CDB Aviation Expands Global Commercial Team In Continued Growth Drive
Talent Acquisitions Include the Appointment of Head of Trading, Further Advancing the Company’s Mission to Provide Greater Support to Clients Globally
BOGOTA, Colombia – November 16, 2017 – CDB Aviation Lease Finance DAC (“CDB Aviation”), a wholly owned Irish subsidiary of China Development Bank Financial Leasing Co., Limited (“CDB Leasing”), announced today at the ISTAT Latin America Forum the additions to its commercial team that are aimed at providing increasingly responsive support and access to a full-service leasing platform to better serve its airline customers, prospective customers, and the broader aviation community across the Americas.
As part of the Americas-focused commercial team, CDB Aviation appointed Michael R. Dolsingh as President – Commercial, Americas, also naming Mark L. Ebanks SVP and Diego Quijada AVP – Commercial, Americas.
In addition, CDB Aviation announced the appointment of John Leenane as Head of Trading, who will be based in the company’s Irish headquarters located in Dublin.
“We are very excited to increase our efforts to better serve clients in the Americas which is a key region for the future growth of CDB Aviation and the leasing industry in general as airline traffic grows in coming years,” said CDB Aviation President and Chief Executive Officer Peter Chang. “As part of our overall global business strategy, we are bringing our focus closer to airline customers in North America, Latin America, and the Caribbean, as well as allowing our commercial team to better serve client needs on a global basis. We are seeing an increasing interest among airlines in all markets of the world in CDB Aviation’s full-service platform delivery and our unique access to capital associated with our shareholder China Development Bank.”
President, Michael Dolsingh has worked in aviation and air transportation financing for almost four decades. Most recently, he has served as advisor and consultant in corporate planning, fleet management and aircraft acquisitions to airlines, lessors and the World Bank. Mr. Dolsingh started his career with BWIA International, where he was Head of Strategic Planning, Corporate Manager – Finance, Planning & Information and Corporate Secretary. In 1989, he joined Guinness Peat Aviation (“GPA”) as Vice President Marketing and General Manager Irish Aerospace and subsequently was named GECAS Senior Vice President and worked in a leadership role in the Latin America & Caribbean region for 15 years. He holds business postgraduate, and sciences and engineering undergraduate qualifications.
John Leenane joins CDB Aviation as Head of Trading. Mr. Leenane has extensive experience in the aircraft operating leasing industry and brings deep expertise to CDB Aviation’s leadership team in areas such as lending, financing, trading, pricing, portfolio management, aircraft acquisition, and development of strategic relationships. Prior to CDB Aviation, Mr. Leenane was Regional Director, Europe & Asia – Financial Institutions Group at CIT Aerospace.
During his career, he also held a number of executive positions, including: SVP, Capital Strategies, Orix Aviation, Managing Director Fresh Mortgages, Head of Structured Finance at ABN AMRO Bank N.V. Dublin, Investec Bank and IIU Limited. Mr. Leenane earned his Bachelor of Commerce from University College Dublin, and he is an associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales.
Mark L. Ebanks joins CDB Aviation as SVP – Commercial, Americas. Mr. Ebanks began his commercial aviation career with Eastern Airlines in Miami in the mid-1980s. He continued in aircraft maintenance at United Airlines. Prior to CDB Aviation, he spent a 19-year career at CIT Aerospace, serving in the role of Director – Commercial Air. Mr. Ebanks has a degree in Aviation Technology, and he is active in the commercial aviation industry among his peers, including serving ISTAT in Latin America.
Diego Quijada joins CDB Aviation as AVP – Commercial, Americas. Prior to CDB Aviation, Mr. Quijada worked at Avolon as part of the OEM team and as Marketing Analyst for CIT Aerospace. Mr. Quijada holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with honors, with concentration in Finance.
CDB Aviation Chief Commercial Officer Patrick C. Hannigan added: “We are building a global commercial team with the highest quality professionals who know our industry well and, more importantly, who are versed in understanding and anticipating the needs of our airline customers. Adding focus on the Americas represents our company’s strong commitment to being a global lessor which will increasingly bring us closer to our customers’ door.”
About CDB Aviation Lease Finance
CDB Aviation Lease Finance DAC (“CDB Aviation”) is a wholly owned Irish subsidiary of China Development Bank Financial Leasing Co., Limited (“CDB Leasing”), a 33-year-old Chinese leasing company that is backed mainly by the China Development Bank. China Development Bank is under the direct jurisdiction of the State Council of China and is the world’s largest development finance institution. It is also the largest Chinese bank for foreign investment and financing cooperation, long-term lending and bond issuance, enjoying Chinese sovereign credit rating.
CDB Leasing is the only leasing arm of the China Development Bank and a leading company in China’s leasing industry that has been engaged in aircraft, infrastructure, ship, commercial vehicle and construction machinery leasing and enjoys a Chinese sovereign credit rating. It took an important step in July 2016 to globalize and marketize its business – listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX STOCK CODE: 1606).
Media contact:
Paul Thibeau
Paul.Thibeau@CDBAviation.aero
+1 612 594 9844