[5] In 2005, Corporate Wings acquired a stake in Mercury Air Centers, a company operating aircraft support facilities at airports around the U.S.[6] As chief executive officer, Ricci realigned its operating divisions, deployed $245 million of invested capital and eventually sold the company to the Macquarie Infrastructure Trust in 2007.
[7] Ricci founded Flight Options in 1998 (27 years ago) (1998) in an effort to develop a nationwide fractional jet services ownership program.
[11] In September 2013, Ricci announced that Directional Aviation would acquire Flexjet, a provider of fractional, jet card and charter services, from Bombardier Aerospace,[12] for $185 million.
[13] Ricci also announced substantial investments in Flexjet's fleet during 2013, placing orders with Bombardier that, with options, could total $5.6 billion in new aircraft.
[14][15] In 2014, Flexjet further expanded its fleet, moving beyond its former exclusive commitment to Bombardier-manufactured planes to add the Embraer Phenom 300 and Legacy 450.
In September 2018, Directional Aviation announced it had acquired charter broker PrivateFly and would house it within OneSky LLC, which includes Flexjet, SentientJet, and Skyjet.
[citation needed] Ricci also has founded or been involved with the management of several other companies, including Nextant Aerospace, which he serves as chief executive officer.
At the time of the announcement Ricci explained Zanite choose to align with Eve because of its simplistic design, Embraer’s track record of bringing new aircraft through certification to market, an already installed global support network and a presence in markets outside the U.S., that are positioned to be early adopters for urban air mobility UAM.
[26] In May 2022, Eve Air Mobility (EVEX) went public on the New York Stock Exchange following the company's merger with Zanite Acquisition Corp and has more than 2,000 orders for its aircraft from operators around the world.
[1][30][31] In 2017, Ricci donated $100 million to Notre Dame, the largest unrestricted gift in the university's history, using a Philanthropic Succession Partnership, a giving mechanism he pioneered.
He also has made other donations to Notre Dame, including a $5 million gift in 2016 to create an outdoor home for the Band of the Fighting Irish.
[38] Ricci was named to Town & Country magazine's Top 50 Philanthropists list for 2018,[39] and was also inducted into the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law Hall of Fame.