Biography:Blake Scholl
Blake Scholl | |
|---|---|
 Scholl in July 2024 | |
| Born | Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Carnegie Mellon University |
| Occupation | businessman |
| Title | Founder and CEO, Boom Technology |
Blake Scholl (born c. 1981) is an American tech entrepreneur. He founded Boom Technology in 2014, and in 2025 Boom Technology became the first private American company to build a crewed plane that flies at supersonic speeds (that is, the aeroplane project in question was not commissioned by US government; there are examples of supersonic aeroplanes that were built by American private companies and ordered by US government, see for example Bell X-1).[1][2]
Early life
Scholl was born in Cincinnati, Ohio to an electrical engineer father (german origins) and a French teacher mother.[3] A high school dropout,[4] he won a scholarship for early entry into Carnegie Mellon University, where he majored in computer science.[3][1]
Career
Scholl worked for Jeff Bezos in the "early days" of Amazon.[3] He then cofounded Kima Labs, a mobile technology startup that was acquired by Groupon in 2012.[1][5] In early 2014, Scholl took aircraft design classes, built an aerodynamics model, and sought feedback from a Stanford professor, who reviewed his calculations and encouraged him to aim higher, saying his estimates in his spreadsheet model for supersonic flight were conservative.[6] Scholl invested half of his share of the proceeds from the sale into his next venture, Boom Technology, which he founded later that year.[7][5] He has been the CEO of the company since October 2019.[8] The company's aircraft Boom XB-1 performed its first supersonic flight test in 2025.[9][10]
Personal life
Scholl obtained his private pilot license in 2007.[11] He has four children.[4]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Vance, Ashlee (October 6, 2020). "Aviation Outsider Builds Supersonic Jet for Transatlantic Flight". Bloomberg Businessweek. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-10-06/boom-technology-wants-to-build-supersonic-jet-that-cuts-flight-times-in-half.
- ↑ "Blake Scholl - Agenda Contributor" (in en). https://www.weforum.org/stories/authors/blake-scholl/.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Coates, Philippa (January 29, 2018). "How Boom founder Blake Scholl plans to start supersonic flights by 2023". Australian Financial Review. https://www.afr.com/life-and-luxury/boom-founder-blake-scholl-planning-supersonic-travel-by-2023-20171127-gzteus.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Neate, Rupert (August 27, 2022). "Boom founder Blake Scholl: from high school dropout to supersonic high-flyer". The Observer. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/aug/27/boom-founder-blake-scholl-from-high-school-dropout-to-supersonic-high-flyer.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Brady, Diane (December 13, 2023). "Meet The Man Whose Product Could Take 16 Years To Launch". Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/dianebrady/2023/12/13/meet-the-man-whose--product-could-take-16-years-to-launch/.
- ↑ Hersey, Will (May 28, 2019). "Concorde 2.0: Can An American Start-Up Bring Back Supersonic Passenger Flight?". Esquire. https://www.esquire.com/uk/design/a27609133/concorde-2-boom-supersonic/.
- ↑ Kluger, Jeffrey (January 19, 2025). "This CEO Wants to Bring Back Supersonic Passenger Travel". Time. https://time.com/7207899/boom-supersonic-blake-scholl-interview/.
- ↑ "Blake Scholl". Bloomberg L.P.. https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/person/21301609.
- ↑ O'Hare, Maureen (January 28, 2025). "Boom: America's answer to Concorde completes its first supersonic flight". https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/28/travel/boom-supersonic-first-flight-break-sound-barrier-mach-1/index.html.
- ↑ Batchelor, Tom (2025-02-05). "Boom's Overture to be airborne in 'four years'" (in en-en). https://aerospaceglobalnews.com/news/booms-overture-to-be-airborne-in-four-years/.
- ↑ Vanderbilt, Tom (December 20, 2021). "Boom's Quest to Make Supersonic Flights a Reality (Again)". Wired. https://www.wired.com/story/boom-supersonic-planes/.
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