ISTAT Jetrader - Spring 2024 - 14

PERSPECTIVES
total disarray. Go and listen to the
customer needs and see how we can
support them with lease extensions or
supplemental aircraft.
There is an increased appetite
to own aircraft. We've gone through
COVID-19, and airline profitability is
coming back, so a lot more airlines
want to own their own aircraft. We've
hit 53% of the market being owned
by operating lessors; we need to have
product to help airlines when they
want to own aircraft. This is why we've
switched to our finance lease product,
particularly during 2023 as airlines
become more profitable and continue to
take advantage of the tax depreciation
that's available in the U.S. and U.K.
The fifth one is the war for talent.
This is, to me, is one of the biggest
challenges, and it's not just within
our industry. The real war for talent
is with everyone outside the industry.
We get very good people poached
by other industries, which drives
me mad. We need to realize we're
competing with other industries. There
are a lot of very interesting industries
that new talent can go into. I think
one of the challenges we had during
COVID-19 was that new employees
coming into the company weren't
in the office, so they lost two years
of positive interaction and learning.
We've significantly increased our
training over the last two years to allow
people to catch up.
On ESG, I think the industry has
A321P2F
A330-300P2F
A330-200P2F
A320P2F
WE ARE
FAMILY!
The Airbus Freighter Conversion
made good progress on the E, but
there's still a lot more to be done on
the S and G. We already employ 20
nationalities, and we have a board
that's 25% female in line with the Hong
Kong Stock Exchange target for 25%
female board participation by 2025. We
have lots of social projects across our
group. One we think is very important
is Airlink. We're huge supporters. We
think they're doing a fabulous job.
Particularly when there are disasters
here in the Asia-Pacific, we see that
as our natural role. So, whether it be
the tsunami in Indonesia, the recent
problems on Pacific Islands or providing
support for COVID-19 for hospitals in
India, we've been involved. We also
have local social involvement. We
recently began sponsoring Singapore's
latest secret, which is the world's No.
1 tchoukball team. This sport was
set up to encourage teenagers to not
spend their time on the streets. We
helped fund them last year, and now
the government has recognized them
as a sport.
www.efw.aero
Jetrader: You are stepping down as
CEO after 25 years in January. Can
you tell me about this decision and
share what's next for you?
RM: I had always said that I would
run 25 years in this role. At that point,
I wanted to give my successor the
opportunity to take over. So, I've been
planning for this for a number of years.
14 * THE OF F I C I AL PUBL I CAT I ON OF ISTAT
CONTACT
marketing@efw.aero
http://www.efw.aero
ISTAT Jetrader - Spring 2024

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