“I’m energized by the opportunity to join a company like Wheels Up; a trailblazer in the industry with marketing prowess, forward vision, and huge growth opportunity,” said Applbaum. “Kenny is a remarkable leader with an incredibly talented team, and I am excited to expand on what’s been built already and propel the brand forward for the future.”
Applbaum joins Wheels Up with over 25 years of experience building iconic brands and leading global marketing teams across a wide range of consumer goods and services. Most recently, Applbaum served as CMO at Surterra Wellness, one of the nation’s fastest growing wellness lifestyle companies. Prior, he was Global CMO for Patrón Tequila and Grey Goose Vodka at Bacardi Global Brands Limited overseeing the fully integrated marketing and innovation efforts across more than 165 countries. This followed the successful $5.1B sale of Patrón to Bacardi in 2018 where he also previously held the CMO role. Applbaum has led marketing and sales across a range of household name brands throughout his career including Target Australia, Federated Department Stores and The Coca-Cola Company. He received a BBA from The University of Texas Austin and his MBA from The University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
Applbaum has been recognized as a brand builder and innovative marketer and was honored with the prestigious Adweek Brand Genius award for groundbreaking digital and social media as CMO of Patrón Spirits in 2015 and named Business Insider’s “Most Innovative CMO” in 2017.
Applbaum will be based out of Dallas and New York, reporting to Wheels Up Founder and CEO Kenny Dichter.