Team Member Spotlight: Adham el-Effendi

Chief of Operations Adham el-Effendi grew up flying the wide open skies over west Texas’ famous Turkey Track Ranch and other expansive ranchlands built up over generations by his enterprising forebears. A native son of Dallas, his mother a fifth generation rancher and his father a former professional polo player and co-founder of the Dallas-based private equity firm Matador Capital Partners, much of Adham’s childhood was split between the city and “The Ranch.”

Adham’s grandfather, Jim Whittenburg, had a huge presence in Texas panhandle aviation where the vast distances between farms, ranches, and towns are often covered by Bonanzas and King Airs alongside F-150s and Coupe De Villes. Jim owned Amarillo’s Tradewind Airport and was a driving force behind the famous Tradewind Bonanza turboprop conversion; he also owned Beechcraft and Cessna dealerships on the field. He traded airplanes around like he traded his ranch horses, and Adham had first hand experience flying everything from King Air 200s to Learjets before he ever saw the inside of a junior high classroom. “Grandaddy would sit me in his lap and let me pull back on the yoke right after takeoff. I’d get mad when he’d push forward and not let me point the nose at the sky,” Adham chuckles as he reminisces. As a kid, he was eaten alive by the aviation bug.

Adham also spent many hours flying with Jim in another one of his favorite rides, a Bell Long Ranger, which Jim would use to bounce around to his various properties. Then one day, when Adham was 11, Jim and Adham’s grandmother Jeanne were headed from the Turkey Track into Amarillo when the helicopter encountered a microburst. Jeanne lost her life in the crash and Jim was badly injured.

After the accident, Jim lost his medical and the family’s relationship with aviation shifted. “I can’t really tell you much about the mind of a kid when something like that happens, but for me, when Grandaddy couldn’t fly anymore, I kind of just lost interest,” says Adham.

What filled the void was tennis. Adham proved to be a naturally gifted athlete, playing competitively throughout primary and high school. After graduating, he spent a year competing on the international junior level before taking his game to Southern Methodist University. At SMU, Adham proved a tough competitor and served as captain for two years.

After graduating with a BA from SMU’s Cox School of Business, he took the show on the road, competing on the ATP Tour, finding most success in doubles. “Tennis is largely viewed as an individual sport. In truth, especially at the college and professional levels, it’s a full team that really makes an athlete successful. Add in a doubles teammate and the individual really does become part of a greater whole.” This spirit of competing on and for a team at a very high level has proven to be invaluable in Adham’s career as an entrepreneur.

Forced to hang up the racket after four years on tour due to a wrist injury, Adham rekindled his love affair with flying, going full-force into getting his early ratings in as short a time as possible and purchasing an A36 Bonanza. During this same time, he co-founded Renters Club, now a multi-million dollar short-term rental property management company with locations in Austin, Houston and Jamaica.

With the purchase of a Cessna 421, Adham sought out Ross (Nyerges, APEX CEO) for help managing the aircraft, having known him by reputation through mutual acquaintances. After getting to know Ross and the APEX family, and having recently divested his interest in Renters Club, Adham offered to help around the shop. “I started turning wrenches for $15 an hour,” Adham laughs. “After some long and drawn-out negotiations, I convinced Ross I was worth $20.” But for Adham, it was an auspicious opportunity to get his foot in the door of the Austin aviation industry, something he had been considering for some time by this point.

With real entrepreneurial experience and bona fides, after a few months, Adham approached Ross about the possibility of buying in and helping grow APEX. Ross says, remembering the first conversation the two of them had about Adham joining the team, “I believe in Adham’s work ethic and vision for the future. He brings a lot of enthusiasm and intuition into the front office that’s great for the future of the company.”

Looking forward to helping APEX navigate its next chapter, Adham says, “The aviation industry is seeing historic days right now as more and more of the flying public turns to private aviation for personal and business travel. I’m excited to have a seat at the table with a company that I believe will be a significant player. APEX is a great asset to Austin and its corporate and private aviation community. I just want to continue to help us grow in this industry that I’ve come to love so much.”