Former president of local charter flight company JetSuite, Stephanie Chung, has taken a post at fellow private aviation business Wheels Up as the company’s first chief growth officer. The new role follows Wheels Up’s acquisition of Delta Private Jets with Delta Air Lines earlier this year.
In her new post, Chung will focus on expanding the company’s client base and diversifying membership. Chung brings more than 30 years in the private aviation sector to her new position and is recognized as the first African American president of a private aviation company.
In addition to her role at JetSuite, Chung has also held influential posts at Flexjet—where she oversaw a team that brought in over $835 million in revenue—Delta Airlines, Bombardier, and American Airlines predecessor, US Airways.
Real estate firm Younger Partners has hired Sarah Fox as director of marketing. In her new role, she will be responsible for brand strategy and creative direction. Fox brings several years of commercial real estate and finance experience to Younger Partners, specializing in digital media advertising strategy.
Metal trading and technology company Dillon Gage has hired Joe De Rosa as managing director for the international depository services group, which includes a group in Dallas. De Rosa joins the company with more than 15 years of experience in the global valuable logistics industry, including a post as president at international valuables logistics solutions company Loomis International.
De Rosa holds a bachelor’s degree from Florida International University and an Advanced Masters Certification in supply chain management from Michigan State University.
National design and build firm KAI Enterprises has hired Chris Upton as its education practice leader in its Dallas-Fort Worth office. Upton brings nearly 20 years of experience to the table, including his most recent post managing construction for the Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District and a prior post as a KAI senior project manager.
“I understand the unique issues and perspectives of educators trying to design a new facility,” Upton said in a release. “I can relate to them because I have been in their shoes. My previous position at a local school district helps me to better connect to the building needs of our clients and to meet the demands placed on staff members to transform a community.”
At KAI, Upton will focus on leading major projects and programs, managing client relationships, and driving deliverables. He has a bachelor’s in architecture from Texas Tech and is a licensed architect in Colorado, Utah, Washington, and Texas.
SMU named Maria Dixon Hall, its first Chief of Diversity officer. She previously served as senior advisor to the president for Campus Cultural Intelligence Initiatives and associate professor of corporate communications in the Meadows School of the Arts.
In her new position, Dixon Hall will work to streamline and align SMU’s recruitment, retainment, and support efforts and promote diverse faculty, staff, and students. Her office will also convene a University Diversity Council to connect each school’s diversity officers and administration. Finally, she will initiate and report the outcome of all diversity initiatives and policies.
The university will soon hire a university ombudsperson who will report to Dixon Hall and handle counseling for discriminatory complaints. Dixon Hall will continue to coordinate diversity and anti-bias training at SMU.
Dixon Hall earned a Ph.D. in organizational communication from the University of Missouri-Columbia, a Th.M. in homiletics from Emory University; a master’s in Divinity from Emory University; and a bachelor’s in marketing from the University of Alabama.
