Q&A with Christopher Marich – MySky

Christopher Marich, Co-Founder, Global Strategy Director, MySky

How long have you been at your current organization?

I co-founded MySky with my business partner Kirill Kim about five years ago in 2015. While this makes the company still relatively young, it has quickly expanded to become a key industry player in a short period of time. We grew from a small startup to a global company with 90 employees and offices in Switzerland, London, Moscow and New York.

What are your responsibilities within your organization?

I spearhead the overarching strategic guidelines and direction for MySky. I also lead the sales and marketing teams, alongside investor relations initiatives.

Describe a typical day or week in your role.

For me, each day typically starts in a new place – most of the time in a hotel room. My mornings are often dedicated to internal team meetings ranging from sales and marketing calls to updates from our IT team on next developments. In the afternoons, I am typically focused on meetings with clients and partners in order to further promote MySky’s mission to bring order to the private aviation industry.

Since we opened our U.S. office in February of this year, my days are often long, and can easily run into the night. 

What do you love most about your job?

I love challenging the status quo, and working to make a positive impact on the private aviation industry. I also enjoy the diversity of my days and feel privileged to have the opportunity to meet so many talented and smart individuals on a regular basis.

I am also excited to be partnering with more and more industry leaders, such as S&P Global and Satcom Direct (stay tuned, more announcements to come). In my opinion, strategic alliances are the most powerful way to deliver value to all industry stakeholders.

Why did working in the Business Aviation industry interest you, and how did you get started?

Like many in the industry, it all started with a passion for aviation – a passion that has been in my family for ages.

When I graduated from high school, I was not sure the best way to enter into the industry. I printed about 20 cover letters, bought a pass for EBACE in Geneva, and contacted a number of aviation companies that were exhibiting. I managed to get my first job in the industry, and have been enjoying every step since then.

Who or what has been your greatest professional influence?

I’ve had the opportunity to meet many inspirational leaders in our industry, and am very thankful for that. They have all been role models for me in some way, and I admire their career paths. Professionally, building MySky from the ground up has been the greatest and most important learning experience of my life. I believe that starting a business is the best MBA I ever could have received.

Describe yourself in 3 words.

Passionate, impatient and spontaneous.

What one item would you never travel without on a long haul flight?

My noise-cancelling headphones.

Finally, what is your hidden talent or hobby?

I am a true “Avgeek.” I’m passionate about everything linked to aviation: for example, I can spend hours reading about the latest turbofans under development, and have a special admiration for the Concorde (I’m amazed that it was technologically and politically possible to create this masterpiece 50 years ago).

I’m also currently working towards receiving my pilot license, and am planning to get my parachute license shortly.

Aviation aside, I like to think that I have a hidden talent for cooking. I am passionate about food and wine.