Blade Management Team

Robert Wiesenthal has served as Blade’s Chief Executive Officer since July 2015. From January 2013 to July 2015, Mr. Wiesenthal served as Chief Operating Officer of Warner Music Group Corp., a global music conglomerate. From 2000 to 2012, Mr. Wiesenthal served in various senior executive capacities with Sony Corporation, most recently as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Sony Corporation of America. Prior to joining Sony, from 1988 to 2000, Mr. Wiesenthal served in various capacities with Credit Suisse First Boston, most recently as Managing Director, Head of Digital Media and Entertainment. Mr. Wiesenthal currently serves on the board of directors of TripAdvisor and previously served on the board of directors of Starz. Mr. Wiesenthal has a B.A. from the University of Rochester.

Will Heyburn has served as Blade’s Chief Financial Officer since December 2020 and Blade’s Head of Corporate Development since May 2018. Prior to Blade, Mr. Heyburn served in various capacities at Redbird Capital Partners, most recently as Vice President, from 2015 to 2018. Prior to RedBird, Mr. Heyburn was a member of the U.S. Credit Investment Team at Oak Hill Advisors, L.P., from 2013 to 2015. Prior to Oak Hill, Mr. Heyburn was a member of the investment banking group at Moelis and Company, focused on restructuring transactions, from 2011 to 2013. Mr. Heyburn has an A.B. from Harvard University.

Melissa Tomkiel has served as Blade’s President since January 2021 and Blade’s General Counsel since February 2015. She was Blade’s President, Fixed Wing from 2015 to 2020. From 2010 to 2015, Ms. Tomkiel was President of LIMA NY Corp., a commuter air carrier operating amphibious seaplanes and rotorcraft. From 2006 to 2010, Ms. Tomkiel was an attorney at Pryor Cashman. Ms. Tomkiel has a J.D. from St. John’s University School of Law and a B.A. from the University of Notre Dame.

Anatoli Arkhipenko has served as Blade’s Chief Technology Officer since April 2022. Prior to joining Blade, Mr. Arkhipenko was an SVP of Engineering and Technology at Wilshire Advisors, an investment advisory firm, from 2021 to 2022. From 2017 to 2021, Mr. Arkhipenko was a Director, US Technology Lead at Motive Partners, a financial technology investment firm. From 2015 to 2017, Mr. Arkhipenko was a regional CTO at EagleEye Systems, an unmanned aerial vehicles startup. Prior to EagleEye, Mr. Arkhipenko held several technology-related leadership positions with consulting and industry firms such as PwC, BearingPoint, KPMG, Morgan Stanley, New York Times, Barnes and Noble.com, etc.  Mr. Arkhipenko has a M.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences from Moscow State Technological University, and an M.B.A from Moscow International University.

Amir Cohen has served as Blade’s Chief Accounting Officer since May 2021. Prior to Blade, Mr. Cohen served in various capacities at WPP, most recently as SVP of Finance for its Wunderman Thompson network. Prior to WPP, Mr. Cohen was a Manager at PwC in New York. Mr. Cohen is a Certified Public Accountant and has an M.B.A from the New York University and a B.A. in Economics and Accounting from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.