The Gulf Time Newspaper One of the finest business newspapers in the UAE brought to you by our professional writers and editors.
Los Angeles / Bloomberg
The self-proclaimed godfather of the aircraft-leasing industry, Steven Udvar-Hazy, is stepping down as chief executive officer of Air Lease Corp.
Udvar-Hazy, 70, will become executive chairman of the board on July 1, Air Lease said in a statement. John Plueger, 61, the chief operating officer of the commercial-aircraft leasing company, will take over as CEO.
The moves are part of a succession plan, the Los Angeles-based company said. Air Lease owns and manages 268 jet aircraft on lease to 88 airline customers worldwide and has 386 new jetliners on order from Airbus Group SE and Boeing Co. through 2023.
Air Lease “will benefit from both John’s expanded role, and no diminishment in Steve’s drive and commitment to building an ever bigger and stronger ALC,†lead director Robert Milton said.
Udvar-Hazy pioneered the plane-leasing business with the founding of International Lease Finance Corp. in 1973, which was acquired by American International Group Inc. in 1990. He retired from ILFC in 2010 and founded Air Lease with Plueger.
Forty-two minutes after blast off, the satellite BRIsat reached its orbit. It is the first telecommunications satellite dedicated to a financial institution, Bank Rakyat Indonesia, which has 53 million customers across the Indonesian archipelago, according to Arianespace.