Avolon CEO Dómhnal Slattery to step down

Aircraft lessor Avolon has announced that founding chief executive Dómhnal Slattery will stand down from his role and from the company’s board this year.

President and chief financial officer Andy Cronin has been “unanimously” selected by Avolon’s board to succeed Mr Slattery as “CEO designate”, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

Chief commercial officer Paul Geaney, meanwhile, has been appointed president “with immediate effect” and will also remain in situ in his current role, it said.

Mr Slattery, who has served as chief executive since the company was founded in 2010, said “it has been a privilege to lead the business” from the largest private equity-backed start-up at the beginning of his tenure to one of the world’s largest aircraft lessors. He is leaving to pursue other interests, the company said in a statement. However, he will “work closely” with Mr Cronin over the coming months “to ensure an effective transition of leadership”.

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In a statement, Mr Cronin said: “Avolon is a truly great business with an incredibly talented and motivated team. I look forward to leading the company through our next phase of development and building on the success of the past 12 years as we continue to innovate, evolve and grow.”

Founded in 2010, the company was originally backed by private equity and Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund before listing on the New York Stock Exchange in 2014, the largest-ever listing on the exchange by an Irish-founded company. Chinese-owned Bohai Leasing bought Avolon for $7.6 billion (€7.51 billion) in 2016, taking it private before Japanese group Orix acquired a 30 per cent stake in Avolon in 2018.

Also on Tuesday, Avolon published its results for the second quarter of 2022. Leasing revenue at the company — which owns and manages a fleet of 591 aircraft, leasing them out to airlines — was down almost 11.6 per cent from the same period last year to $539 million.

The Dublin-based company announced earlier this year that it had lost $173 million. This was mostly due to an impairment charge it took in relation to 10 aircraft that it could not get back from Russian airlines following the invasion of Ukraine. Avolon said that excluding its Russian operations, net income for the three months to the end of June was $3 million, down from $64 million in the second quarter of 2022.

[ Irish Times Business Person of the Month: Domhnal Slattery ]

The leasing company executed a total of 54 lease transactions in the quarter, it said, including new leases as well as follow-on leases and extensions. It also sold two aircraft and entered into binding sale agreements for another 30.

Also in the quarter, international ratings agency Fitch confirmed Avolon’s credit rating as BBB- with a stable outlook.

Mr Cronin said: “Demand for air travel globally has continued to recover strongly and that recovery is evident in the improving financial health of airlines. The rebound in demand has been met with operational challenges within airlines and at airports but we are seeing broad-based demand for new and used aircraft as passengers want to return to the skies.”