Blade Corporate Governance

Eric Affeldt has served as our Chairman since September 2019. From 2006 to 2017, Mr. Affeldt served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of ClubCorp, a privately held owner and operator of golf, dining and fitness clubs. In 2017, he assisted with the take private transaction of ClubCorp, which was previously listed on the NYSE, to an affiliate of Apollo Global Management. Prior to ClubCorp, he served as a principal of KSL Capital Partners, a private equity firm that specializes in travel and leisure, from 2005 to 2007. In addition, Mr. Affeldt was president of General Aviation Holdings, Inc., an aviation holding company, from 2000 to 2005. Prior to this, Mr. Affeldt also served as President and Chief Executive Officer of KSL Fairways, an owner and manager of golf courses; vice president and general manager of Doral Golf Resort and Spa in Miami and the PGA West and La Quinta Resort and Club in California. He has also served on the Board of Directors of the Vail Health System, a private healthcare system in Colorado, since 2017. Mr. Affeldt served as a director for Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, an owner and operator of amusement parks, from 2010 to 2018, and was chairman of the Board of Directors from 2012 to 2018. He has a B.A. in Political Science and Religion from Claremont McKenna College. 

John Borthwick has served as one of our directors since March 2023. Mr. Borthwick is the Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors of Betaworks, a New York-based startup platform that builds, accelerates, and invests in early-stage consumer technology companies, which he founded in August 2008. From July 2006 to October 2007, Mr. Borthwick served as the Chief Executive Officer of Fotolog, a private photo-sharing social media network. From March 2003 to August 2006, Mr. Borthwick served as Senior Vice President of Alliances and Technology Strategy for Time Warner Inc., a NYSE-listed media and entertainment company. Mr. Borthwick currently serves on the Board of Trustees of WNYC, New York Public Radio. Mr. Borthwick has an M.B.A. from the Wharton School and a B.A. in Economics from Wesleyan University. 

Andrew Lauck has served as one of our directors since March 2023. Mr. Lauck served as an observer on our Board from December 2022 to March 2023. Since December 2024, Mr. Lauck has been Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Maple Park Capital Partners (“MPC”), a private investment firm. Prior to co-founding MPC, Mr. Lauck served as Partner at RedBird Capital Partners LP (“Redbird”) from December 2019 to December 2024, where he was also a Principal from December 2016 to December 2019 and a Vice President from July 2014 to December 2016. At RedBird, Mr. Lauck led the firm’s consumer investment business and was responsible for the firm’s investments in the Company, Go Rentals, AeroCenters, Jet Linx, BETA Technologies, Equipment Share, Main Event Entertainment and RedBird QSR. Prior to joining RedBird, Mr. Lauck served as Vice President of BDT & Company LLC, a private merchant bank, from December 2013 to July 2014 and as an Associate from August 2011 to December 2013. Mr. Lauck was an Associate at Flexpoint Ford, LLC, a private equity investment firm, from July 2010 to August 2011 and an Analyst at Goldman Sachs, a NYSE-listed American multinational investment bank and financial services company, from July 2007 to June 2010. Mr. Lauck serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Vogel Alcove, a non-profit organization on a mission to help young children overcome the lasting and traumatic effects of homelessness, and on the boards of the Cotton Bowl Athletic Association, Rita’s Franchise Company, LLC, Jet Linx Global, Inc., SAR Trilogy Management LLC (d/b/a AeroCenters) and Gitbin & Associates (d/b/a Go Rentals) (all of which are privately held companies). Mr. Lauck previously served on the Boards of Ampler QSR LLC, Lambda Energy Resources LLC, Ardent Leisure US Holdings Inc. (d/b/a Main Event Entertainment), Aethon United LP, FireBird Energy LLC, Four Corners Petroleum II, LLC, Vida Capital, CapturePoint LLC, and Avmont LLC. Mr. Lauck has a B.S. in Finance and International Business, with distinction and honors, from Indiana University, and is an FAA licensed, instrument-rated pilot. 

Kenneth Lerer has served as one of our directors since May 2021 and was the chairman of Old Blade’s Board of Directors from July 2016 through the Closing Date. Mr. Lerer is a managing partner at Lerer Hippeau Ventures, an early stage venture capital fund, which he founded in January 2010. He was a co-founder of The Huffington Post (acquired by AOL), an American news aggregator and media company, from 2005 to 2011 and previously served as Executive Vice President of AOL Time Warner, a global media technology company, from 2000 to 2002. Mr. Lerer has sat on the Board of Group Nine Media, an American digital media holding company, since 2016. He was formerly the Chairman of BuzzFeed, an American internet media, news and entertainment company, from 2008 to 2019 and previously served on the Board of Viacom, a multinational media and entertainment corporation, from 2016 to 2018. 

Reginald Love has served as one of our directors since September 2021. Mr. Love has served as a Senior Advisor at Apollo Global Management, a private global alternative investment management firm, since February 2020. Mr. Love previously served as Partner at RON Transatlantic EG, an international financial holding company with interests in the financial services, logistics, energy, industrial and beer sectors in the United States, Latin America and Europe, from 2012 to February 2020. Prior to joining RON Transatlantic EG, Mr. Love served at the White House as personal aide to President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2011, where he was responsible for assisting with the coordination and completion of the President’s daily schedule as well as coordinating with other White House offices to set up long and medium range planning. Mr. Love is a graduate of Duke University and has an M.B.A. from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Love also serves on the boards of Cox Media Group, a private American media conglomerate, and the National Summer Learning Association, an American non-profit organization focused on education. 

Susan Lyne has served as one of our directors since May 2021. Since September 2014, Ms. Lyne has been President and Managing Partner of BBG Ventures, a private investment fund focused on women-led tech startups. From February 2013 to September 2014, Ms. Lyne was Chief Executive Officer of the AOL Brand Group where she oversaw the content brands of AOL, Inc., a global media technology company, including TechCrunch, Engadget, StyleList, Moviefone and MapQuest. From September 2008 to February 2013, she was Chief Executive Officer and then Chair of Gilt Groupe, Inc., the innovative ecommerce company that pioneered flash sales in the United States. From 2004 to 2008, Ms. Lyne served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc., a diversified media and merchandising company. From 1996 to 2004, Ms. Lyne held various positions at The Walt Disney Company, a diversified worldwide entertainment company, including President of ABC Entertainment. Ms. Lyne is currently a director of GoPro, Inc., a Nasdaq-listed company, where she is Chair of the Compensation Committee, and has previously served as a director of Gilt Groupe, Inc., AOL, Inc., Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc., Starz Entertainment Group, LLC, a global media and entertainment company, and CIT Group, Inc., an American bank and financial services company. 

Edward Philip has served as one of our directors since September 2019. Mr. Philip was the Chief Operating Officer of Partners in Health, a global non-profit healthcare organization, responsible for overseeing the operations of the Partners in Health projects globally including in countries such as Liberia, Sierra Leone, Rwanda and Haiti, from 2013 to 2017. Previously he served as Special Partner of Highland Consumer Fund, a consumer-oriented investment fund which he founded, from 2013 to 2017 and as Managing General Partner from 2006 to 2013. Mr. Philip was one of the founding members of the internet search company Lycos, Inc. During his time with Lycos, Mr. Philip held the positions of President, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer at different times. Prior to joining Lycos, Mr. Philip spent time as the Vice President of Finance for The Walt Disney Company and also previously spent a number of years in investment banking. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of United Airlines Holdings Inc., a Nasdaq-listed airline, since 2016, and BRP Inc., a publicly traded Canadian recreational vehicle manufacturer, since 2005. From 2002 to 2023, Mr. Philip served on the Board of Directors of Hasbro, Inc., a Nasdaq-listed toy and entertainment company. Mr. Philip has a B.S. in Economics and Mathematics from Vanderbilt University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. 

Robert Wiesenthal has served as Blade’s Chief Executive Officer since the closing of EIC’s acquisition of Old Blade in 2021 (the “Closing Date”) and Old Blade’s Chief Executive Officer from July 2015 through the Closing Date. Mr. Wiesenthal has also served as one of our directors since May 2021, and as a member of Old Blade’s Board of Directors from June 2014 through the Closing Date. 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 Inc., a Nasdaq-listed company, and previously served on the Board of Directors of Starz, a global media and entertainment company. Mr. Wiesenthal has a B.A. from the University of Rochester.