Built to Make Business Aviation More Efficient.
RISE combines operational expertise and software engineering to unlock efficiency for business aviation operators.
Our Story.
RISE is founded
The company is created with a clear mission: bring algorithmic efficiency to business aviation operations.
R&D & pilot programme
Intensive research and development phase. First pilot deployment of OPTIRISE with early-adopter operators.
First customers
OPTIRISE goes live with its first commercial customers, validating measurable cost and efficiency gains.
Growth
Scaling the customer base across Europe while deepening product capabilities and integrations.
US expansion
Expanding our customer base to North America.
AVISCORE launch
Introduction of AVISCORE, expanding RISE toward a modular platform vision for business aviation.
Meet the Core Team.
Max Van Cauwenberghe
CEO & Co-Founder
More than 15 years in the transportation industry as a consultant and in management positions internationally. Max is also the manager of a 1500m² solar power plant.
Stéphane Geay
Co-Founder
Highly experienced pilot on aircraft ranging from jets to turboprops and helicopters, Stéphane has also founded and managed a successful taxi airline with 12 aircraft.
Jean-François Simon
CTO & Associate
With 15 years of experience in Full-Stack Development and Software Architecture, Jean-François has been an entrepreneur in start-ups such as Major Corp (business intelligence) and Deecision (data management and due diligence).
Léa Lucas
Product Manager
With a strong background as a Dispatcher and Sales professional in business aviation, Léa joined RISE to tackle new challenges and meet Optirise users' unique needs.
Julien Habert
Lead Developer
Julien is a fullstack developer passionate about mastering the latest web technologies, from React to AWS. With years of experience in fintech, front-end architecture, and web apps, he thrives on solving complex challenges.
Monica Gomez
Business Development Director - Americas
With over seven years driving aviation sales across North America and Latin America, Monica has driven new revenue at companies like Polaris Aero, Spire Aviation, and FlightAware. A dual U.S.-Mexico citizen and native Spanish speaker, she has joined RISE to lead business development across the Americas.
Rabianti Dini Ali
Product Manager
With close to a decade in aviation operations, Rabianti spent the last three years as Air Operations & Sales Coordinator at Airlec, quoting charter missions and coordinating medical flights end to end. She brings hands-on business aviation experience to shaping RISE's products around users' needs.
Kamel Eddine Hamdani
Project Manager
Kamel brings a strong mix of data analytics, business insight, and product management expertise. He gained valuable aviation experience at Air France KLM, working in Crew Planning and Revenue Management. At RISE, Kamel focuses on aligning technology with user needs to deliver impactful, operations-driven solutions.
Luca Mencarelli, PhD
Dr. in Mathematics – Operations Research
Thanks to his curriculum and experience, Luca designs the optimization algorithms.
Strategic Committee Members & Advisors.
Jérôme Bouchard
EU-USA Aeronautics Expert
As a Partner at Oliver Wyman, Jérôme has been building an expertise of the aerospace industry for 15 years, both in Europe and in the Americas. Jérôme focuses on organization design and innovation.
Jean Dauphin
Project Management & Corporate Strategy
After 40 years in the space industry, having developed key projects, products and opened new market segments, Jean is applying his experience and skills to accelerate ambitious projects in the deep tech domain.
Sébastien Clèdes
Corporate Finance Expert
Corporate finance expert with 30 years of experience, Sébastien has worked in different contexts with SME's and startups: fundraising, M&A, valuations. He is now an active member at Investessor to share his knowledge with founders.
Nathan Vanderspeeten
Associate & Advisor
After graduating with an engineering and management degree, Nathan joined RISE as the first employee in 2021, as a Product & Market Manager. He is now a RISE advisor.
Nicolas Petrovic
Leader in Transportation & Industry
After having held several management positions in operations and services, Nicolas has led Eurostar from 2010 to 2018, and has then presided over Siemens Group in France and Belgium.
Caroline Mouveaux-Berekbaum
Leader in Air Freight
As associate of Prodex Worldwide express logistics for the aerospace sector, Caroline has steered the group for 25 years as it expanded internationally. She founded Alter Ago to help other companies grow.
Partners & Ecosystem.
Industry Memberships
RISE is an active member of the following industry organizations.
Support & Ecosystem
Accelerators, institutions, and ecosystem partners supporting RISE.
Careers at RISE.
We are building the future of efficiency in business aviation and always looking for curious problem-solvers.
No open positions right now
We are not currently hiring for any roles. If you would like to be considered for future opportunities, please send your profile to hr@rise.express.