Jetrader - Spring 2018 - 15

Jetrader: If you had it to do over again,
would you choose a career that focuses
on transportation finance, or is there
another avenue of the industry that you
would have liked to explore?
JK: I wouldn't change anything. I think
I was fortunate to get into the leasing
industry in its infancy. Leasing was only
a very small fraction of the market when
I started at Manufacturers Hanover in
1982; I believe the leasing market share
was two percent at that time. Today, it's
40-plus percent. So, I had the opportunity
to participate in a growth industry - and
one with lots of touchpoints. Working
with manufacturers, working with airlines,
working with maintenance facilities, and
on and on, was a great way to learn. I was
challenged every single day.
Jetrader: You spent close to 30 years
with CIT group, correct?
JK: Closer to 35 years actually.
Manufacturers Hanover acquired CIT, so
it was one long run with a group that
went through several iterations. And those
35 years were the result of a lot of hard
work by a lot of people; I worked with
a great team. Plus, I have been blessed
by a really supportive - and really
understanding - family. My wife and kids
have been great - every step of the way.
Jetrader: After that much time, what
led you to pursue leadership of the
company's C2 Aviation Capital venture?
JK: C2 was a public offshoot of CIT's
air business. When we ultimately sold it
to HNA Group I was ready to take a break
after 35 years of going fast - though
'retirement' proved to be short-lived
for me once the opportunity at Airbus
was presented!

AIRBUS

why passengers today generally have a
better experience on airlines than in the
past. Also, every year, the safety and reliability in this industry, which underpin
everything we do, get better and better.

Jetrader: With regards to leasing,
you've talked about the importance of
increased interactivity in the industry in recent years, but it hasn't come
without downsides, which are most
often tied  to  market slowdowns in
certain regions. How do we overcome
these challenges while  preserving
global connections?
JK: Every year, this becomes more of
a global, interconnected business. The
reality is that airlines today are constantly
involved in global issues, and being global
in mindset is critical to success. In fact,
being global has in some ways helped to
dampen some of the cyclicality that this
industry experienced in the past. If you
look at aviation since, really, after 2001
and 9/11, the industry globally has been
on an uptick every year.
It's been a pretty long run of positive
growth, I think there's more growth to
come. It's been strong even in the U.S.,
where people thought the growth was
going to start to slow down. Certainly

we've seen that emerging markets have
been very strong as well. So, across the
board, this industry continues to find ways
to grow, innovate and open new markets.
Jetrader: With that said, how much do
regime changes, shifting border-control
policies or other global market forces
concern you regarding aviation's future?
Is it business as usual, or can political
upheaval cause long-term trauma for
the industry?
JK: Any trade policies that prevent open
trade for international companies can be
problematic. At Airbus, our view is that we
just want to compete. We want the opportunity to source from global suppliers and
to sell our products to airlines around the
world. Airlines like choice, and we want
to give them the opportunity to evaluate various aircraft and make a decision
based on merits. We'll put our airplanes up
against anybody's and let the airlines make
that determination. Anything that hinders
that is clearly not a plus to aviation, and
Jetrader * Spring 2018 15
Jetrader - Spring 2018

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