Matthew Liotta
Chief Executive Officer and Director
Mr. Liotta co-founded Volato and has served as a Director and Chief Executive Officer since its inception. Prior to co-founding Volato, in 2016, Mr. Liotta founded Agrify (NASDAQ: AGFY), an agricultural technology company where he served as President until 2019 and Chief Technology Officer from to 2019 to 2020. Prior to that, Mr. Liotta worked for several Silicon Valley venture capital backed portfolio companies, including gMoney Corporation, Yipes, TeamToolz, and DevX. Mr. Liotta has also held positions at Hudson Global, Pharmasset, and One Ring Networks. In 2019, Mr. Liotta also co-founded CEADS, a non-profit organization for the advancement of Controlled Environment Agriculture and served as its President until 2022. He currently serves as a Director for Fintainium, a cloud-based financial technology company that provides secure remote and mobile access for financial services.
Nicholas Cooper, CFA
Chief Commercial Officer and Director
Mr. Cooper co-founded Volato and has served as a Director and in various executive officer roles since its inception, including most recently as Chief Commercial Officer. Prior to co-founding Volato Mr. Cooper was at AGM Service Company. Prior to that, in 2015, Mr. Cooper founded Apptuto, a 500 Startups accelerator portfolio company focused on mobile-first consumer edtech, where he served as Chief Executive Officer until 2017. Before starting his entrepreneurial career, Mr. Cooper gained experience in investment banking serving as Investment Manager at Al Nahdha Investment and Abu Dhabi Capital Group, a prominent family office in Abu Dhabi, UAE, where he was responsible for managing the Private Equity and Venture Capital portfolios from 2010 to 2015. From 2003 to 2009, Mr. Cooper was a Senior Associate at Macquarie Bank, operating out of the London and Sydney offices. Mr. Cooper holds a Bachelor of Commerce Degree from the University of Sydney Australia, where he was a resident of St. Johns College and Ellwood Scholarship recipient. Mr. Cooper is a CFA® Charterholder, CFA Institute, and is a former Chartered Accountant and lapsed member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants England and Wales.
Mike Nichols
Lead Independent Director
Mr. Nichols has served as a Director of Volato since August 19, 2021 and as the Chief Executive Officer of the Malibu M-Class Owners & Pilots Association (MMOPA) since October 2022. In September 2021, Mr. Nichols founded Flieger Strategies, LLC, an aviation and business strategy consultancy, where he continues to serve as President. Previously, Mr. Nichols was a senior executive with the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), where he served in several executive roles over the course of an 18-year tenure from 2003 to 2021, most recently as its Vice President of Strategy & Innovation. He continues to serve as a director on the NBAA’s Certified Aviation Manager Governing Board. In addition to a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, Mr. Nichols has earned Certified Aviation Manager (CAM), Certified Association Executive (CAE) and Institute for Organizational Management (IOM) credentials.
Christopher G. Burger
Director
Chris Burger is a proven senior executive, C-level advisor, and Board member with extensive experience leading global organizations through critical business and technology transformation initiatives. Chris has direct international management experience spanning five continents and currently serves as President & CEO of Transform with a mission to help clients and team members achieve their greatest potential and fulfillment. Notable Transform Aviation clients include, among others, Delta Air Lines, FedEx, United Airlines, and USAF Air Mobility Command. Earlier in his career, Chris held roles of increasing responsibility at GE and Motorola across digitization, acquisition integration, program and project management, strategic programs, global business planning and competitive intelligence. Chris holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with a Marketing Distinction Certificate from Emory University’s Roberto C. Goizueta Business School.