ClearJet Adds Brent Bellm After $25 Million Growth Round

By Nathan Brooks

ClearJet appointed Brent Bellm as an independent director following an Edison Partners-led $25 million growth equity round. The round increased the parcel logistics company’s total funding to more than $40 million. Bellm, the former BigCommerce Chief Executive Officer, joins as ClearJet expands its SuperCarrier network.

The company said it moves more than 30 million packages a year using licensed capacity on commercial flights at over 95 U.S. airports. That works out to over 82,000 parcels a day on a simple average.

Chris Guggenheim, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of ClearJet, said: “Brent has been inside many defining growth stories of the internet era and knows what it takes to turn a fast-growing company into a global category leader.” ClearJet said the appointment adds Bellm’s experience in payments, travel and enterprise e-commerce to the board.

ClearJet said Bellm has spent more than two decades helping technology businesses scale internationally. He held senior positions at eBay, PayPal, HomeAway and BigCommerce, including leadership roles at two companies that completed public offerings.

What changes for ClearJet’s customers?

For ClearJet’s enterprise customers, the practical change is governance rather than day-to-day operations. Bellm joins as an independent director, adding board-level experience in payments, travel and enterprise e-commerce.

ClearJet said its customer base includes:

• Enterprise retailers.
• E-commerce platforms.
• Third-party logistics providers.
• Online marketplaces.

The marketplace and e-commerce elements of that customer mix overlap directly with Bellm’s operating background at HomeAway and BigCommerce. ClearJet said his work gave him direct experience serving retailers and marketplaces similar to ClearJet’s customers.

The experience Bellm brings

Bellm joined eBay in 2001 as director of corporate strategy and participated in its acquisition of PayPal. ClearJet said he served as chief executive officer of PayPal Europe from 2005 through 2009.

ClearJet said European revenue tripled and payment volume grew by approximately 40% annually during Bellm’s tenure. That record adds direct experience with European revenue growth and payment volume to his board résumé.

He later became president and chief operating officer of HomeAway, managing vacation-rental marketplaces across five continents. ClearJet said he helped lead the company through its 2011 public offering.

From 2015 through 2024, Bellm was chief executive officer of BigCommerce. ClearJet said he took the enterprise e-commerce platform public in 2020 and gained direct experience serving retailers and marketplaces similar to ClearJet’s customers.

Brent Bellm, Independent Director of ClearJet, said: “I’ve been fortunate to help build companies at the moment they went from fast-growing to category-defining, and ClearJet has that same energy.” The appointment places Bellm’s scaling experience on the board as ClearJet expands, rather than inside an operating role.

The network Bellm will oversee

ClearJet said the SuperCarrier network combines four operating layers:

• Licensed capacity on commercial flights.
• Proprietary sorting automation.
• Artificial intelligence.
• Handoffs to final-mile delivery companies.

Commercial flights carry parcels between airports; sorting automation and artificial intelligence support the process; final-mile delivery companies complete delivery. ClearJet aims to offer the resulting air-freight speed at costs comparable to ground shipping.

Edison Partners led the $25 million growth equity round, according to ClearJet. The investment increased total funding to more than $40 million, and Bellm’s board appointment followed the raise.

For ClearJet, the sequence pairs growth capital with an operator who has led HomeAway and BigCommerce through public offerings. It also puts marketplace and payment experience behind a network aiming for air-freight speed at ground-comparable cost.

The next test is operational: whether Bellm’s scaling experience can help ClearJet expand beyond 30 million annual packages and 95 U.S. airports while preserving its cost comparison with ground shipping. The funding and board appointment provide capital and oversight, but delivery economics will decide whether the SuperCarrier proposition holds at scale.