ISTAT Jetrader - Winter 2022 - 10

PERSPECTIVES
Firoz Tarapore
CEO, Dubai Aerospace Enterprise
Jetrader recently spoke to Firoz Tarapore
about his company post-integration of AWAS,
DAE's plans for the future, its favorable ESG
rating and more.
Jetrader: Can you discuss your
career in the aviation industry and
the different positions you have had
prior to assuming your current role?
Firoz Tarapore (FT): I joined DAE
as chief financial officer to provide
financial leadership to what was then
a startup with a very broad set of
ambitions to quickly become a scale
player in different segments of this
industry. Over the next few years,
we sharpened our business focus
to prioritize consistent profitability.
I briefly took on the role of chief
operating officer before being picked
to become the chief executive officer.
Since that time, we have significantly
enhanced our footprint in aircraft
leasing and refocused our energies
on the engineering side to become
the provider of choice of airframe and
component MRO services to airlines
in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and
South Asia.
Jetrader: What observations do you
have from the five years since the
merger of DAE and AWAS? Have the
cultural aspects of the merger and
operating from two hubs worked out
as anticipated?
FT: Without bias, I can say that this is
one of the most successful mergers
10 * THE OF F I C I AL PUBL I CAT I ON OF ISTAT
I have been a part of in my career.
AWAS was three times as large as
DAE when we came together and was
headquartered in Dublin, while DAE
was headquartered in Dubai. When
we were performing our due diligence
on AWAS, we were looking at more
than just the numbers; we were also
on the lookout for any red flags from
a culture compatibility standpoint. We
didn't identify any. Instead, we found
a high degree of commonality on how
we approached the business, how we
took risks and how we lived our values
on an everyday basis.
From Day One, we decided
we wanted to retain every single
employee in both companies to
guarantee the continued success
of our combined company. The
hybrid location model was just a
consequence. We invested heavily in
systems and telephony technology -
even before the pandemic - to
enhance our connectivity and make
it as seamless as possible. This
allowed us to work cohesively and
create a common culture of respect
and collaboration. It also allowed
us to retain all of our very talented
team members in situ. Today, we
lead the industry in gender diversity
with a nearly equal split of men and
ISTAT Jetrader - Winter 2022

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