About LEO Flight
Meet the founders
Founders Pete Bitar and Carlos Salaff formed LEO Flight Corporation in 2021, with the belief that a massive leap was ready to be made in the technology and design of flying cars.
They saw that a tipping point had been reached. That the science-fiction vision of compact, personal flying cars is now within reach.
Bitar and Salaff are hands-on builders, having developed, tested, and commercialized several automobile and aircraft designs with both small groups and large corporations. The team they've assembled reflects that ethos, consisting of innovative thinkers who bring practical experience and creative solutions to every project.
LEO Flight's Advisory Board is best-in-class, and their strategic alliances in flight systems technology, energy infrastructure, and manufacturing provide confidence that LEO Flight and its partners have the know-how to create the future.
The LEO Coupe represents the next step in the future of flight, enabling safe, fast, and practical travel, with the simplicity of an automobile.
Our Mission
To our investors, we offer more than just a vision; we offer a sound investment in the future of transportation. With strategic alliances forged in technology, infrastructure, and manufacturing, we're laying the groundwork for a revolution—one that's as feasible as it is transformative.
To our future customers, we extend an invitation to join us on this journey—to be the pioneers of a new era of personal mobility.
Meet The Team
Pete Bitar
Co-Founder and Director of Flight Systems
Carlos Salaff
Co-Founder & Design Director
Chuck Whitaker
Chief Engineer
Shane Rienks
Lead Designer
The LEO Flight Advisory Board
SUSAN J. GARDNER
Susan J. Garner currently serves as Managing Partner at Gardner Aviation Services, LLC, and FAA ASI Contract Instructor at FAA Academy in Oklahoma City, OK.
Prior to this, Gardner served as
Special Assistant in the General Aviation and Commercial Division (AFS-800), FAA Headquarters, Washington DC
Gardner served as the National Aviation Events Specialist (NAES) for the FAA, and as:
National Program Manager leading the Sport Pilot/LSA Rulemaking, Alaska Capstone (ADS-B) & Wx Camera, International Helicopter Safety Team (IHST).
Gardner has 45 + years of aviation experience and over 6000 hours of flight time accumulated as an air carrier and general aviation pilot. She holds an Airline Transport Pilot Certificate with several type ratings and is a Certified Flight Instructor (CFII-ASMEL).
ROB FERBER
Rob Ferber serves as Chief Technology Officer at XOS Trucks. Xos, Inc. is an electric mobility company dedicated to making fleets more efficient. Xos designs and develops fully electric battery mobility systems specifically for commercial fleets.
As Science Director at Tesla Motors, Ferber was a member of the founding team, where he developed their core battery system technology. He has more than 26 gigawatt-hours of deployed lithium battery systems on the roads.
Throughout his career, Ferber has also served as Vice President and Chief Engineer at Hyperloop one, CTO and CEO at ElectronVault, and CTO at KLD Energy Technologies.
BORIS SOFMAN
Boris Sofman is the Sr. Director of Engineering for Trucking at Waymo, an autonomous driving technology company with a mission to make it safe and easy for people and things to get where they're going.
Prior to Waymo, Boris was the co-founder and CEO of Anki where Sofman's team sought to bring technologies from robotics and AI into mass-market consumer products. A global consumer business, shipping over 3.7M devices and robots since 2013, approaching $100M in annual global revenues.
Boris holds a B.S. in Computer Science and a M.S. and Ph.D. in Robotics from Carnegie Mellon University.
MARK WHITE
Mark White is a founding partner of White Summers Caffee & James LLP (formerly White & Lee), and leads the firm’s international practice.
Mark represents emerging growth, mid-stage and mezzanine stage companies and investment funds on all matters relating to the formation, financing, growth and liquidity of technology-based enterprises. Over the span of 20 years Mark has represented companies in well over 500+ financings and over 200+ acquisitions.
Notable company clients include Tesla Motors, Hotmail, Prezi, Instana, Orbit Beyond, Tiveni, Defonce Chocolatier & SEMI. Global Accelerator clients include Silicon Catalyst (US-semiconductors), Bootstraps Labs (US-AI), Impact Hub - Belgrade (South East Europe), Falcon X (Indian-based companies), Unicorn-Africa & Food System 6 (food tech companies). US venture capital and corporate venture clients include Motus Ventures, Denso, FinaVentures, NEA, Foundation Capital, Doll Capital Management, Leap Frog Ventures.
International venture capital clients include Sunstone Capital (Denmark), Day One Ventures (Hungary), Kibo Ventures (Spain), Enveready (Spain), Alabaster (Vietnam), Joint Poland Investment Fund (Poland), Creandum (Sweden)
LYON PORTER
Lyon Porter is known for award-winning, industry-leading projects that span all verticals, including residential, commercial, and hospitality.
With over 15 years of experience in real estate, a Masters in Real Estate from New York University, and having been tapped as “Rookie of the Year” and one of “Real Estate’s Rising Stars Under 35” by The Real Deal, Lyon Porter is now one of the top real estate brokers in New York City. Having sold over $3 billion in residential real estate, Lyon Porter is helping to change the Brooklyn and Manhattan skylines with his record-breaking condominium projects.
As an artist and creative, Lyon helped change the boutique hotel industry in 2014 when he opened Urban Cowboy, the first of its kind in Brooklyn. Since then, his hotel and hospitality brand has grown to include Urban Cowboy Nashville, the award-winning Public House Bar, Urban Cowboy Lodge, The Dive Motel, and, soon, Urban Cowboy Denver.
In his time off, Lyon enjoys traveling and exploring the world with his partner Jersey Banks, spending time with his daughter, Banks, and his son “LP3.”
RANDY SCHLITTER
Randy Schlitter is the CEO of RANS Aircraft. RANS Aircraft was founded in 1983 and has produced more than 5,000 experimental-amateur built kits and ready-to-fly special light-sport aircraft.
Production models include the S-7S Courier, S-20 Raven, and S-21 Outbound, and the S-19 Venterra.