IL Leadership Shakeup At Broomfield's Gogo Air Internet Company

CHICAGO, IL -- Gogo, the Chicago-headquartered airline Wi-Fi company with a large Broomfield office, has replaced CEO Michael Smith with a member of the board of directors, the company announced Monday. Oakleigh Thorne was appointed president and chief executive officer, effective immediately, according to a press release. Thorne, a long-standing board member, is CEO of Illinois-based Thorndale Farm LLC, the family office of the Thorne family, which owns 30 percent of Gogo's outstanding common stock, the company said.

The company's stock has fallen significantly since it went public in 2013 at $17 per share, Crain's Chicago Business reported. Monday, the stock closed at $9.39, a dip from last fall's September trading value of $14.48.

Crain's reported that Gogo, which launched as a private company in 1991 called AirCell, has faced a challenge from airlines wanting to set up their own connectivity, Crain's reported.

"Poeple love having connectivity, they just don't want to pay $40 for a cross-country flight," Tim Farrar, president of consulting and research firm Telecom Media and Finance Associates in Menlo Park, Calif. told Crain's. "When some airlines like Jet Blue are giving it away, Gogo has a challenge."

Gogo (then AirCell) employed around 200 people in Colorado when the company moved to offices in the Interlochen Business Park in 2014. It was unclear how the leadership change might affect employees in the Broomfield offices.

Read more in Crain's here.

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