The airport professional's source for airport industry news, articles, events, and careers.
Issue link: http://airportbusiness.epubxp.com/i/604359
November 2015 airportbusiness 15 Josh Hochberg fell in love with aviation at a young age. The central New Jersey native took his first flying lesson at age 12 and soloed on his 16th birthday. At 16, he got his first job in avi- ation as a summer intern at the FAA in AFS-800/Flight Standards. In high school he was also featured in a column by Gordon Baxter in Flying Magazine for a paper he wrote on the need for tort reform in general aviation. He earned his Bachelor's degree in Statistics at George Washington University. While attending the university, he worked as an analyst at The MITRE Corporation, a non-profit organization that operates research and development centers sponsored by the feder- al government. After graduation, he worked for Northwest Airlines in the revenue management department. He then spent four years at United Airlines beginning there as a pricing analyst and rising to comptroller of the $2.5 billion United Express program. While at United, Hochberg earned a Master's degree in Transportation from Northwestern University. He later earned a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree at Southern Methodist University and practiced law with Reed Smith, representing manufacturers of aircraft and components in product liability suits. When the economy cooled in 2010, the time was right for Hochberg to enter the FBO business, so he and his wife Julia acquired Sonoma Jet Center. Hochberg's college statistics professor and mentor Fritz Scheuren taught him W. Edwards Deming's notion of continuous improvement, which Hochberg has applied to his life overall and at Sonoma Jet Center to much success. Under his leadership, Sonoma Jet Center has had many accomplishments. In the five years since acquiring the company, it has achieved high levels of customer and employee satisfaction. The FBO joined the Signature Se- lect program so more people would know about the great job it is doing. Sonoma Jet Center's reputation for quality and service had led to many successes for the enterprise as a whole, including its growth from 650,000 gallons sold five years ago to 1.275 million gallons sold in 2015, and market share shift from approximately 45 percent three years ago to nearly 60 percent in 2015. Hochberg and his wife con- tinue to apply their friendly, innovative spirit to help improve the company every day. The proud father of Yael and Talia is also a commercial pilot and certified flight instructor. He enjoys flying with his family in their Cessna 340, and taking them to the EAA Airventure Oshkosh, which Hochberg has attended for 20 consecutive years. DID YOU KNOW? HOCHBERG took his daughter on her first airplane ride at 3 weeks of age. Josh Hochberg: Rising Tides of Success President and Owner Sonoma Jet Center, a Signature Select FBO Age: 39 Years in Aviation: 23 Memberships: NATA, NBAA, AOPA, EAA Selected as one of Airport Business Magazine's TOP 40 UNDER 40 - Aviations Best and Brightest! www.sonomajetcenter.com CONGRATULATIONS Josh Hochberg