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Usman Ahmed
Chief Executive officer, AIRCORE
Usman is the CEO and founder of AIRCORE and has over 13 years of experience working for OEMs, consultancies and aircraft lessors. He has led many successful projects, which include setting up airlines, aviation businesses, and flight training schools. Usman has advised on several transactions worth more than a USD billions and has reviewed/audited many operators, OEMs, MROs and leasing companies. Usman was a member and adviser on the Helicopter Association International (HAI) Finance & Leasing Committee, He is also a Senior Accredited Appraiser with American Society of Appraisers (ASA) and is a graduate in Aeronautical Engineering from City University London.
Usman has advised on and assisted with many high-profile acquisitions such as GECAS-Milestone and Babcock-Avincis. In addition, Usman has advised on many finance and leasing deals for banks, lessors and operators. Usman is a valuation expert and travels around the world to educate banks, lessors and operators on valuation methodologies and value retention techniques.
Usman has participated in panel discussions and presented at various conferences on topics such as helicopter Finance and Leasing, valuation methodologies, engine selection, pilot training and general Helicopter Market related topics. He has been interviewed by many industry magazines and his articles regularly feature in aviation magazines around the world.
Usman’s appraisal experience spans over a decade, beginning with IBA in 2008. Over the last 12 years Usman has appraised around 800 commercial passenger jets, 150 turboprops, 120 engines, 45 7Business jets, 1,500 helicopters, 65 flight simulators and 184 airport slots.
Frederic Aguettant
President, Helipass
Frederic Aguettant is an entrepreneur. Involved since 26 years in the helicopter and jet industries, he heads Helipass.com since 2014, the helicopter booking start-up.
Helipass.com first starts with the helicopter booking marketplace for the impressive worldwide touristic industry. Always inovating, Helipass is running on airport transfers and on-demand flights. He has launched UberCopter in France with great success.
Digitalizing the helicopter usage is his mojo.
Today Helipass.com represents more than 250 destinations, 26 countries and 62 helicopter companies. The helicopter is becoming more fiendly and accessible to everybody.
Frederic Aguettant was founder of Paris Helicopter, President of Helifrance, President of Aviaxess, Bombardier representative and is Colonel (R) French Air Force.
Steffen Bay
CEO & COO, NHV Group
Steffen Bay is CEO and CCO of NHV Group. He joined the company early 2019 after having held several leadership positions. Previous appointments include Waypoint Leasing, where he was responsible for South America, ERA Helicopters in the Gulf of Mexico and South America as well as Airbus Helicopters in France, Indonesia and the United States.
These experiences have provided him with leadership exposure to the helicopter industry in all major global markets. Steffen Bay, a German national, is a certified lawyer and holds an MBA in Corporate Finance from the University of Dallas.
Andy Blundell
Director of Aviation & Marine Finance, Close Brothers Aviation & Marine
With over 30 years’ experience in asset finance and banking, Andy has an in-depth knowledge of aviation and marine finance solutions for both corporate and personal clients. Andy and his team have many years’ experience in helicopter transactions, ranging from single helicopters for owner-pilots, to complex structured facilities for international operators and lessors.
Based in London, the Close Brothers Aviation and Marine team are responsible for originating and managing client relationships in the UK, Republic of Ireland, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.
Close Brothers are a leading UK merchant banking group providing lending, deposit taking, wealth management services and securities trading. They employ over 3,000 people and are listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Chris Bradshaw
Director, President & CEO,Era Group
Christopher Bradshaw has served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company since November 2014 and Chief Financial Officer from October 2012 to September 2015. Mr. Bradshaw was appointed a director of the Company in February 2015. He served as the Company’s Acting Chief Executive Officer from August 2014 to November 2014. Additionally, Mr. Bradshaw is an officer and director of certain joint ventures and subsidiaries of the Company. From 2009 until 2012, Mr. Bradshaw served as Managing Partner and Chief Financial Officer of U.S. Capital Advisors LLC, an independent financial advisory firm that he co-founded. Prior to co-founding U.S. Capital Advisors LLC, Mr. Bradshaw was an energy investment banker at UBS Securities LLC, Morgan Stanley & Co., and PaineWebber Incorporated.
Audrey Brady
Vice President of Commercial Systems & Services, Sikorsky
Audrey Brady is Vice President, Sikorsky Commercial Systems & Services.
She joined Sikorsky nearly 10 years ago and has held multiple roles of increasing responsibility including: Director for Sikorsky’s S-92® Helicopter Program, Operations Manager in Rotor Systems, Senior Operations Manager and Director in the Connecticut Assembly and Flight Operations for the production of Black Hawk and Naval Hawk aircraft.
Most recently, Audrey served as General Manager of Sikorsky’s Coatesville, Pennsylvania operations, where she was responsible for the assembly, production, completion and delivery of Sikorsky commercial helicopters, including the S-92 and S-76® programs. For three years, she led the site’s operations, business development and financial strategies.
Audrey began her career with Pratt & Whitney in 1996 as a Design Engineer and progressed quickly within the engineering organization. In 2002, she transferred to Operations where she held the positions of Business Center Manager, Manufacturing Engineering Manager and Commodity Manager within the Supply Chain group.
Audrey is a licensed private helicopter pilot and holds Bachelor of Science degrees in Mathematics & Mechanical Engineering from Trinity College, a Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University, and an MBA from Carnegie Mellon.
Max Buirski
Chairman, Asian Sky Group
Max is the Co-Founder and Chairman of Asian Sky Group. He has over two decades of experience in a variety of areas including business and general aviation, oil and gas, logistics, international shipping and corporate finance. Max has been involved in the Asia-Pacific aviation sector since 2005.
He is also the Managing Director of SEACOR Capital (Asia), an investment subsidiary of SEACOR Holdings Inc. (NYSE: “CKH”).From 2010 to 2018 was Executive Director of Hawker Pacific, the leading business aviation FBO and MRO provider in Asia- Pacific, and from 2009 to 2013 also worked closely with Era Helicopters (NYSE: ERA), overseeing its expansion in Greater China and Asia-Pacific. He is currently a Board Member of Avion Pacific, a Shenzhen based mainland Chinese general aviation sales and support business and Omni Aviation, a Philippines based aviation training school.
Nicolas Chabée
Vice-President, Marketing and Sales, Pratt & Whitney Canada
Nicolas Chabee was appointed Vice President, Marketing and Sales, Helicopter Engines, at Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) in December 2017.
Russell Christopher
Managing Director, Thora Capital
Russell has invested in the aviation markets for over a quarter century. Most recently, he led deal origination and sales & marketing for RPK Capital, a former portfolio company of The Carlyle Group dedicated to aircraft leasing. Before that, Russell worked at GAAM UK Pty Ltd, a private equity firm specializing in commercial aircraft, and at First Greenwich Kahala, where he originated and structured transactions related to aircraft coming off lease or returned early.
Mark Clancy, President & CEO,
Helicopter Buyer
Mark V. Clancy founded HelicopterBuyer, Inc. in 2000, a premiere helicopter and engine client agent and inventory dealer. HelicopterBuyer exclusively represents buyers and sellers, and purchases helicopters, engines, and spare parts for inventory resale. HelicopterBuyer also arranges finance, lease/purchase, customizations, MRO, import/export and worldwide relocations. HelicopterBuyer serves the offshore, utility (firefighting), government, corporate, and tourism sectors. Mark is a member of Helicopter Association International, was on the Finance and Lease Committee for three years, and led several panels on buying, selling, and leasing helicopters.
Mark received his aerospace engineering degree from the University of Michigan in 1986 and began his career as an overhaul engineer on business jet turbofan engines for Garrett Aviation (Honeywell) . Mark transitioned to sales by selling business jet and engine maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services with Garrett Aviation. Later, he entered the helicopter business as an independent sales agent and founded Northstar Aviation Services in 1997 to sell Lycoming T53 engine MRO services
Stephen Cook
Global Head of Transportation Finance, Executive Director, Macquarie Rotorcraft
Stephen joined Macquarie in 1986 and has taken a leading role in developing and implementing structured asset transactions for Macquarie globally. He lead the Bank offshore in the early 90’s, and was responsible for establishing Macquarie’s operations in London.
In 2005 Stephen transformed what had been a significant advisor / arranger practice into a start up principal business initially focussed on Aircraft. In 2006 Stephen led the acquisition of the assets of GATX's Air business. This enabled establishment of a fully functional Aircraft operating lease business, Macquarie AirFinance.
Macquarie currently has over 200 aircraft on its balance sheet, of which 90% are in production narrow body types (A320 / 737-800’s). They are leased into over 40 jurisdictions.
In 2011 Stephen moved from Macquarie Capital to Macquarie Bank to consolidate all the Groups holdings across Air, Rail, Shipping, Helicopters and Engines and further develop this segment of the Banks business.
Michael Cox
Managing Director, Global Head of Corporate Advisory, Seabury Consulting
Michael B. Cox is Global Head of the Seabury Corporate Advisory practice. Mr. Cox joined Seabury as a partner in Seabury’s principal advisory practice in April 1998. He has over 30 years of corporate and advisory experience covering corporate recovery, cash management, business planning and crisis management. At Seabury, Mr. Cox has advised numerous airline clients on a variety of projects, including airline treasury, corporate finance, and airline restructuring. In addition, Mr. Cox has been qualified as an industry expert in various commercial disputes involving aircraft leasing matters, airline valuations and business plans for the passenger, helicopter and cargo sector.
Mr. Cox has led a number of airline restructuring engagements including recent engagements for CHC, Waypoint Leasing, Frontier Airlines, South African Airways, Air Mauritius, and Gulf Air. Mr. Cox also advised a bondholder group holding over USD2.4 billion in claims with American Airlines in its Chapter 11 reorganization. Mr. Cox also led the Seabury team in successfully restructuring of the aircraft debt/lease obligations for the reorganization efforts at US Airways, Air Canada and Northwest Airlines.
Prior to joining Seabury, Mr. Cox was a Director at Price Waterhouse LLP where he led the aviation consulting/restructuring group. Mr. Cox also worked for Continental Airlines, Inc. for 11 years where he served in a variety of financial positions including Vice President and Treasurer. At Continental he initiated and structured numerous financings to increase cash reserves and finance fleet acquisitions. He also led negotiations for a variety of financial instruments including leveraged leases, tax leases, operating leases, secured debt, DIP financing, common stock equity offerings, public debt offerings and IRB financing.
Mr. Cox received his M.B.A. in Finance and Accounting from the University of Texas, Austin and his B.B.A in Business Management from Texas A&M University where he graduated magna cum laude. Mr. Cox is a FINRA registered representative with the Series 7, 79 and 63 designations.
Tony Cramp
Vice President Aircraft, Shell Aircraft Ltd
Tony was appointed as Shell’s VP Aircraft and Managing Director Shell Aircraft in May 2016.
With Shell since in 2003, he has global experience in working with aircraft operators supporting oil and gas operations, undertaking assurance, air accident investigations and providing specialist advice to Shell’s extensive business stakeholder group. Championing initiatives to enable safe and efficient operations in some of the most diverse and challenging environments, he has work closely with OEMs on aircraft design specifications and represents the Company on several industry and national regulatory bodies.
Prior to joining Shell, he served 19yrs in the Royal Navy as a helicopter pilot and instructor, commanded a Naval Air Squadron and a Warship and served as the media spokesman for overseas military operations.
Sharon Desfor
Chairman, HeliValue$
Sharon is an Accredited Senior Appraiser of the ASA, currently serving as ASA’s International Secretary/Treasurer. She has previously served on the Board of Governors, Strategic Planning Committee, Machinery & Technical Specialties Committee, International Special Committee, Budget & Finance Committee and Chapter Assessment Task Force, as Editor of the M&TS Journal and as Production Manager of Valuing Machinery and Equipment, Third Edition.
Sharon is past Chair of the Helicopter Foundation International and of the HAI’s Finance & Leasing Committee, and served as Editor of HAI’s finance handbook, Helicopter Funding: Assembling the Pieces of the Puzzle.
Sharon performs appraisals for finance and leasing, helicopter acquisitions and sales, bankruptcies, estate settlements, mergers and acquisitions, insurance subrogation, and litigation support. She mostly enjoys teaching finance people about the helicopter industry and helicopter people about the finance industry. Sharon gives lectures regularly for ASA, Corporate Jet Investor (CJI), and the Helicopter Association International (HAI), occasionally for the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) and the National Aircraft Finance Association (NAFA), and writes articles for a number of magazines in the aviation and appraisal industries.
She is a vigorous advocate for professionalism in appraising, and an outspoken participant in appraisers’ forums on LinkedIn.
Gérard Deterne
Senior Manager, Business Development,Airbus
Gérard Deterne, as a Business Development Senior Manager, is part of Airbus Helicopters Marketing & Sales Development team which he joined 12 years ago.
Graduated from the University of Grenoble in France (Economics and Government Studies) and from the University of Michigan in the US (Public Policy), Gérard started with the Airbus Group in 1991 holding different business development positions in the Missile, UAV and now Helicopter branches.
Since joining Airbus Helicopters, Gérard has contributed to the development of Airbus Helicopters leasing and helicopter valuation expertise in general and of helicopter leasing as a market target in particular.
Gérard is now an Accredited Senior Appraiser of the American Society of Appraisers (ASA), Machinery & Technical Specialties with a focus on helicopter valuation. Gérard focuses on Airbus products market value trends and supports the company’s Asset Management function including trade-in and repurposing activities.
Sara Dhariwal
Valuations Analyst, Ascend by Cirium
Sara joined Ascend by Cirium in 2016, after six years in the EMEA Sales team managing relationships with the majority of EMEA lessors and aircraft traders. Sara is focused on aircraft appraisals, and specialising in the rotary sector. She is a member of the Rotary Value Review Board, responsible for reviewing values and methodology. She is also leading both internal and external liaisons regarding the rotary sector, and carrying out analysis and developing thought-leadership content. Sara holds a BAHons in Business from the University of Westminster and a CIRM from the Institute of Risk Management. She is currently working towards her ISTAT qualification.
Scott Drennan
Director of Innovation Engineering, Bell Flight
Scott Drennan serves as director of Bell’s Innovation team. Scott earned a BS in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Maryland and a Masters of Liberal Arts from Southern Methodist University.
He joined Bell Helicopter in 1993 on the V-22 program. He has spent most of his career as both a direct employee and contractor for Bell focused on tiltrotors and other power-lift vehicle technologies.
Scott joined the ranks of Bell’s engineering management team in 2011 while in the middle of an 8-year assignment in Italy supporting the Leonardo-Bell partnership on the 609 program. Recent positions include director & chief engineer of the Bell 609 program and director of Air Vehicle Integration.
Today, Scott is proud to carry on Bell’s rich tradition of innovation as a leader in Bell’s engineering community. The Innovation team’s mission is to radically innovate technologies and aircraft configurations in order to create novel and coveted vehicle lift experiences.
Emmanuel began selling fixed and rotary wing aircraft in 2004. In 2009, Emmanuel launched a firm dedicated to helicopter sales, which later merged with a world leading aircraft brokerage in 2013. Emmanuel has completed in excess of 100 aircraft transactions, across the globe. He is fluent in English and French.
Alastair Fallon
Aviation Analyst, IBA Group
Fallon joined the RAF on leaving school and passed through the University of Glasgow with first class honours in Aeronautical Engineering and an academic year prize, as an Acting Pilot Officer or sponsored student on the RAF University Cadetship scheme.
While an undergraduate he was attached to the local University Air Squadron where he undertook elementary flying training and was appointed Mess President. While studying, he did flight testing at Prestwick aerodrome as part of the course and his final year project was an aerodynamic study of a scale model racing car and the effect of a tail fin on its performance.
Leaving academia Fallon served in the RAF for five years. His flying career was cut short due to injuries sustained in road traffic indent. He worked at City University, London, following this as Course Director of their BSc (Hons) Air Transport Operations while also lecturing engineering maths to the first years. He also took part initially as a student in the MSc in Air Transport Management. Fallon undertook a research program as part of the course, into the Boeing 777 and its competitive rivalry with the Airbus 330/340 development. Following significant experience in military aviation and then time in academia, He joined IBA Group as an Aviation Analyst.
Since joining IBA in 2015 in the consultancy and advisory team, Fallon has worked on helicopter appraisals and commercial aviation advisory projects. Business development, meeting and speaking to clients and customers at various high profile industry events is also an important function of his role:
LCI Helicopters and Milestone Aviation are IBA clients, and valuable sources of industry intel come from our relationship with OEMs such as Airbus Helicopters and Leonardo Helicopters.
Terri Foley
General Counsel, Aviation
She has extensive professional experience in asset financing with particular involvement in cross-border aviation finance deals both as an advisor and a negotiator. Her time with Denton Wilde Sapte included long-term secondments to Airbus SAS in Toulouse and to the corporate jet division of Barclays Bank.
As General Counsel based in LCI’s Dublin office Terri is responsible for the legal aspects of LCI’s purchase, finance, leasing and sale transactions, and all corporate development activities globally. She works closely with our parent company’s legal support team at Libra Group Services in London.
David Fowkes
Managing Director, Imperial Capital
David Fowkes is a Managing Director at Imperial Capital, focusing on Aviation. He has over 24 years of experience in advisory and execution in M&A, capital markets and restructuring with a strong concentration in aviation (including commercial fixed wing, helicopter, corporate jet and aviation leasing company clients). David’s helicopter experience includes acting as financial advisor to the unsecured creditor’s committee in the Bristow chapter 11, investment banker to the equity committee in the PHI bankruptcy, leading fleet restructuring in the CHC chapter 11, a fixed wing and helicopter viability analysis conducted for Sonangol’s SonAir, and director of mergers, acquisitions and integration for Bristow group where he spearheaded strategic projects in North America, Aberdeen UK, Australia, Brazil, Nigeria, Trinidad & Tobago and Russia.
Mr. Fowkes joined Imperial Capital from Seabury Consulting’s restructuring and corporate finance advisory practice. Mr. Fowkes’ previous experience includes multiple assignments in investment banking and restructuring at Seabury Group, Director of M&A and integration at helicopter operator Bristow Group, a senior member of Deutsche Bank’s special situation group focusing on aviation related investments, lending and advisory, M&A and capital markets coverage at Lehman Brothers, and capital markets structuring and execution at Citigroup and Salomon Brothers. Mr. Fowkes earned a BS in Chemical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an MBA in Finance from New York University’s Stern School of Business.
Edward Gross
Partner, Vedder Price
Edward Gross has 30 years of experience representing bank-affiliated and large, independent equipment financing companies in all aspects of equipment finance transactions, including documenting, structuring, negotiating, syndicating and enforcing these transactions.
Edward is considered an industry leader in business aircraft and helicopter finance. These transactions vary in structure and include tax and non-tax lease, operating lease and secured loan financing of managed and /or chartered aircraft, fleet aircraft and helicopters operated in various service capacities and engine pools, aircraft operated under fractional and “pay card” arrangements and progress payment, completion and other multi-funding structures. Clients include market-leading aircraft and helicopter financing providers, investors or operating lessors, as well as large publicly or privately held businesses, governmental entities or high-net-worth individual users. Many of these transactions involve foreign registered aircraft.
Steve Hanna
CEO, Protective Packaging Corporation
Steve Hanna is currently the Chairman/CEO of Protective Packaging Corporation located in Carrollton, a suburb of Dallas, Texas.
The company was initially a division of an International Freight Forwarding company reporting to Mr. Hanna that helped package freight that was being shipped around the world. Steve had the opportunity to acquire this division as the freight forwarding company was being sold.
Twenty years later Protective Packaging Corporation has grown to become one of the industry’s leader in providing long term packaging solutions for the prevention of corrosion, mold, mildew, static electricity and other airborne qualities. The company is one of the first as well as one of the few in its industry with a current ISO Certification.
Protective Packaging Company’s major customers include Boeing, Bell, Pratt Whitney, United Technologies, GE, NASA, Timken, American Airlines, L3, Lockheed-Martin, Rolls-Royce, Raytheon, Bristow, ERA, Babcock, Vector, Space X, Northrop Grumman, Turbomecca, and the U.S. military to name a few.
Protective Packaging’s success is based on their ability to provide custom made packaging applications that are capable of controlling the atmosphere around the part regardless of its size or location. Yet, at the same time be the most efficient and economical solution available on the market. Be it the F-35 Joint Stryke Fighter being shipped around the world for testing, a commercial aircraft engine sitting out on tarmacs for long periods of time, or entire helicopter fleets that must be protected from all the elements while they are grounded in harsh conditions.
Kieran Hannan is Senior Vice President Technical Operations of Milestone Aviation, overseeing new aircraft deliveries, fleet operations, transitions and technical oversight for the global fleet of over 300 rotorcraft.
Kieran has over 20 years of experience in the helicopter industry including senior roles with Operators, Distributors, Lessors and MRO services providers.
Prior to leading Technical Operations for Milestone, Kieran served as Vice President and General Manager of Precision Aviation Group (PAG) and been responsible for the Canadian Division encompassing Fixed Wing and Rotorcraft Component Sales, Customer Support, Logistics and Operations.
He was also a member of the PAG Group executive leadership team and the Transport Canada Accountable Executive. Kieran has also led the Commercial and Customer Support Department at Heli-One Canada for four years, his global team were responsible for all internal and external MRO support bids, PBH agreements, dynamic component work and pricing.
A graduate of the University of Limerick, Kieran holds a bachelor’s in Aeronautical Engineering.
Joseph Hawke
Chairman & CEO, Uniflight Global
Joseph A. Hawke is President, CEO and Chairman of Uniflight, LLC, Grand Prairie, Texas, and founder and Chairman of Hawke Aerospace Group, Malvern, Pennsylvania, a private equity firm that is actively pursuing platform company acquisitions in the aerospace industry, with a special focus on the rotorcraft segment of the market.
Prior to forming Hawke Aerospace Group in 2007, Hawke was General Partner of Meridian Venture Partners and MVP II, Radnor, Pennsylvania where he was a Senior Member of the investment team for a firm with $200+ million cumulative capital under management. He began his tenure at MVP II in 2001 (now known as MVP Capital), where he was instrumental in redirecting the investment strategy towards middle market buyouts with deep industry access. Hawke was active on 7 portfolio company Boards, Chairman of 3.
Hawke holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree (finance concentration) from Temple University Graduate School of Business and Management, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree (philosophy major) from Haverford College, Haverford, Pennsylvania.
Imran Hayat
EVP, General Counsel & Chief Strategy Officer, CHC Helicopter
Mr. Hayat was named Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Strategy Officer in September 2019. He is second in command at CHC and is responsible for corporate strategy and increasing shareholder value. He also has global responsibility for Legal, Compliance, Risk and Insurance, Fleet Strategy, Human Resources and Communications. He joined CHC in July 2015 and previously served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Administrative Officer. Mr. Hayat has more than 17 years of international experience counselling some of the world’s largest companies in complex legal matters. He earned a dual bachelor’s degree in Economics and Diplomacy and World Affairs from Occidental College and a Juris Doctorate from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. In 2013, he was elected as one of approximately 300 members, and remains an active member, of the Milken Institute Young Leaders Circle, a non-profit, nonpartisan think tank determined to increase global prosperity by advancing collaborative solutions that widen access to capital, create jobs and improve health.
Ali Henderson
Managing Director, Chief Technical Officer, Lobo Leasing
Ali Henderson is Lobo’s Managing Director & Chief Technical Officer. In a rotary-wing career spanning 36 years, Henderson has held a variety of positions with major helicopter operators and maintenance organisations including Heli-One, British International Helicopters and CHC Helicopters where he was most recently Fleet Manager in charge of a fleet of over 250 helicopters. Henderson has vast experience in the maintenance, modifications, monitoring, airworthiness management, lease management and purchasing of a wide range of commercial helicopter types.
Trained extensively in Aerospace Studies, Aeronautical Mechanics and Maintenance, Henderson currently holds a number of EASA licences and certificates including the Aircraft Maintenance.
John Heskin
Director, CIT Aerospace & Defense Finance
Financial Services business development professional with extensive experience in underwriting, risk management, transaction origination, relationship management and team management in the middle market and corporate lending environments.
Specialties: Leveraged Finance, Cash Flow Lending, Aircraft Finance, Asset-Backed, Asset Based, International Business, Securitization, and Policy Formation. Industry specialties include Aerospace, Defense, Government Services, and Transportation (logistics and rail).
Corey Hitte
Senior Vice President, Fleet Strategy & Management, The Milestone Aviation Group
Cory Hitte joined Milestone in 2015 and serves as the Senior Vice President, Fleet Strategy & Management. In this role, he leads an international team which oversees corporate & portfolio strategy, global fleet readiness, modification & PBH planning, valuations, fleet analytics and vendor relationships.
Prior to joining Milestone in 2015, Cory spent 8 years at Bell Helicopter in various strategy, marketing and engineering leadership roles. Cory served as Director of Strategy and Ventures where he led teams responsible for M&A, business optimization and product roadmap evaluation. Earlier in his career, Cory was an engineering leader in conceptual design, supporting the development of multiple clean-sheet aircraft which have since become flying prototypes and certified products.
Cory holds an M.S. & B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from Texas A&M University as well as an MBA from Texas Christian University.
Jaspal Jandu
Chief Financial Officer, LCI
Jaspal Jandu is the Chief Financial Officer of LCI. He is responsible for overall capital raising, financial management, reporting and multiple corporate functions including treasury, planning and strategic development.
Prior to joining LCI in 2007, Jaspal worked for Morgan Stanley where he was responsible for numerous aviation investments. During this role, he transferred to the then in-house lessor, AWAS, remaining with the company until its divestment to Terra Firma. Jaspal has also held posts with the Society of British Aerospace Companies (SBAC) and has an established track record in the aviation industry.
Jaspal graduated from Essex University with a degree in Economics and completed his Economics Masters in 1996. Jaspal is also an alumnus of Harvard, Wharton, and London Business School, where he has completed a number of Executive Development programmes.
Nadav Kessler
VP Sales and Business Development, Asian Sky Group
Nadav has over seven years of experience in business and general aviation for both rotary and fixed-wing operations throughout the Asia Pacific region. He is an Industrial Engineering & Business Management graduate and has lived in Asia since 2010. Nadav previously spent almost a decade in the military, with extensive experience in rotary operations. He has been with Asian Sky Group since its foundation and now leads the company’s helicopter sales and rotary operations consultancy division.
Jason Kmiecik
Vice President Operations, HeliValue$
Jason joined the HeliValue$ team in 2009 after serving the in the United States Marine Corp for ten years. While serving Jason worked as a mechanic on various models of airplanes and helicopters such as the F/A 18, C-130, T-34, CH-46, CH-53, and UH-1N, reaching the rank of Sergeant and becoming a Quality Assurance Inspector serving in both Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
In the seven years, Jason has been part of the HeliValue$ team, he has risen from Staff Analyst to Chief Appraiser and now holds the position of VP Operations. He is editor of The Official Helicopter Blue Book® and responsible for a growing team of appraisers. His responsibilities include consulting with financers, lenders, private equity firms, operators, OEM’s and Insurance companies on the state of the market as well as its opportunities in the market. Jason is an Accredited Senior Appraiser in the American Society of Appraisers (ASA), holding accreditations in both Machinery & Equipment and Aircraft Specific designations.
Roy Knaus
CEO, Heli Austria GmbH/Heli Tirol GmbH
Profile coming soon...
Crispin Maunder
Executive Charirman, LCI
Crispin Maunder is the Executive Chairman of Lease Corporation International, the aircraft and helicopter lessor, having joined the lessor as Chief Executive Officer in 2006. Crispin has almost 50 years of experience in aviation. Graduating from Imperial College with a degree in Aeronautical Engineering he entered Court Line Aviation, then the leading UK charter airline. In 1974 he joined the marketing team at British Aircraft Corporation concentrating on the BAC One-Eleven programme. This was then followed by a period working in the Middle East and Africa with Autair Limited, a helicopter operator and aviation trader, as Commercial Manager, representing a number of helicopter and aircraft OEM’s. In 1977 he joined Short Brothers to head up their sales efforts in Africa and the Middle East, subsequently adding European Sales to his responsibilities in 1983. In 1986 he was appointed General Manager, Aircraft Trading Division, charged with the establishment of Shorts’ new leasing and trading operations in advance of the privatization of the company. Crispin left Shorts in 1989 to join Ansett Worldwide Aviation Services (later renamed AWAS) as Regional Sales Director Europe, before being appointed in 1991 as EVP Sales and Marketing, heading up the lessor’s global sales and marketing activities. In 1997 he assumed additional responsibility for technical oversight of AWAS’ s aircraft portfolio. Following the acquisition of the lessor by Morgan Stanley in 2000, he joined the AWAS Holdings Board, and in 2002 he was appointed EVP Strategic Development, charged with the development of the lessor’s new strategic plan ahead of its eventual sale to Terra Firma in 2006.
Clark McGinn
Principle, Uplifting Advice
Clark McGinn has been active in the helicopter sector for fifteen years and has closed around USD7Bn in transactions as a financier (managing RBS’s rotary business), as an operator (heading CHC’s Dublin leasing company), and as a lessor (leading Waypoint’s global sales group). This last year has seen him write his latest book ‘The Burns Supper’ (Luath Press, January 2019) and advising new capital investors on stressed opportunities in the helicopter world through his consultancy, Uplifting Advice.
Shaun Pickering
Aviation Director, NatWest
Shaun is a structured finance professional with 16 years’ experience specialising in asset finance. His current role is the director of aviation for NatWest where he manages the commercial aviation asset finance business for the bank. Shaun has many years’ experience in helicopter financing as a provider and arranger of debt facilities to the industry’s leading operators and lessors.
Olivier Piot
Owner, Nova Capital group
Olivier founded the NOVA CAPITAL Group in 2002, a privately owned investment and advisory group of companies fully dedicated to asset finance.
Acting as group CEO, Olivier turned the NOVA CAPITAL HELICOPTERS division into a leading globally recognized helicopter lessor with a proven 17 years track-record within the industry. With a current fleet of 80+ helicopters in operation, the company reached a total fleet value of circa 300 M$ as at 2018 year-end. NOVA CAPITAL HELICOPTERS is a unique full service and highly adaptable leasing platform, exclusively dedicated to the on-shore helicopter services industry.
Prior to the inception of NOVA CAPITAL Group, Olivier held some senior management positions within a leading French banking institution, including among others, Senior Vice President and head of Structured Asset Finance practice. He headed a team of professionals in charge of sourcing, structuring, and managing complex asset finance transactions in various sectors such as aviation, shipping, rail, energy, and real estate, mostly using optimized structured leasing solutions.
Olivier started his career at the Paris Bar, working as a qualified lawyer with a US Law firm, specializing in asset finance transactions.
Olivier graduated from Institut d’Etudes Politques de Paris (IEP Paris). He holds a postgraduate degree in business and tax law from University of Paris II and was subsequently admitted to the Paris Bar. Olivier was also a lecturer at University of Paris IX-Dauphine for several years, and is a regular contributor at some major asset finance and leasing events.
Michael Platt
LCI Aviation
Mike brings LCI over 20 years’ experience in the aircraft leasing industry, including three years at Aircastle as Chief Investment Officer, 15 at International Lease Finance Corporation where he rose to Senior Vice President and three years at McDonnell Douglas Finance Corporation where he served as legal counsel. He is also a former President of the International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading (ISTAT) and serves on the Board of the ISTAT Foundation and the Advisory Board of Airlink.
Dan RobertsChief Legal Officer, Lobo Leasing
Dan brings extensive experience of aircraft leasing operations to Lobo in his dual role as COO and General Counsel. As COO, Dan oversees the management of the lease portfolio and company administration. As general counsel, Dan is responsible for all Lobo legal matters including the drafting and negotiating of leases and related documents.
Dan graduated from Corpus Christi College, Cambridge and qualified as an English lawyer with the law firm Allen & Overy LLP. Dan worked in A&O’s aviation finance department advising airlines, lessors and financiers on a range of operating lease, debt, derivative, restructuring and merger transactions.
Subsequently, Dan worked with ILFC (now AerCap) where he handled the negotiation of commercial aircraft leases worldwide and managed a variety of repossessions and other contentious matters.
Steve Robertson
Principle & Founder, Air & Sea Analytics
Steve is an energy economist and business analyst. He spent 17 years at Westwood Global Energy (formerly Douglas-Westwood) in a number of roles including Director and Board member, leading the firm’s oilfield services (OFS) research business unit and initiating coverage in several key areas including offshore helicopters. He also led and contributed to hundreds of bespoke consulting projects including commercial due diligence mandates relating to helicopter companies such as CHC, NHV, Bond, Weststar and Pathfinder Aviation. In 2019 he formed Air & Sea Analytics to focus solely on offshore aviation, working with manufacturers, operators, financial and advisory firms worldwide.
Rex Rosales
Partner, Herbert Smith Freehills
Rex has been practising in the transport sector for almost 25 years, with particular expertise in the full range of structured financings of all large asset classes (including aircraft, ships and rolling stock). Rex's clients include banks, export credit agencies, lessors, investors and owners. His practice also encompasses the areas of business jet leasing and financing.
Chambers & Partners and Legal 500 both recognise Rex as a leading expert in aviation finance.
Nitin Sareen
Head of Marketing, Airbus Corporate Helicopters
Nitin Sareen has an extensive sales, marketing & business development experience in diverse & cross-cultural environments across leading organizations in Aviation, Automotive & Capital Goods Industries. He has been with the helicopter division of Airbus for over 15 years and had an opportunity to work across the North American, European & South Asian markets. As the lead for Marketing at Airbus Corporate Helicopters (ACH), Nitin’s current focus has been to create a dedicated eco-system within Airbus for all rotary wing private & corporate clients by focussing on the specific needs of such clients & elevating the overall customer experience.
Airbus Corporate Helicopters is Airbus’s exclusive platform launched in 2017 through which customers benefit from best in class products, tailored completions & customization, finest craftsmanship, services & support. Mirroring the successful sister brand Airbus Corporate Jets (ACJ) – ACH provides current & future customers and end-to-end exclusive ownership experience ranging from advice to helping choose the right aircraft to designing a bespoke style.
Pat Sheedy
President & CEO, Milestone Aviation Group Ltd.
Pat Sheedy is Milestone Aviation's President and CEO. Having previously led the underwriting and portfolio management function at Milestone Aviation, Pat has 17 years of international financial services experience. He trained as a chartered accountant with Deloitte in Ireland and London, where he spent four years in a number of roles including In Audit and Assurance, Corporate Finance and Corporate Recovery, prior to joining GE in 2004.
Pat has spent the majority of his GE career working in Aviation Risk Management with a particular focus on Emerging Markets. Prior to his current role, he held the position of Senior Vice President and Regional Risk Manager for GECAS in Dubai, covering the Middle East, Africa and Russia.
In addition to his role with Milestone, he also has overall risk responsibility for GE Engine Leasing and GECAS’ cargo business.
Pat obtained his Bachelor of Business Studies Degree from University Of Limerick Ireland and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland.
Neil Sierens
Deputy Flight OPS Manager, Starspeed
Neil’s aviation career began in the British military where he qualified as an Attack Helicopter pilot. Later he progressed to become an Air Mission Commander and Operations Officer in various complex and demanding environments. Whilst on operations he was awarded a Queens Commendation for Valuable Service and a Distinguished Flying Cross.
Neil converted to civilian aviation and eventually joined Starspeed in 2013 flying various VIP/corporate helicopters in some more pleasant locations around the world. Starspeed provide full helicopter management for helicopter owners and also offers charter services. Of particular note is the expertise that Starspeed provides for yacht based operations.
For the last 5 years Neil has been the Deputy Chief Pilot at Starspeed, but also assists with various other posts in the company. He has a keen interest in aviation technology and its appropriate implementation.
During these recent years Starspeed has trebled in size and has become an integral part of Luxaviation Helicopters, part of the Luxaviation Group.
William Sturm
Executive Sales Director, Airbus Helicopter
William Sturm is a business aviation specialist who has experience in all facets of the helicopter industry. He has managed aircraft fleets for major international companies and as a consultant has assisted both companies and individuals in acquiring and selling more than $500 million worth of aircraft in all corners of the globe.
Russell Torbet CBE MA FCMI
Director, UK Search and Rescue, Bristow Helicopters Ltd.
Russ Torbet enjoyed a 32-year career in the Royal Air Force attaining the rank of Air Commodore. Career highlights include operational tours as a fast-jet pilot and Qualified Weapons Instructor, flying the Jaguar GR1 and GR3 and the Tornado GR1 and GR4; staff tours in the Ministry of Defence, NATO Air Headquarters Ramstein and Headquarters No 1 Group; Command of No. 54(Fighter) Squadron based at RAF Coltishall; Command of RAF Lossiemouth, a Tornado GR4 Main Operating Base and a 2 year appointment as Director In-Service Support/Team Commander of the UK MOD Team in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He is a graduate of the Royal Air Force Advanced Staff College and the UK Defence Academy Higher Command and Staff Course.
On leaving the RAF in December 2009, he joined Thales as the Site Training Manager for the Tornado GR4 Full Mission Simulator at RAF Lossiemouth. He joined the Bristow SAR team in December 2013 becoming Director, UK Search and Rescue in July 2016.
His key responsibilities as Director UK SAR include: Accountable Manager for all aspects of the service including Clinical Governance; acting as senior level interface with the client, the Department for Transport/Maritime Coastguard Agency; and membership of various Governance Working Groups. In March 2018, he became a Director of Bristow Helicopters Limited.
He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2007 New Year’s Honours List, holds a Master of Arts Degree in Defence Studies from King’s College London and is a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute.
Ed Washecka
CEO, RACE Aviation Partners
Ed Washecka has more than 20 years of experience in the helicopter operating and leasing industries. At RACE Aviation Partners, Mr. Washecka is focused on the leasing, repurposing and part out of distressed value helicopter assets.
Mr. Washecka founded Waypoint Leasing and built the company into the 2nd largest helicopter lessor with more than 155 helicopters worth $1.6 billion. Prior to founding Waypoint with more than $400 million in equity commitments, Mr. Washecka was CEO of Era Group Inc. (NYSE: ERA), formerly the helicopter subsidiary of SEACOR Holdings (NYSE: CKH). Over the course of a decade, Mr. Washecka built SEACOR's small seed investment of $50,000 in a struggling helicopter operator to more than US$700 million in helicopter assets through organic growth and acquisition. Era’s 800+ employees operated and supported more than 175 helicopters in the US, China, Australia, Brazil, India and other major markets. While leading Era's helicopter operating business, Mr. Washecka pioneered Era Leasing, which grew to encompass 45 medium and heavy helicopters leased to operators in more than a dozen countries worldwide. Era’s leasing operations led other investors into the space and helped develop the sector as a source of equipment for operators.
Mr. Washecka is a graduate of Yale University and Columbia Business School.
Nigel Watson
Director, Luviar
Nigel is recognised as one of the leading authorities on VIP helicopter operations within the luxury yachting industry and in the field of aviation management.
Following a career in the Royal Navy and the Sultan of Oman’s Navy spanning over twenty years, Nigel was appointed as the first Captain of the Motor Yacht Golden Shadow. As both a yacht master and commercial helicopter pilot, Nigel understands both the yacht Captain and the Pilot’s perspectives when it comes to onboard air operations.
In 2000, recognising that the future would bring larger yachts with embarked helicopters Nigel founded his first aviation company ‘Heli Riviera’. Heli Riviera continues to provide operational support services from its Cannes Mandelieu airport base and accredited training services to yacht crews.
Nigel established ‘Luviair’ in 2006, an Isle of Man based aviation management company, managing helicopters for VIP clients flying predominantly in the luxury yachting industry. Luviair currently manages a fleet of twin engine Airbus helicopters in London, the South of France and embarked at sea.
Built on the expertise gained in the heli-yachting world, Nigel’s specialist consulting company, ‘Nigel Watson Limited’, focuses upon the integration of helicopters aboard some of the largest super yachts in the world, helicopter acquisitions and sales.
Bill Wolf
President & CEO, Lobo Leasing
Since graduating from the Harvard Graduate School of Business in 1991, Bill Wolf has been an investment banker and financial advisor with Goldman, Sachs & Co., HSBC and Credit Suisse. Bill left investment banking in 2008 and entered private practice, where he invested in service, retail and private financial companies. In this connection, Bill and members of his family formed Wolf Partners to invest in and arrange financing for private companies in the energy, aviation, and investment management among other sectors. Bill, along with his father Howard Wolf, is a founding partner of Lobo Leasing.
Todd Wolynski
Partner, White & Case LLP
Todd Wolynski is a leading asset finance partner with significant experience in advising the aviation industry. His broad experience in asset financing transactions includes aircraft and helicopter finance, equipment leasing and other cross-border corporate and finance transactions. He also has extensive experience in M&A, restructurings and bankruptcies in the aviation sector.
Todd’s aircraft finance experience includes export credit agencysupported transactions, warehouse and other pooled asset-backed facilities, private placements and other securities offerings, portfolio acquisitions and finance transactions, vendor finance matters, PDP financings, and restructuring and bankruptcy matters.
His extensive track record includes working with lessors, borrowers, lenders, export-credit agencies, OEMs, MROs and private equity throughout his career.
Todd served as a White & Case associate from 2006 to 2013. Prior to rejoining the Firm, Todd was the General Counsel and Chief Administrative Officer of Waypoint Leasing, a global helicopter leasing company. At Waypoint Leasing, he was directly responsible for developing and running the company's legal, compliance, insurance and contract management functions. Todd later oversaw Waypoint Leasing’s global restructuring and competitive M&A process that resulted in the successful sale of Waypoint Leasing to a strategic buyer. He then served as Chief Administrative Officer at Macquarie Rotorcraft Leasing.
Managing Director Jean-Marc Youkhana has both a vast international experience and a broad set of technical qualifications. After qualifying as an avionic and on-board instrument technician in 1991, Jean-Marc went on to serve a 5-year maintenance apprenticeship where he specialised in aircraft airframes, engines and systems and graduated in 1997 with a Technical Sales degree.
From September 1998 to 2001 Jean-Marc was in charge of the business development and account management for all French Speaking helicopter operators within Europe, Africa and the Middle East for H+S Aviation, where he worked on the Rolls-Royce model 250 Program.
In 2002, Jean-Marc founded Uplifting Aviation to provide commercial representation for companies dealing in helicopter repair and overhaul. However, a second stream of activity, providing full commercial assistance worldwide, including the selling or purchasing of aircraft has developed into an important part of Uplifting Aviation’s activity.
The founding ethos of technical expertise and entrepreneurial spirit continues to give Uplifting Aviation a highly competitive position in all aspects of the aeronautical market.
Zohar Zik
Partner, HFW
Zohar is a Partner in the aviation department with particular expertise in finance and leasing transactions, complex commercial contracts and regulatory matters.
He has advised extensively on fleet management issues, such as aircraft procurement, purchase and disposal, operating leasing, sub-leasing, lease novations and amendments and end of lease returns. His aviation finance experience includes sale and leaseback transactions, debt financing, hire purchase and conditional sale agreements, receivables financing and securitisation.
Zohar also has in-depth experience in advising on commercial agreements for the aviation industry of all types, including contracts for the purchase of buyer's furnished equipment, fuel, catering and maintenance services, and for capacity trading, such as code sharing, franchise, charter and wetlease agreements.
Zohar is the former General Counsel - Aviation of a leading global tourism company and operator of one of Europe's largest fleets of aircraft. He is qualified in England and Wales and is also a CEDR Accredited Mediator.
