World Economic Forum

'Skills are changeable - passions are not': Boom Supersonic CEO Blake Scholl

05.03.2023 - By World Economic ForumPlay

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With a background in software engineering and ad tech, Blake Scholl has an unusual CV for an aviation CEO. However, his singular passion for aviation drove him to learn this sector and eventually found a sustainable aviation company with flights twice as fast as what's offered today. Founding Boom was one of several crossroads moments in Scholl's life that drove home to him that knowledge and skills are adaptable and changeable, and there to support our passions.

In this episode, recorded at the Annual Meeting in Davos, he explains the opportunity supersonic flight offers now, decades after the famed Concorde, for tackling emissions and connecting the world. He also shared key pivot points - from leaving high school early, to hitting a wall as Boom founder - where he relied not on what he knew but what he could learn and possibly teach himself. Such an approach is critical for any listener as the job market will be increasingly transformed by a demand for new skills.

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