{"id":"9548ad93-df4d-4d0b-9cfb-60c84ca503e7","slug":"carlos-salaff","name":"Carlos Salaff","bioBrief":"Co-founder and Design Director of [LEO Flight](/companies/leo-flight), an eVTOL aviation company competing in the GoAERO emergency-response flyer competition. An automotive designer by training — internships at Mazda and BMW, graduate of the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, and a decade at Mazda's North American Design Studio contributing to the Mazda 3 and MX-5. Founded SALAFF Automotive (hand-built hypercars) before co-founding LEO Flight with Pete Bitar in 2021, leading design and styling of the LX-1R Flyer.","priorExits":null,"nationality":"American","verificationPosture":"verified","aliases":[],"sources":[{"url":"https://www.goaeroprize.com/post/meet-the-teams-leo-flight","title":"Meet the Teams: LEO Flight — GoAERO","sourceName":"GoAERO"},{"url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LEO_Flight","title":"LEO Flight","sourceName":"Wikipedia"}],"reviewStatus":"reviewed","createdAt":"2026-08-18T03:03:18.382Z","updatedAt":"2026-08-19T18:11:08.660Z","educations":[],"companyRoles":[{"id":"e90628e5-20d2-4022-88f2-1bb0f255a54c","personId":"9548ad93-df4d-4d0b-9cfb-60c84ca503e7","companyId":"4ec04443-a4c1-4731-8aad-3a6a90ed3101","role":"founder","roleTitle":"Co-Founder & Design Director","startDate":null,"endDate":null,"currentRole":true,"roleBasis":"verified_secondary","displayOrder":null,"createdAt":"2026-08-18T03:03:19.151Z","company":{"slug":"leo-flight","name":"LEO Flight"}},{"id":"3a389a1a-6dcb-4730-af97-b96a5d54e046","personId":"9548ad93-df4d-4d0b-9cfb-60c84ca503e7","companyId":"4ec04443-a4c1-4731-8aad-3a6a90ed3101","role":"other","roleTitle":"Design Director","startDate":null,"endDate":null,"currentRole":true,"roleBasis":"verified_secondary","displayOrder":null,"createdAt":"2026-08-18T03:03:19.913Z","company":{"slug":"leo-flight","name":"LEO Flight"}}],"boardRoles":[],"investorRoles":[],"foundings":[{"id":"02a88120-edb3-47de-9b1d-576e3c6dfc4c","personId":"9548ad93-df4d-4d0b-9cfb-60c84ca503e7","companyId":"4ec04443-a4c1-4731-8aad-3a6a90ed3101","foundingDate":null,"cofounderStatus":"cofounder","stillAtCompany":false,"createdAt":"2026-08-22T03:40:35.801Z","company":{"slug":"leo-flight","name":"LEO Flight"}}]}