Business jets to net zero: Nick Houseman’s flightpath to success

In early 2008, Nick Houseman, MBA 99, made a bold decision: he left his corporate career at Bombardier to launch ZenithJet, an aviation consulting firm. It wasn’t long after, however, that he encountered his first major hurdle: the global financial crisis.

“I thought, ‘If I can survive this, I can survive anything,’” he recalls. Determined to get his company off the ground, Houseman spent countless hours in his home office cold-calling and mapping out a plan. That same resilience would later lead him to tackle some of the world’s most urgent environmental challenges.

Houseman’s life has been anything but conventional. Born in Singapore to a Scottish mother and an English father in the Royal Air Force, he grew up in five different countries before settling in Canada. After studying economics and political science at McGill University, he decided to pursue an MBA at Concordia’s John Molson School of Business.

“The MBA was the door opener,” he explains. “It allowed me to get into Bombardier and set me on my path.”

‘It’s now or never’

At Bombardier, Houseman quickly excelled in business aviation despite being new to the field. His tenure included turning around Bombardier Skyjet to profitability, leading one of the largest business jet flight departments, and overseeing a $1.5-billion manufacturing program for Bombardier’s flagship Global aircraft. Armed with these experiences, he started ZenithJet.

“At that point, I felt that if I really wanted to prove to myself that I could run a business, it was ‘now or never,’” he says.

And he didn’t stop there. In 2011, Houseman became co-owner of Elit’Avia, a private-jet management company and charter operator. His work required extensive travel until the COVID-19 pandemic hit and became a turning point. It forced him to slow down, giving him time to reassess the environmental impact of his businesses.

When Elit’Avia became subject to the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme in 2021, Houseman began measuring the fleet’s carbon footprint. Seeing the data — and fielding questions from his children about his efforts to address climate change — he was compelled to act.

As a result, he launched Azzera in 2021, a startup dedicated to helping business-aviation and commercial airline operators and users track and offset their emissions. By 2023, he founded ZenithNet-Zero, an enterprise aimed at measuring and reducing greenhouse gases across industries, including agriculture.  

Houseman’s vision is ambitious. He intends to scale Azzera’s operations and secure venture funding to expand its reach to other types of transportation. “I want to feel like I attempted to tackle the climate issues we’re all facing,” he explains. 

Inspiring the next generation

Houseman’s drive to make a difference isn’t confined to his professional endeavours. In 2016, he established the Marjorie Houseman Bursary — named in honour of his mother — at Concordia to support students facing financial hardship.

“I’ve been that student struggling to make ends meet,” he says. “Money was a challenge, and I feel an affinity to Concordia. It’s an up-and-coming university, battling its way through.”

As a student, Houseman was president of the John Molson Graduate Students’ Association. After graduation, he returned as a board member of the MBA International Case Competition for several years and served as a judge there since 2006.

During his time at Bombardier, the company actively recruited from the competition, recognizing the talent of its alumni. Houseman has also shared his expertise as a guest lecturer at the university.

In 2018, he tapped into his creative side by self-publishing his first novel, Old Country Wounds, written during long-haul flights. In the summer of 2024, he deepened his understanding of sustainability by earning a Micro-certificate in Water Stewardship and Market Mechanisms from the John Molson Executive Centre.

“One of my strengths — and challenges — is my love of learning. I tend to dive into too many news things at once,” he admits.

Yet his advice to students and young professionals remains simple: “Take risks. You’ll never know what you’re capable of unless you try.”  

As he looks to the future, Houseman remains focused on creating meaningful change — in business, in the environment and for the next generation.