President – Maintenance

Matthew Lesmeister

From two years as COO to leading a $30 million expansion of the MRO.

Matthew Lesmeister is a seasoned operator and growth strategist with over 15 years of experience building world-class enterprises through strategic insight, operational discipline, and an unwavering focus on delivering value for customers, employees and shareholders.

As flyExclusive sharpens its executive focus on the areas that create the greatest long-term growth and value, Matt now leads the company's MRO business unit, positioning it to become the pre-eminent maintenance operation on the East Coast.

Over his two years as chief operating officer, Matt helped transform flyExclusive's operations infrastructure, driving process improvements and efficiencies that improved dispatch availability by nearly 2,000 basis points while increasing aircraft utilization and driving multiple record peaks in flight hours on a smaller fleet.

Since joining flyExclusive in 2024 he was also instrumental in establishing SEC compliance, improving financial operations, and strengthening the company's cash position.

Supported by a $30 million grant from the state of North Carolina that will expand flyExclusive's Kinston footprint, Matt leads the continued development of the company's MRO, with full P&L responsibility — including maintenance, paint, interiors, and avionics.

His priorities include growing the external customer pipeline and leveraging flyExclusive's vertically integrated model to lower maintenance costs, improve fleet uptime, and enhance reliability, alongside continuing to drive increased maintenance dispatch availability and reduce hourly maintenance costs across the fleet.

Matt is based out of the Kinston office at flyExclusive's Global Transpark location, leading operations from there. The MSU division, Kinston FBO, maintenance control, VP of MRO, and Director of Maintenance (145) report to him, alongside MX Control and the MSU team based in the Raleigh office.

Matt served as vice president of transformation and strategy at Fox Factory Holding Corp, where he built a world-class FP&A organization from the ground up, spearheaded a global transformation initiative, integrated multiple acquisitions, and drove continuous operational improvement across the business.

Earlier in his career he held roles of increasing responsibility at United Technologies Corporation, the global aerospace and defense technology conglomerate.

Matt holds an MBA from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a bachelor's degree from Quinnipiac University. A licensed private pilot and lifelong aviation enthusiast, he brings a rare combination of financial acumen, operational rigor and genuine passion for the industry to the work every day.

Outside the cockpit and the boardroom, Matt is a proud father to his daughter Chloe and a dedicated motorsports enthusiast.