Heart Aerospace is pleased to announce the promotion of Cole Randle to Chief of Staff and Head of Corporate Affairs, and his appointment to the Executive Leadership Team.
As Chief of Staff, Randle will direct the Office of the CEO (OCEO), overseeing strategic planning, executive operations and communications, and cross-functional strategic initiatives. In his concurrent role as Head of Corporate Affairs, Randle will lead Heart’s global positioning strategy, driving engagement with media, governments, partners, and the public.
Since joining Heart in 2024 as Head of Strategic Engagement, Randle has overseen the company’s external affairs strategy and operated its core strategy and governance forums following Heart’s $107 million Series B fundraise. His expanded mandate comes as Heart accelerates stakeholder engagement ahead of the first flight of the Heart X1 prototype, set to become the largest electric aircraft ever to fly, and scales operations at its El Segundo headquarters.
A corporate affairs executive and lawyer, Randle began his career at the White House as a traveling aide to President Barack Obama, where he executed presidential engagements and ensured the continuity of White House operations during official travel to all 50 US states and 30 countries. He played a key role in shaping the global presentation of Obama’s leadership, supporting strategic messaging, public engagement, and foreign diplomacy across two presidential terms.
After public service, Randle practiced corporate law at the New York and London offices of Freshfields, advising European industrial and high-growth technology companies on U.S. corporate governance matters. His practice focused on board operations and corporate secretary responsibilities, public company disclosure strategy, sustainability policy and reporting, and special situations and transactions with US-EU dimensions.
Prior to joining Heart, Randle was a strategic advisor at transatlantic corporate affairs consultancies Finsbury (now FGS Global) and Freuds. He advised executive teams on communicating corporate strategy to boards and financial audiences, shaped the external profiles of senior leaders, built in-house corporate affairs teams, and led integrated corporate positioning initiatives that leveraged media engagement, investor relations, and public affairs to drive strategic outcomes.
“Cole brings a rare combination of strategic vision and operational command to the role of Chief of Staff, driving focus at the executive level while ensuring leadership priorities translate into coordinated action across Heart’s stakeholder map,” said Anders Forslund, Founder and CEO of Heart Aerospace. “In deeptech, where scale demands a broad coalition built around technical ambition, Cole is turning Heart’s vision for electric flight into the momentum needed to make the future of aviation real.”
Randle holds a B.A. in Political Economy from Washington University in St. Louis and a J.D. from Duke. He joins the Executive Leadership Team effective immediately.
# # #
Appendices
Related images
Images should not be stored locally but downloaded for each publication. Enter the photographer's name where applicable. By downloading images, you agree to these terms.
Cole Randle - Heart Aerospace
Download
