Our People

Dómhnal Slattery
Chief Executive Officer

Dómhnal Slattery began his aviation financing career in 1989, initially in marketing roles with Guinness Peat Aviation (GPA) and GECAS. In 1994, he established his own aircraft advisory and investment banking services company, International Aviation Management Group (IAMG). Over the following 7 years, IAMG arranged aircraft asset and related transactions amounting to more than US$5 billion in value on behalf of a wide range of leading airline and investor clients worldwide. In 2001 the Royal Bank of Scotland Group acquired IAMG as the launch platform of RBS Aviation Capital. Dómhnal was Chief Executive of this business from 2001 to 2004 and went on to become Managing Director of the Structured Asset Finance business for the Royal Bank of Scotland Group. He continued as a non-executive Director of RBS Aviation Capital until January, 2008. Dómhnal has a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) from University College Galway and is a graduate of the Accelerated Development Programme from the London Business School.

Denis Nayden
Chairman

Denis J. Nayden is a Managing Partner of Oak Hill Capital, a private equity firm in which Robert M. Bass is the lead investor. At Oak Hill Capital, Mr Nayden heads the industry groups focused on investments in Basic Industries and co-heads the Business & Financial Services team. Currently, he represents Oak Hill Capital on the boards of directors of Accretive Healthcare, Firth Rixson Ltd., Genpact, The Jacobson Companies, Primus International and RSC Equipment Rental.

Prior to joining Oak Hill in 2003, Mr Nayden was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of GE Capital, where he was responsible for 20 separate businesses representing $555 billion of aggregate assets an 90,000 employees in 35 countries. During his 26-year tenure at General Electric Co. (GE), Mr Nayden also served as Chief Operating Officer (1994-2000); Executing Vice President (1989-1994); Senior Vice President and General Manager in the Corporate Finance Group (1987-1989); and Marketing Administrator for Air/Rail Financing as well as various other positions of increasing responsibility (1977-1987).

In addition to the boards of directors mentioned above, Mr. Nayden also serves on the board of directors of Cathedral Cluster Schools and buildOn (a non-profit organization). Mr. Nayden earned a B.A. degree in English, magna cum laude, in 1976 and an M.B.A. in Finance in 1977 from the University of Connecticut, where he serves on the Board of Trustees.

John Higgins
President and Chief Commercial Officer

John Higgins has 17 years experience in aircraft finance. He trained and qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Price Waterhouse. John joined GPA in 1994 as Treasury Manager working primarily on the refinancing of the GPA debt facilities. He subsequently joined GECAS in 1996 where he held a number of marketing roles dealing with airlines and manufacturers throughout the EMEA region. John joined RBS Aviation Capital in 2004 as Head of Origination for Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia and in 2007 was promoted to Chief Commercial Officer with global responsibility for all airline and OEM relationships (including new business origination, aircraft remarketing and new order placement). John has a Bachelor of Science (Management) from Trinity College Dublin and is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland.

Tom Ashe
Chief Operating Officer

Tom Ashe has 17 years experience in the aviation industry. A Chartered Accountant by profession, he joined GPA/AerFi in 1994 and held responsibility for financial planning until 2000 when, following the company’s acquisition by debis/Aercap, he assumed responsibility for originating aircraft and engine trading opportunities. He joined RBS Aviation Capital in 2002 as a Senior Vice President in the EMEA origination team, becoming Head of Origination for EMEA in 2007. Tom joined Avolon in April, 2010. Tom has a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) and Diploma in Professional Accounting from University College Dublin and is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland.

Andy Cronin
Chief Financial Officer

Andy Cronin started his professional and aviation industry career in 2000 with FLS Aerospace Ltd. where he spent four years starting as project engineer and progressing to a variety of management positions. He joined RBS Aviation Capital in 2004 as a Business Analyst before being appointed SVP Investor Markets in 2005, having responsibility for the disposal, financing and debt syndication of operating lease and structured debt products to a wide pool of investor and bank communities. From 2008 he was extensively involved in the financial planning and balance sheet structuring of RBS Aviation Capital. Andy has a Bachelor of Engineering and a Masters of Industrial Engineering, both with First Class Honours from University College Dublin. He was awarded the Deloitte Gold Medal for achieving 1st Place in his Masters class.

Ed Riley
General Counsel

Ed Riley began his career at Clifford Chance in London, where he qualified as a solicitor in 1999. Specialising in aircraft finance, he advised airlines, banks and lessors and also completed a secondment at GECAS. He then spent six years from 2001 as Senior Legal Counsel with Airbus in Toulouse before joining RBS Aviation Capital as Senior Vice President, Commercial Negotiation with responsibility for leading the negotiation of transaction documentation with airlines, financiers, operating lessors and export credit agencies. Ed has a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Modern Languages from University of Durham and a Diploma in Legal Practice (Common Professional Examination) from The College of Law, York. He was admitted as a Solicitor in England and Wales in 1999.

Pat Hannigan
Head of Europe, Middle East Africa

Pat Hannigan started his aviation career in 1999 having worked in a variety of non-aviation related senior finance and marketing roles since 1987. For 5 years from 1999, he was Vice President – Marketing with GECAS covering EMEA and was based in the US and Dubai for some of this period. He joined RBS Aviation Capital in 2004 as Senior Vice President, Aircraft Finance and Leasing where he was responsible for a number of key airline relationships. Pat is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland.

Simon Hanson
Head of Asia Pacific

Based in Singapore, Simon Hanson is responsible for co-ordinating Avolon’s airline and investor relationships and business development activities in Asia Pacific. Prior to Avolon, he was on the RBS team that negotiated the acquisition of IAMG and managed the foundation of RBS Aviation Capital in 2001. Having previously spent 8 years in the UK banking sector, he joined RBS Aviation Capital at its foundation initially as an originator in Europe. He moved to Hong Kong in 2002 to establish a new office and create a local franchise. In 2007 he was appointed Managing Director, Head of Asia Pacific with overall responsibility for RBS Aviation Capital’s origination activities in the region. Simon has a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Financial Services from Sheffield Hallam University and an MBA from Warwick Business School. He is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, UK and an Associate of Corporate Treasurers.

Susan Hao Guo
Head of Greater China

Susan Hao Guo joined Avolon from HSH Nordbank, where she was SVP Transportation, leading the HSH Transportation China Team from 2006 to 2010. Susan was the Marketing Director China for Aviation Capital Group from 2002 to 2006 prior to which she spent six years working in the Finance Department of China Eastern Airlines. Susan has a Bachelor in Economics from Zhongnan University of Finance and Economics, Beijing and an MBA (Aviation) from the John Molson School of Business, Concordia University.

Paul Geaney
Head of the Americas

Paul Geaney was most recently a partner in Claret Capital and head of its operation in the Americas. Before joining Claret Capital in 2006, he spent four years with RBS. From 2002 to 2004, he was a Business Analyst with RBS Aviation Capital and from 2004 to 2006 he led the bank’s corporate jet financing activities. He began his professional career with Merrill Lynch working in both New York and London as an analyst in their consumer products and healthcare banking groups. Paul has a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Politics from Trinity College Dublin.

Dick Forsberg
Head of Risk and Strategy

Dick Forsberg has 40 years aviation industry experience working in a variety of roles with airlines, operating lessors, arrangers and capital providers in the areas of business strategy, industry analysis and forecasting, asset valuation, portfolio risk management and airline credit assessment. His most recent role has been Head of Strategy at RBS Aviation Capital, where responsibilities included defining the trading cycle of the business, creating and maintaining an asset valuation capability, setting portfolio risk management criteria and determining capital allocation targets. Prior to RBS Dick worked with IAMG, GECAS and GPA following a 20-year career in the UK airline industry. Dick has a Diploma in Business Studies and in Marketing from the UK Institute of Marketing and is a member of the Royal Aeronautical Society.

Daire O'Criodain
Head of Special Projects

Daire O'Criodain spent 9 years in Ireland’s diplomatic service before joining GPA in 1990. Over the following 16 years, he managed a variety of operational functions in GPA, GECAS, IAMG and RBS Aviation Capital of which he was a founding executive and member of the senior management team. Since 2006, he has pursued an independent career as a business advisor and consultant. During that time, he has been an advisor to Claret Capital as well as a director of a number of private companies and charitable trusts. Daire has a Bachelor of Arts and Masters of Arts from University College Dublin and an MBA from University of Limerick.

Steven Graham
Director

Steven Graham was most recently a senior analyst at Claret Capital which he joined in early 2008. Prior to that Steven worked with Ernst & Young and during his time there he worked in a variety of industry sectors including Oil & Gas. Steven has a Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Actuarial Mathematics and Statistics from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland.

Lucas Mollan
Chief Technical Officer

Lucas Mollan has 28 years of experience in technical management. He previously served as Managing Director of Thomas Cook Aircraft Engineering where he was responsible for the provision of in house maintenance and engineering support to the various Thomas Cook Airline fleets, totalling over 60 aircraft. He was also responsible for the purchasing and management of outsourced MRO services such as engine overhaul, component support services and heavy maintenance, and for the provision of aircraft maintenance and technical support services to third party airline customers. Prior to this, Lucas served in senior technical roles for several UK airlines, including Air 2000, JMC Airlines and MyTravel Airways. Lucas has also previously worked for Airbus, assisting airlines to introduce new Airbus aircraft into their fleet. Lucas has a Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Aeronautical Engineering from Bristol University and is also a licensed UK CAA Aircraft Maintenance Engineer.

Michael Lillis
Chairman, Latin American Advisory Board

Michael Lillis served as head of GECAS’ Latin American and Caribbean business from 1990 to 2006. Prior to its acquisition by GE, he also served in the same role for Irish aircraft lessor, GPA. During his career in Latin America, Michael financed over 180 aircraft valued at in excess of US$6 billion. Michael has worked with, and financed aircraft for, every major airline in Latin America. Prior to his career in aircraft leasing, Michael served in the Irish Embassy in the United States and subsequently in the European Commission in Brussels. During his period at the Commission, he negotiated trade agreements for the EU with the Andean Pact (which includes Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru) and Argentina. He was also a lead negotiator for Ireland on the Anglo-Irish agreement on Northern Ireland in 1985 and was subsequently appointed as the youngest Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva where he conducted global trade negotiations. Michael is fluent in Portuguese and Spanish and co-wrote ‘Scandal and Courage: The Lives of Eliza Lynch’, an account of the War of the Triple Alliance in South America. Michael has a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) from University College Dublin.

Victoria Goodenough
Managing Director Capital Markets

Victoria Goodenough joined Avolon from Lloyds Banking Group where she was Director of Aircraft Finance, primarily serving clients in the Americas. Prior to that, Victoria was Capital Markets Manager with easyJet airline where she had responsibility for all corporate finance activities. In her career to date, Victoria has arranged over US$4 billion in asset financing including debt finance, operating leases and revolving credit facilities. Victoria has a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in English and European Literature from University of Essex and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales.

Marie Ryan
Director, Transaction Structuring

Marie Ryan joined Avolon as Director, Transaction and Structuring from Amentum Capital.  Prior to her recent 3 years experience in aviation, she worked for 5 years in RBS Financial Markets and Ulster Bank Financial Markets as a market risk analyst.  Marie has a Bachelor of Arts in Business Studies from University of Limerick and a Masters in Financial Engineering from National University Ireland, Maynooth.

John Wragg
Business Analyst

John joins Avolon from the structured lending department of the aviation division of DVB Bank, having gained experience in transaction structuring and modelling, and marketing the bank’s products to airline and lessor clients. Prior to this John was an underwriter in the Aviation Insurance Division at AIG, one of the leading insurers of aviation risks in the global insurance market. In his career to date he has been involved in financings for aircraft with a volume close to US$1bn. John has a Masters in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Sheffield.

Aidan Bodkin
Financial Controller

Prior to joining Avolon, Aidan was Head of Financial Planning & Analysis at Digicel Group, the Caribbean and South Pacific Telecoms provider, where he was responsible for acquisition, strategic planning and business analysis. Previous roles include Finance Manager at Magnet Broadband and European Financial Analyst at Icon Clinical Research. Aidan has a Bachelor of Business Studies from Waterford Institute of Technology and a Masters of Business Administration from Trinity College Dublin. He is an associate of Chartered Accountants Ireland.

Dan Cavanagh
Senior Airlines Analyst

Dan Cavanagh joined Avolon from Goodbody Stockbrokers, where he was a Senior Equity Analyst, covering Irish and International equities from 2006 to 2010. Dan was the VP of Portfolio Development at Bank of America from 2004 to 2006, prior to which he spent two years working on M&A for MBNA. Dan has a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Leeds University and a Masters in Business Administration from Manchester Business School. He is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and is a registered member of the Irish Stock Exchange.

Brian Foley
Managing Director Capital Markets

Brian Foley has over 25 years’ experience in aviation finance. Prior to joining GPA in 1985 he qualified as a Chartered Accountant with KPMG. Over the following ten years he held a number of capital markets roles within both GPA and GECAS culminating in the position of Managing Director, Capital Markets. From 1995 onwards he was a principal in the Dublin office of Babcock & Brown specialising in airline financing, product design and securitisation structures. The total value of transactions executed in that timeframe is in excess of US$8 billion.  Brian has a Masters in Management Science from University College Dublin and is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland.

David Murray
Treasurer

David Murray joined Avolon on a consultancy basis in March 2010, before being formally appointed as Treasurer in March 2011. David began his professional career with international accountancy firm Mazars. He joined Vodafone Ireland as Revenue Analyst from 1999 to 2002 and later founded and managed a successful property development and construction business until 2008. Thereafter, he established Wheatley Associates, a Dublin based Chartered Accountancy practice. David has a Bachelor of Commerce from University College Dublin and a Masters of Accounting from Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, University College Dublin. He is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland.

Greg Byrnes
Finance Manager

Greg Byrnes joined Avolon in May 2011 from BDO where he headed up their outsourcing division. Prior to this Greg worked in the audit department at BDO from 2001 to 2009 where he held the position of Audit Senior Manager. Greg has a Bachelor in Pure Economics from University College Dublin and a Post Graduate diploma in Accounting from Dublin City University. He is a member of Chartered Accountants Ireland. where he also obtained a Diploma in International Financial Reporting Standards.

Peter Caley
Legal Counsel

Peter Caley joined Avolon in April 2011. Prior to joining Avolon he worked for a number of leading City law firms based in both London and Dubai. While in private practice he specialised in aircraft financing and leasing work acting for a variety of lessors, lessees and financiers. Peter has a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) from University College London, and a Diploma in Legal Practice from The College of Law, London. He was admitted as a Solicitor in England and Wales in 2001.

Laura Lehane
Contracts Manager

Laura Lehane joined Avolon from Claret Capital where she worked as Executive Assistant to the CEO.  Prior to joining Avolon, Laura spent three years as the Office Manager of a regional newspaper.  Between 2001 and 2004 she worked at debis AirFinance (AerCap) in various administrative support roles.  Laura is currently studying for a Bachelor of Business Studies Degree at University College Dublin and is expected to graduate in 2012.

Claire Byrne
Contracts Manager

Claire Byrne joined Avolon in April 2010 as an Executive Assistant to the Origination Team and has recently moved into a Contracts Manager role.  Prior to joining Avolon, Claire worked as an Executive Assistant for the Head of Capital Origination at Claret Capital Limited, a private investment company in Dublin.

Yvonne Gallagher
Executive Assistant

Yvonne Gallagher joined Avolon in April 2010 as Executive Assistant to the CEO.  Prior to joining Avolon, Yvonne spent four years at 1031 Services, Inc., in Seattle, WA as an Exchange and Marketing Assistant. Yvonne has a Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing from Gonzaga University.

Aoife Howe
Executive Assistant

Aoife Howe joined Avolon in 2011 as an Executive Assistant to the Origination Team.  Prior to joining Avolon, Aoife spent eight years from 2002 to 2010, supporting the Institutional Equities division of Merrion Stockbrokers. Aoife has a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Counselling & Psychotherapy from Dublin Business School.

Lucy Sheehan
Office Administrator

Lucy Sheehan joined Avolon in February 2011. Prior to joining Avolon, Lucy worked as a Documentation Assistant at Peninsula Business Services (Ireland) Limited Company where she was responsible for editing and preparing draft Employment Handbooks and Contracts. Lucy has a Certificate of completion in Computer Applications and Office Skills from City and Guilds, Dublin.

Ross O'Connor
Business Analyst

Ross O’Connor joined Avolon as a Business Analyst in July 2011. Prior to joining Avolon, Ross spent 6 years working as a Management Consultant with Deloitte. In this role Ross worked on various engagements across a variety of industries in both the public and private sector. Industry sectors included Financial Services, Utilities, Gaming and Government agencies. Ross has a Bachelor in Management Science and Information System Studies from Trinity College Dublin and is a member of Chartered Accountants Ireland.

Shane Maguire
Business Analyst

Shane Maguire joined Avolon in July 2011 as a Business Analyst in the Operations Team. Prior to joining Avolon, Shane worked as an Actuarial Analyst with Aviva and more recently as a Pricing Analyst with AA Insurance. Shane has a Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Financial and Actuarial Mathematics from Dublin City University.

Deirdre Clifford
Senior Airline Analyst

Deirdre Clifford joined Avolon from RBS Aviation Capital, where she was a Senior Vice President on the Credit Risk team. Deirdre spent over 5 years on the team covering airlines in Europe, Asia and Africa. Prior to joining the credit risk team, Deirdre worked in the Transaction Management team on Aircraft Deliveries and Fundings. Deirdre began her professional career in Merrill Lynch working in various roles within Operations and has a Bachelor of Arts in International Business and Languages from Dublin City University.