will help enable the company to expand on its financing and commercial strategies. Boom last year rolled out the XB-1 demonstrator, which will verify design concepts for the Overture airliner that is to fly later in the decade. The company also progressed on a number of other fronts, including partnerships with Rolls-Royce and Collins Aerospace and a strategic agreement with the U.S. Air Force to explore government executive transport policies for the Overture.

 "The accomplishments of 2020—rolling out XB-1, signing an engine partnership with Rolls-Royce, and many more—brought us closer to our vision of mainstream supersonic travel," said Boom founder and CEO Blake Scholl. "Both Joe and Kathy bring tremendous business growth and leadership experience to Boom. Together with our new board members, Ray, Michael, and Jackie, Boom now has the team, the resources, and the partnerships in place to achieve our aggressive 2021 goals and to realize our long-term vision."