The business is led by a management team with a wealth of industry experience including financing, leasing, asset management and structured finance:
Jeremy spearheaded the management buy-in of BAE AM in July 2011 which created Falko and has been instrumental in Falko’s growth to one of the world’s largest aircraft asset management companies solely focused on regional aircraft, overseeing the expansion of Falko’s fleet of aircraft under management to over 260. Starting out his career in investment banking with Citi in London, Jeremy’s industry experience spans over 40 years and through that time he has worked across a number of areas within the aviation sector.
Jeremy joined BAE Systems Plc in 1993 to lead the commercial aerospace financing initiatives and was responsible for all aspects of corporate finance within the commercial aerospace sector. He also sat on the Executive Board that oversaw the running of the Asset Management division which had a portfolio some 600 BAE manufactured regional jets and turboprop aircraft under management at that time. In this role, Jeremy completed a number of airline work outs in South Africa, US, Canada, Australia, UK and Colombia. In 1998, Jeremy and the team completed a Financial Risk Insurance Programme a synthetic securitization using insurance capital, which underpinned the performance of its existing portfolio of some 550 turboprop and jet aircraft from any future risk and volatility in the regional aircraft market. Jeremy left BAE in 1999 to join XL Capital and in 2001 founded Orbis Capital, a corporate and structured finance company specialising in aircraft and other asset backed transactions. Among a number of significant aviation and aerospace clients, BAE became a significant customer which ultimately led to the opportunity to acquire the Asset Management business in 2011.
Martin has over 35 years of aerospace and finance experience, having originally joined BAE in 1984. After spells in the Construction and Oil & Gas industries, he re-joined BAE in 1988 in the Commercial Aerospace division and, over the following 11 years, held senior finance and operational roles in Headquarters, Regional Aircraft, Airbus and Asset Management. He was a founder member of the Asset Management team in 1992 and re-joined that business in 1996, originally in the Finance team and latterly the Corporate Finance team led by Jeremy. In that role he was a key member of the team that structured and placed the $3.4bn Financial Risk Insurance Programme in 1998, a 15 year synthetic securitisation that underwrote the income stream from the then existing portfolio. In 1999, Martin joined Marsh where he developed relationships with and structured insurance solutions for Saab, ATR, Sea Containers and Virgin Rail. Martin re-joined Jeremy as a cofounder of Orbis Capital in 2001 where he completed various transactions and assignments in aerospace, including for BAE and Saab, and in other sectors. In 2011, Martin joined Falko as part of the Management Buy In team. Martin held the position of Chief Financial and Operating Office before assuming the role of Chief of Staff in 2023.
Mark was part of the management buy-in team that created Falko in 2011 when it acquired the regional aircraft leasing business of BAE Systems Plc. As Falko’s Chief Commercial Officer, Mark heads up the aircraft marketing and trading functions and oversees the origination and evaluation of aircraft acquisitions, lease placements and trading of aircraft for Falko, which has through its managed funds and affiliates, acquired over 350 regional jets and turboprops in recent years’ worth c.$3.5 billion, making Falko one of the world’s most active lessors in the regional space.
Mark has over 25 years of structured finance and leasing experience in the aerospace sector. Having started his career in shipping at RBS before moving to BAE, Mark has been involved in all aspects of asset finance and leasing, including risk pricing and credit analysis. Alongside Jeremy Barnes, Falko’s CEO, Mark co-founded Orbis Capital, a corporate and structured finance company specialising in aircraft and other asset backed transactions. Here, Mark worked with blue chip aerospace clients including Export Development Canada, Raytheon & Saab and concluded over $3 billion of aircraft-backed transactions covering a broad range of aircraft types from used regional turboprops through to new Boeing 787s and holds strong relationships with all the commercial aircraft manufacturers.
Sarah is a senior member of the executive management team and is the Chief General Counsel overseeing all legal, compliance and regulatory matters for Falko and responsible for the delivery of Falko’s strategic initiatives. Sarah was a founder member of the Buy-in Team that acquired the asset management business from BAE Systems backed by Fortress Investment Group (FIG) and a key member of the management team responsible for the acquisition by Chorus Aviation Inc. of Falko..
Sarah has over 30 years of industry experience qualifying as a solicitor with DLA Piper and subsequently joined the legal department at BAE Systems. Sarah then became legal director of BAE Regional Aircraft where she was a founding member of BAE Asset Management where she had responsibility for the legal department and became its commercial director. Prior to Falko, Sarah was a cofounder of Orbis Capital, where she was responsible for contractual and legal aspects, as well as fulfilling the company secretarial and compliance functions.
Ray has over 20 years of aerospace and finance experience. He started his career with PwC’s Banking and Capital Markets group. His clients included banks, corporate treasuries, and aircraft lessors. Ray left PwC in 2009 joining AWAS as External Reporting Manager. During his nine years with them he worked on various large projects as well as overseeing all external reporting requirements for the group. In 2018, Ray joined the start-up regional lessor Chorus Aviation Capital as VP of Accounting and Finance where he was responsible for establishing the finance function in Dublin while supporting the significant expansion of the business. Chorus Aviation Capital merged with Falko in May 2022. Ray was appointed CFO of Falko in January 2023, based in Dublin. As CFO he works closely with other senior management and external stakeholders to ensure the continued effectiveness and development of their financial control processes, accounting systems and reporting routines to support the growth of the business.
James has over 20 years of corporate and structured finance experience in the aircraft, leasing and insurance industries. After a career in finance at Arthur Andersen, BAE Systems and Orbis Capital, James was part of the buy-in management team at Falko. During his time at Falko, James has led the Sales and Marketing and Technical Teams. He now is responsible for strategic development with a particular focus on the creation of leasing and other funding solutions that will support the development of the aviation sector as it faces the challenge of meeting net zero by 2050. James sits on the Falko Credit and Investment Committees.
Richard joined the finance function of BAE AM in 2002, performing a wide variety of roles during his time including financial reporting, risk insurance programme management, insurance mediation and litigation, transactional analysis and project management and management of the mergers and acquisitions process for the sale of the BAE Asset Management business which concluded in 2011 with the formation of Falko. Since then, Richard has supported and managed a broad range of transactions including debt financing and aircraft acquisitions and currently heads up the Commercial function responsible for the management and execution of Falko’s pipeline of transactions (sale, lease and acquisition), maintaining existing portfolio lessee relationships and day to day portfolio/lease management.
J. Bruce Peddle has over 35 years of experience in the global aerospace and airline industries. Prior to assuming the role of Chief Technical Officer, Bruce held the position of EVP Strategy & Business Development of Falko and before that was the Chief Operating Officer of Chorus Aviation Capital. Prior to joining Chorus, he held various senior management positions including Vice President, Bombardier Aerospace; Vice President, Marketing and Sales, Bombardier Flexjet; Vice President, Commercial Embraer North America; and Managing Director of Embraer Asia Pacific. Over the course of his career, he has acquired specialization in all aspects of aircraft transactions including commercialization, strategy development, asset life cycle management, MRO and operational support.
