Meet Brandon Blewett

We recently connected with Brandon Blewett and have shared our conversation below.

Brandon, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?

Usually from the second glass of Veuve. In jest, mostly.

I think of resilience as fuel. It’s what keeps you airborne when turbulence hits or layovers stretch longer than your patience. That’s why in my book, “How to Avoid Strangers on Airplanes,” I framed travel as a metaphor for career development. Your “flight path” isn’t always direct. Sometimes it’s rerouted, delayed, or straight-up canceled… temporarily. But you get up the next morning, rebook, and board the next flight. It’s not necessarily permanent.

So what’s my fuel? For me, it’s a cocktail of “gainz and angel wings.” Otherwise known as fitness and faith. Sounds like a bottom-shelf energy drink. Works like a charm.

Fitness isn’t a motivational Pinterest quote. You don’t just bench-press your way to “healthy” and coast. It’s a daily commitment, whether it’s waking up for the 6 a.m. HIIT class or for holding a neutral face through five hours of video calls where people repeatedly use “synergy,” “value creation,” and “boil the ocean” in each sentence. Some days you’re building muscle. Other days, you’re just building tolerance.

That mindset helped when I realized there are limits, physically and professionally. At 5’9”, I was never going to be a high school football star in Texas. Especially given I whiffed kicks more than my tee shots. The same held semi-true in my first professional endeavor. But just because I wasn’t built to be a quarterback or a tax wizard doesn’t mean the reps didn’t matter. Even in those roles, I developed meaningful muscles: discipline, technical fluency, and the kind of professional awareness that only comes from trying, failing, and still showing up the next day. Eventually, I figured out which muscles were worth developing and which activities and careers were better left to people with different DNA and an elevated understanding of the Internal Revenue Code.

Then there’s faith. The part I turn to when the plan—despite my spreadsheets, polished decks, calendar holds, and color-coded tabs—goes sideways. It reminds me I’m not flying this thing solo. In fact, I’m not flying it at all. And as someone who treats Outlook like a sacred-adjacent text, that’s… difficult. But necessary. Scripture isn’t one big highlight reel; it’s a collection of wildly different story arcs, most of them full of setbacks, delays, and reroutes. Characters are often on very different and unique timelines. That perspective helps when it feels like everyone else boarded a Concorde to their “calling,” and I’m stuck at Gate C37, lounges closed, staring down a rolling weather delay and a flight crew that’s about to time out. But eventually, the weather clears, the crew resets, and your gate gets called… just not always in the order you planned.

When you’re properly fueled, you’re not just enduring, you’re noticing. Learning. Laughing. And maybe even helping someone else navigate their own mess of a connection. That’s resilience.

I love what I do now. I don’t dread Mondays. That wasn’t always the case. But every layover, detour, and accidental red-eye taught me something useful. Fitness gave me structure. Faith gave me perspective. And the rest? It gave me material. That’s why I wrote the book—not to offer a shortcut, but to reassure anyone feeling stranded that the scenic route, baggage fees and all, often lands you exactly where you’re supposed to be.

Preferably with that uncorked bottle of Veuve.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I currently serve as Head of M&A for Pave America, the largest private equity-backed paving services company in the U.S. Since joining in 2023, we’ve doubled revenue and EBITDA, growing through 18 acquisitions and several greenfield expansions across the country. My role spans the full deal lifecycle: from sourcing and strategy to integration and post-close value creation. Prior to this, I spent time in tax, consulting, and corporate strategy—touching over $210 billion in transaction volume along the way. I like to joke that I’m a recovered lawyer and consultant, though the models, decks and terminology still haunt me occasionally.

What I find most exciting about my role is helping businesses figure out how to build or accelerate their M&A engines. Founders know how to build great businesses, but scaling through acquisition is a different playbook. It’s been rewarding to take everything I’ve learned across disciplines and help make that process more strategic, repeatable, and ultimately, successful.

Outside of work, I wrote “How to Avoid Strangers on Airplanes,” a humor-infused look at the ups, downs, and terminal delays of business travel, and how it mirrors the often-chaotic path of a career. The book traces a journey that includes more than a million miles with one airline and top-tier status with two of the largest U.S. carriers. It’s been featured on CNBC, Fox News, Benzinga, and a number of podcasts and morning shows. I’ve enjoyed talking with hosts about everything from travel etiquette to professional pivots, and always welcome conversations that blend a little bit of career, a little bit of chaos, and hopefully a few laughs along the way.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

1. The ability to take feedback without spiraling. Early on, I thought effort would be enough. I was working late nights and weekends in tax—and still getting redlined so hard the pages looked like roadkill. It wasn’t for lack of trying. I just wasn’t good at it. It took a delayed flight, some Pinot Noir, and a blunt conversation with a colleague for me to realize two things: (1) I had other skills, and (2) staying in that role would have been worse for everyone, clients included. I made a move that put me on the right flight path. Being able to take constructive feedback, especially when it’s not wrapped in a compliment sandwich, is a skill. Learn to hear it, not fear it. It won’t kill you. It might actually help.

2. The ability to pivot (without setting off the fire alarm). I went from tax to consulting to corporate development to leading M&A for a PE-backed company. Not because I mapped it all out on a whiteboard in business school, but because I learned to translate skills from one stop to the next. Strategy, client management, execution, it’s all cross-training. You just have to know which muscles to highlight. My advice? Don’t wait until you’re miserable. Identify and build transferable skills early so when the right opportunity shows up, you can make the jump without a full identity crisis.

3. Self-awareness (and maybe a mirror with bad lighting). Once you get good at something, it’s easy to start believing your own press. That’s dangerous. Especially in M&A. You could be the smartest person in the room, but if the seller doesn’t like you, the deal’s dead. I’ve seen it happen. People want to work with people they trust, and no one trusts someone who seems like they’ve never been told no. So keep your confidence, but keep a little edge of humility too. A mirror with overhead lighting will do the trick.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?

I’m always open to thoughtful collaborations, whether that’s helping businesses think through how to scale through M&A, or jumping into conversations around career pivots, business travel, or why Group 2 passengers always act like they own the boarding area. I’ve enjoyed talking with media outlets and podcasts about all of the above, and I’m always game for a conversation that mixes insight with a little bit of humor.

If you’re building something interesting, or trying to figure out how to accelerate it, I’m happy to connect. Especially if your pitch includes premium snacks or a 30,000 foot view.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.brandonblewett.com
• Instagram: @brandonintheair
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandoncblewett/
• Twitter: @brandonintheair
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@brandon_in_the_air

Image Credits

Only applicable to solo headshot (sitting on bench), I paid for Devereaux Concepts LLC to take those photos and I own all rights to them.