Rick Svetkoff
President, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Chairman
Mr. Svetkoff, a former US Navy pilot, is the President and CEO of Starfighters. After leaving the Navy, he served as a Captain at Continental Airlines (now United Airlines), where he flew the B727, MD80, B757, and B767. Shortly after starting with Continental, in 1996, Mr. Svetkoff purchased a Lockheed F-104 and began flying at airshows and founded Starfighters, Inc. (a predecessor to the Company). He then acquired a fleet of the jets for a three-aircraft Starfighters Demonstration team. Ultimately, he envisioned this Lockheed F-104 fleet as the core asset of a small, fast reacting aerospace company for a wide range of missions. In 2006, NASA invited the Company to establish a presence at the Kennedy Space Center, and it signed a permanent agreement in 2009. Mr. Svetkoff has served as the Company's President, Chief Executive Officer and a director since the inception of its predecessor, Starfighters, Inc., in 1996, and has grown it into what the Company believes to be the largest commercial squadron of supersonic-capable aircraft in the world.
Tim Franta
Director and VP Development
Mr. Franta has been the Vice President of Development for Starfighters since October 18, 2022. He is currently developing the smallest rocket capable of making it to low earth orbit by using a Lockheed F-104 as the launch platform. Mr. Franta has served in many technology and policy leadership roles. Prior to Starfighters, Mr. Franta was the deputy director of Energy Florida based in Cape Canaveral from October 2018 to September 2022 and Director of Special Projects from 2012 to October 2018. He specialized in space and energy business development by translating financial and physical requirements into fundable business plans. Mr. Franta is also an expert at coordinating public policy with private and governmental financing for mutually beneficial projects. Previously, Mr. Franta has worked for the Florida Legislature and was chief of staff for the Florida Space Authority. He was instrumental in drafting space transportation legislation which was considered and eventually adopted by the Florida Legislature, managed two launch pads and helped fund more than $300 million of space and ground infrastructure.
Sean Bromley
Director
Mr. Bromley is a self-employed independent consultant to private and public companies and has significant experience in consulting and advising early-stage companies. As a former investment advisor, Mr. Bromley also brings considerable capital markets and financing expertise to the Company. He has been working as an investment consultant for the past 9 years and currently serves, or has served, as a director and consultant for multiple public and private companies including The Vurger Co Ltd. (since March 2022), Modern Mining Technology Corp. (since September 2021), Promino Nutritional Sciences Inc. (since August 2020), Pure Extracts Technologies Corp. (December 2019 to August 2023), Isracann Biosciences Inc. (December 2018 to January 2024), Bolt Metals Corp. (October 2017 to November 2024) White Gold Corp. (since November 2015), and Apollo Silver Corp. (August 2015 to June 2023). As a consultant, Mr. Bromley assists companies with corporate strategy, the identification of potential targets for mergers and acquisitions and the negotiation of transaction agreements, capital raising and making introductions to potential business partners. Mr. Bromley holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree with specialization in Finance from the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada. He also studied at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in 2012.
Brian Goldmeier
Director
Mr. Goldmeier is the founder and president of BYG Strategies, Inc., a strategic advisory and political consultancy firm headquartered in Miami, Florida, which he founded in November 2010. Through his firm, Mr. Goldmeier advises public and private sector clients across the United States on market entry, expansion strategies, capital development, and stakeholder engagement. He has extensive experience supporting early-stage companies, including those in the technology, cryptocurrency, and financial services sectors, and has worked closely with C-suite executives and corporate boards to advance growth strategies and public-private initiatives. Mr. Goldmeier has served as a senior advisor and principal fundraiser to numerous political campaigns, issue-based initiatives, and nonprofit organizations. Over the course of his career, he has led efforts that have raised more than $300 million for political and policy campaigns and has supported capital raises and business development projects valued at over $500 million. His experience includes structuring and advising on complex multi-stakeholder initiatives, public-private partnerships, and major investment and infrastructure projects. Mr. Goldmeier is also engaged in civic and professional training, offering strategic networking and fundraising guidance to elected officials, trade associations, and business coalitions. He is widely regarded for his ability to navigate government relations, investment strategy, and corporate positioning at both the local and national level.
Geoffrey P. Hickman
Director
Geoffrey "Hak" Hickman is a c-suite executive and board member with over 30 years' experience in risk management, financial services, and building high performing teams. He is a former tactical military pilot with over 3200 flight hours and holds FINRA banking licenses (Series 24, 79, 7, 63). While also flying for a major US airline, Mr. Hickman is currently the Managing Partner of Global Specialized Advisory, LLC., a consulting company providing expertise to clients with a focus on financial efficiency, structuring and risk transfer. Prior to this, Mr. Hickman was the Chief Commercial Officer for Aon's Public Sector Partnership (PSP) which focused on developing innovative solutions to help governments and other public institutions reduce volatility and increase the resiliency of their mission. Mr. Hickman previously served as a senior leader within Citi's Public Sector Group and led Citi's relationships with the World Bank Group and the U.S. Department of Defense. He also led Citi's overall efforts with Developmental Finance Institutions headquartered in Asia and Ministries of Defense globally. In these roles, Mr. Hickman drove client satisfaction in the delivery of Citi's full suite of corporate banking solutions to these complex, global public sector clients. Before joining Citi, Mr. Hickman was a management consultant with McKinsey & Company and specialized in designing transformative processes and structures in his work with financial institutions and large governmental organizations. Prior to his career in the business world, Mr. Hickman served as an F-16 Instructor and Evaluator pilot in the U.S. Air Force (USAF). Mr. Hickman deployed for multiple contingency operations and flew combat missions over Iraq and the former Yugoslavia, accumulating over 269 combat hours. In his final USAF assignment, Mr. Hickman served as the Ninth Air Force "Viper East" Demonstration Pilot and Team Commander. During this two-year period, he flew F-16 demonstrations at 77 air show sites across the US and Europe for over 17 million spectators. After departing from the USAF, Mr. Hickman was able to continue flying air shows after becoming qualified in the L-39 and F-104. Mr. Hickman holds the degree of Master in Public Policy (MPP) from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and a BS in International Affairs/History with a Minor in Mandarin language from the U.S. Air Force Academy. He is also the co-founder of the Veterans on Wall Street (VOWS) DC chapter, has served as a board member for the Association of Military Banks of America (AMBA) and is the Chair of the Advisory Board for Ranchland Capital Partners, a real asset investment manager focused exclusively on large western Ranchlands and providing clients with access to professionally managed, institutional quality assets.