Pivotal CEO Ken Karklin Departs After Four Years; Board Member Mike Ross to Serve as Interim CEO
Why It MattersLeadership change at an eVTOL maker with a commercialized personal aircraft and a defense-focused program underscores the sector's ongoing transition from development to market execution.
Ken Karklin has left his role as CEO of Pivotal, the electric vertical takeoff and landing company backed by Google co-founder Larry Page, after more than four years in the position. Pivotal said Karklin is pursuing new endeavors but gave no further detail about his departure.
Mike Ross, an aviation executive who joined Pivotal's board in November 2025, will serve as interim CEO. Ross said the company's team, priorities, and roadmap remain steady through the transition, and that he looks forward to bringing Pivotal's fourth-generation Helix aircraft to market.
Karklin's exit comes two years after Pivotal began selling its Helix aircraft, a single-seat lightweight electric personal aircraft that does not require a pilot's license and starts at around $200,000. Pivotal has also been developing BlackFly, aimed at defense and first responder applications; last month BlackFly responded to an emergency in North Carolina for the first time, arriving 20 minutes ahead of an ambulance responding to the same call, and the aircraft has logged more than 10,000 flights to date. Pivotal is among the companies selected for the FAA's eVTOL Integration Pilot Program, established to expand testing of such aircraft across the United States.
