2015 Top 40 Under 40: Josh Hochberg

Nov. 25, 2015

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

Age: 39

Years in Aviation: 23

Memberships: NATA, NBAA, AOPA, EAA

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 aviation as a summer intern at the FAA in AFS-800/Flight Standards. He earned his Bachelor of Science 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 federal 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 Select 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 continue 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.