Wheels Up has appointed of Julia Zhang its senior vice president of pricing and revenue management.
In her new role, Zhang will focus on developing and implementing data-driven revenue growth strategies that provide significant enterprise value to the organization. In addition, she will work to create dynamic pricing rules and enhanced processes in the day-to-day pricing decisions, allowing the company to grow its membership base aggressively, optimize fleet strategies for customer needs, and maximize profitability.
Prior to Wheels Up, Zhang was vice president of device & supply chain strategy, analytics, planning and reporting, at T-Mobile, leading an organization of 85 people, including corporate strategists, data scientists, operation research scientists and reporting analysts.
As a member of T-Mobile’s device and supply chain executive leadership team, Zhang led the development and launch of innovative “un-carrier” initiatives as well as highly profitable device and service programs that attracted and retained millions of customers. As a result of the “un-carrier” strategies, T-Mobile went from the fourth wireless carrier to the second, surpassing AT&T, and becoming a Fortune 50 company.
“As Wheels Up continues to grow, we remain committed to attracting top talent from diverse backgrounds to drive strategic growth,” said Vinayak Hegde, chief marketplace officer. “Julia’s expertise will allow us to enhance and deliver optimal aircraft solutions and pricing options throughout our marketplace, while also accelerating revenue growth across the enterprise. We are delighted to welcome Julia to the team.”
Zhang received a bachelor’s degree in international economics from the Southwestern University of Finance and Economics in China and an MBA from California State University, Bakersfield.
The hiring of Zhang comes on the heels of several prominent additions to the Wheels Up executive leadership team. In May, Vinayak Hegde was appointed chief marketplace officer. In this role, Hegde oversees strategy and execution of initiatives across all aspects of the Wheels Up marketplace, including revenue accountability, product strategy, technology development, business strategy, sales and member experience. Previously, Hegde was a senior executive at Airbnb, Groupon and Amazon.
Last month, Wheels Up appointed software engineer and entrepreneur Gene McKenna as its chief product officer, overseeing the private aviation supplier's product portfolio. Previously, McKenna held leadership positions at Groupon and database marketing company Acxiom as well as starting and founding two tech companies.
