Denise Wilson

After years as a professional pilot, I became the founder, President and CEO of Desert Jet, an aircraft management company, in 2007. In 2009 Desert Jet earned FAA certification as a Part 135 on-demand air charter company (in a record 3 months) and began operations using a single jet aircraft. Desert Jet now operates a fleet of 9 jet aircraft throughout the Western Hemisphere and employs a team of 23. In 2013 I founded Desert Jet Maintenance to offer improved maintenance capabilities for our fleet of jet aircraft and to offer a world-class maintenance service in our desert region for Citations based in Southern California and the U.S Southwest. Desert Jet Maintenance is a Cessna Citation FAA Certified Repair Station with capabilities on all CE500 and CE525 series aircraft, CE510 Mustang, CE650, and CE680 Sovereign. A combination of being in the right place at the right time, offering a level of service our clients desire, and hiring a great team has led Desert Jet to ranking four consecutive years on the Inc. 500|5000 list of the nation’s fastest growing privately-owned companies, ranking #296 in 2011, #69 in 2012, #715 in 2013 and #1440 in 2014. I am qualified by the National Business Aviation Association as a Certified Aviation Manager (CAM) and am a Director on the Governing Board for program. I have over 7000 hours of flight experience in aircraft manufactured by Cessna, Gulfstream, Hawker, Boeing, Pilatus, Israeli Aircraft and Saab. I was selected as one of the EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women Class of 2013 and chosen to participate in the Ready Set, Grow program in Monte Carlo, Monaco in 2014. I also travel the country as a keynote speaker sharing my experiences in aviation and as a woman business owner. My specialties in business aviation include aircraft acquisitions and prepurchase inspections for the Citation family of aircraft, aircraft charter, aviation asset management and generation of revenue for aircraft owners.