SMFL Helicopters appoints new chief strategy officer
SMFL Helicopters launched in March 2026
SMFL Helicopters last month appointed Soichiro Haneda as its chief strategy officer to lead the new lessor’s strategic development initiatives, support long-term growth ambitions and strengthen its position within the global rotorcraft leasing market.
Based in Dublin, he is backed by more than 25 years of aviation industry experience spanning aircraft leasing, procurement, aviation finance, and international business development. John Petkovic, CEO of SMFL Helicopters, said: “Soichiro brings a wealth of aviation and finance expertise to this important role. His strategic insight will be invaluable as we grow SMFL Helicopters’ global footprint with our customers and partners.”
The new rotorcraft leasing business was launched by Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing Company Ltd in March this year after its acquisition, through the new business, of LCI and Macquarie Rotorcraft Limited. The new global helicopter lessor aims to “transform rotorcraft leasing through innovation and scale”.
Shinichiro Watanabe, senior managing executive officer at Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing Company Limited (SMFL) said in March: “SMFL Helicopters consolidates the deep sector knowledge and operational excellence of two respected lessors within our aviation eco-system to create a single, powerful platform.”
Petkovic added: “The launch of SMFL Helicopters creates a single, global platform with the scale, strength and efficiency to be a long‑term partner to operators and end users worldwide. By bringing together the highly complementary fleets, customer bases and technical expertise of LCI and MRL, we can deploy around 290 aircraft across multiple mission‑critical sectors and respond faster and more effectively to the evolving requirements of our customers.”
Soichiro combines the role of chief strategy officer with general manager, Aviation Business Development. He previously served as deputy general manager, Aviation Business Development. Before joining SMFL Helicopters, he spent 21 years at All Nippon Airways culminating in his role as a senior manager.
Meanwhile, Petkovic and other senior colleagues from SMFL Helicopters will join other industry leaders at our Helicopter Investor London 2026 conference on June 16th and June 17th. Read more details here.
