OUR LEADERSHIP

Andy Cronin

Chief Executive Officer

Andy Cronin was appointed Avolon’s Chief Executive Officer in October 2022 and is a globally recognised leader within the aviation industry, having held a range of senior roles across the sector for more than 20 years.

As part of the founding team and serving as Avolon’s CFO from 2010 to 2022, Andy has played a central role in building the company to the industry-leading position it holds today. He has successfully led Finance and Capital Market teams through numerous capital raises, corporate acquisitions, and most notably Avolon’s listing on the NYSE.

Prior to joining Avolon, Andy served as SVP Investor Markets at RBS Aviation Capital with responsibility for disposal, financing and debt syndication of operating lease and structured debt products to a wide pool of investors and banking communities. Before working at RBS Aviation Capital, Andy worked in numerous commercial and operational roles at FLS Aerospace.

Andy has a Bachelor of Engineering degree and a Master of Industrial Engineering degree, both with First Class Honours from University College Dublin.

Paul Geaney

President & Chief Commercial Officer

Paul Geaney was appointed as Avolon’s Chief Commercial Officer in July 2021, adding the role of President in July 2022.

He is responsible for the Commercial Team at Avolon, leading the business’s aircraft origination, marketing, and commercial insights activity. He also leads Avolon’s eVTOL subsidiary Avolon-e and oversees Avolon’s OEM team who manage Avolon’s orderbook and aircraft manufacturer relationships.

Paul was a founding member of the Avolon team in May 2010 in the role of Head of Americas; he was then Head of OEM, and latterly Chief Risk Officer.

Before joining Avolon he spent three years with Claret Capital, including a period running one of its aviation related portfolio companies, before becoming a partner at the firm.

Paul began his aviation career in 2002 working for RBS Aviation Capital on its credit and pricing teams and ran RBS’s international corporate jet finance business. Paul started his professional career with Merrill Lynch in New York where he worked for its healthcare banking team.

Paul holds a Bachelor in Economics and Politics degree from Trinity College, Dublin, and was on the Board of the International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading (ISTAT) from 2019 to 2023.

Ciara Ruane

Chief People Officer

Ciara Ruane was appointed Chief People Officer at Avolon in October 2021 and is responsible for leading the company’s people strategy. Ciara plays a key role in driving Avolon’s organisational performance through its people. She is accountable for building leadership capability, fostering a high-performance culture, and developing talent strategies that support Avolon’s growth. In 2024, she assumed responsibility for the technology and project management teams to further integrate people and operational strategy.

Ciara brings over 20 years of HR experience with a strong track record in driving business performance through strategic people leadership. As Director of People and Culture at Primark, she led global HR centres of expertise across talent, reward, learning, diversity & inclusion, and wellbeing, supporting organisational scale, employee engagement, and cultural alignment with business growth. Before that, Ciara spent more than a decade at Willis Towers Watson, working across a wide range of HR disciplines and consulting practices.

She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from University College Cork and has a Masters from Smurfit Business School.

Ross O'Connor

Chief Financial Officer

Ross O’Connor was appointed Chief Financial Officer in October 2022 and leads the financial reporting, tax, corporate development, capital markets and aircraft trading activities at Avolon.

Ross O’Connor joined Avolon in 2011 and has held various roles throughout the organisation, including Vice President Trading and Head of Investor Relations. From 2020 to 2022, Ross served as Head of Capital Markets for Avolon, leading Avolon’s fundraising strategy and initiatives, including the management of Avolon’s rating agency and global lender relationships.

Ross holds a Bachelor (Hons) in Management Science and Information Systems Studies degree from Trinity College Dublin and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Ireland.

Felipe Campos

Chief Operating Officer

Felipe Campos was appointed Avolon’s Chief Operating Officer in October 2022 and oversees all the company’s operational activity, including the transaction management, technical, IT, workplace services, and customer operations teams.

Felipe joined Avolon in April 2016 and most recently served as Chief Technical Officer from 2021 to 2022. In this role he managed all technical aspects of the business including lease negotiation, transitions, new aircraft deliveries and oversight of delivered aircraft while on lease. Prior to this, as the Head of Latin America, Felipe was responsible for managing Avolon's relationships with the airlines in the region.

Before joining Avolon, Felipe held a variety of roles across the aviation industry including with GE Aviation, LATAM and TAM airlines. These roles involved responsibility for marketing, aircraft financing, leasing, fleet planning, engines, and supply chain contracts.

Felipe holds a Master of Science in Naval Engineering and Project Management, and a Naval Engineering degree from Escola Politécnica at the University of São Paulo.

Jim Morrison

Chief Risk Officer

Jim Morrison was appointed Chief Risk Officer in October 2022. He is responsible for the implementation, oversight, and continued development of Avolon’s risk management strategy, ensuring that Avolon proactively addresses the immediate and future challenges faced by the industry.

A member of Avolon since 2017, Jim most recently served as Head of Portfolio Management where he was responsible for identifying and projecting key industry trends, performing airline and market analysis, and developing aircraft investment cases. Jim led Avolon’s strategic entry into the freighter market and helped launch our eVTOL commercialization strategy. Jim contributes to Avolon’s thought leadership agenda, authoring our annual outlook papers and developing Avolon’s sustainability initiatives.

Prior to joining Avolon, Jim held airline marketing, market analysis, and product strategy roles with CIT Aerospace and Bombardier Commercial Aircraft. Jim is an ISTAT Certified Appraiser and a licensed Professional Engineer in Ontario.

Jim holds a Master of Science in Technology and Policy degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Applied Science in Engineering Physics degree from Queen’s University, Kingston.