LCI appoints Jaspal Jandu new CEO

Jaspal Jandu, CEO

Helicopter lessor LCI has announced the promotion of Jaspal Jandu to CEO. Former CEO, Michael Platt becomes vice chairman, and Praveen Vetrivel is appointed chief financial officer (CFO) with immediate effect.

Jandu has been at the company since 2007 and served as CFO since 2014. He was responsible for developing the LCI’s leasing platform and implementing its financial strategy, as well as partnerships with many leading financial institutions.

Platt, who joined LCI as CEO in 2012, has spent more than 30 years in aviation finance and leasing and will now focus on pursuing new market opportunities for LCI. He will also serve as a senior adviser to the board of LCI parent Libra Group.

Praveen Vetrivel, who joined LCI in 2008 and was appointed Vice President, Structured Finance in 2013, will now assume overall responsibility for financial strategy and treasury management.

All three executives will work alongside Crispin Maunder, who continues in his senior role as executive chairman.

George Logothetis, chairman and chief executive of the Libra Group, said: “I am incredibly proud of everything that LCI has achieved in recent years. This is in no small part due to its excellent leadership, who have worked together for the last decade and all of us at Libra are excited to see it enter its next chapter with such a strong senior management team.”

Jandu said: “Having concluded the sale of our fixed wing fleet earlier in the year, we are currently concentrating our efforts on our portfolio of 90 owned and managed rotary wing assets.”

LCI’s fleet comprises approximately $1bn of assets in service, on order and under management. These include medium and super medium helicopters manufactured by leading helicopter OEMs including Leonardo, Airbus and Sikorsky.

The company completed its exit from the fixed wing market in early 2020 and is currently focusing on the helicopter sector. Recently, LCI and Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing Company (SMFL) have launched a 19-helicopter leasing joint venture. The two companies are co-investors in the $230m vehicle with LCI managing the portfolio.