NAC is a global leader in regional aircraft leasing and is expanding into larger narrowbody aircraft leveraging our world class asset management platform.
Corporate profile
Executive leadership
Norman C.T. Liu
Norm Liu was named President & CEO of Nordic Aviation Capital during the fall of 2021. He also serves as a Senior Advisor to Global Infrastructure Partners and a Board Member of GA Telesis. Prior to assuming the role of President & CEO, Norm was a Senior Advisor to NAC from May 2019.
Norm is the former Chairman of GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) and left GECAS at the end of 2016. Norm’s 40-year career has included 5 years in investment banking and 30 years with GE Capital, of which 22 years were with GECAS. He served as EVP-Commercial for 14 years at GECAS and as Chairman, President, and CEO for 8 years. During these 22 years, GECAS’s net income and assets grew dramatically to over $55B AUM. GECAS was the world leader in aviation finance during his entire tenure as CEO. He also served as a Senior Advisor to ICBC Leasing for 4 years following his GECAS primary career.
Norm graduated with a BS from Yale in 1979 and received an MBA from Harvard in 1982. He was also a 2017 Advanced Leadership Fellow at Harvard.
Mike Jones
Mike Jones has over 35 years of senior management experience in the aviation industry and joined NAC during January 2022.
He most recently worked as EVP, Emerging Markets for GE Capital Aviation Services, where he led teams covering airline accounts across Asia, the Middle East/Africa/CIS and Latin America and oversaw a fleet in excess of $20B.
Mike began his aviation career with Guinness Peat Aviation in 1987, where he was the Regional Manager for Asia Pacific and was responsible for setting up their Asian operations in Singapore.
Colin Joyce
Colin Joyce has over 24 years of experience in the aviation sector and joined NAC during January 2022.
He most recently worked at JLPS, a leading Japanese aircraft lease investor, where he served as Chief Investment Officer. Prior to JLPS, Colin served as CIO of Asia Aviation Capital and Senior Vice President, Aircraft Trading and Portfolio Management for GE Capital Aviation Services. Colin started his career with PwC in the audit sector.
Colin has a Bachelor of Business Studies from the University of Limerick and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Ireland.
Ed Sheard
Ed Sheard has over 20 years of experience in aircraft leasing and finance and joined NAC during January 2022.
Ed previously worked at GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) for 14 years with postings in Brazil, UAE and Ireland, where he most recently served as SVP & Associate General Counsel. Prior to GECAS, Ed served as an associate in the London-based aircraft finance teams of Clyde & Co, Stephenson Harwood and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.
Ed holds Master’s degrees in International Business Law and Banking and Finance Law from King’s College London and University College London, respectively.
David Farrell
David Farrell has over 30 years of experience in aircraft leasing and finance and joined NAC during January 2022.
David previously worked for BOC Aviation (a subsidiary of Bank of China) for 15 years, where he held the position of Chief Risk Officer. Prior to that, David served as Vice President & Regional Manager, Structured Finance for Asia at GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) and was previously Vice President Risk Management, Asia-Pacific Region. In addition, he has worked for the specialist transportation lender, DVB Bank AG.
David graduated from University College Dublin in 1987 and received an MBA from Georgetown University in 1991.
Brian Power
Brian Power joined NAC in 2016 and has over 30 years of experience in the aviation sector. Brian joined the business as VP Technical. He was appointed GVP Transaction Asset Management in 2017 and SVP Technical Operations in 2019.
Brian previously worked as Head of Technical at Aldus Aviation Ltd. He began his aviation career as an apprentice at Lufthansa Technik Shannon, where he held various senior roles, overseeing a wide array of commercial aircraft over a 21 year period.
Brian holds a BSc in Business, an MBA (Aviation) from the University of Limerick and EASA B1 and C licenses.
Jennifer Creevey
Jennifer Creevey has over 25 years of experience in financial roles in the aircraft leasing, telecom, banking and healthcare sectors. Jennifer joined NAC in May 2023.
Prior to joining NAC, Jennifer worked as CFO of DAE Capital, a top 10 aircraft lessor, from 2017 to 2022. From 2008 to 2017, she was with AWAS, a firm subsequently acquired by DAE. Jennifer served as Chief Accounting Officer, leading the financial reporting team at AWAS and working on key strategic projects. Prior to AWAS, she was head of IR for Eircom, the leading telecom provider in Ireland. In addition, she held various finance roles with Westpac Banking in Australia and Bayer Diagnostic Group in Ireland.
Jennifer is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and has an MBA from Dublin City University.
Gareth Halpin
Gareth Halpin joined NAC in 2020 and has over 30 years of experience in the aviation and financial services industry.
Gareth previously worked for Avolon for 7 years, where he served as Group Treasurer and Head of Capital Markets. Prior to Avolon, Gareth served in several senior executive roles in the financial services and aircraft leasing sector, as Deputy Head/ Senior Manager of the Debt Restructuring division in the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation and as Director of Marketing and Risk Management in Pembroke Group (now Standard Chartered Aviation Finance). Gareth started his career with KPMG in the financial services sector.
Gareth has a Bachelor of Business Studies from Trinity College Dublin and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Ireland.
Keiko Ohara
Keiko joined NAC in 2022 and has over 20 years of HR experience working in multiple global companies.
She most recently worked for GE for 17 years. She served nine years with GE Japan and GE Capital based in Tokyo and Osaka, followed by eight years at GECAS in Singapore, where she was a senior HR leader overseeing global teams responsible for over $20B of aviation assets.
Keiko has a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from Wichita State University and has attended an executive education program at London Business School.
Regional leadership
Lisa Sheehan
Lisa Sheehan has 24 years of experience in the commercial aviation industry and joined NAC in June 2022
Lisa manages NAC’s marketing team and activities primarily across Europe, CIS, North America, and the Caribbean with responsibility for all airline origination, placement and remarketing activities in the region.
Before joining NAC, Lisa held various positions with GECAS, working with airline accounts in Europe/CIS and the Americas. Her last position with GECAS was Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing.
Aashish Sonawala
Aashish Sonawala has 30 years of commercial experience including 25 years in the aircraft leasing and aerospace industries and joined NAC in 2022.
Aashish manages NAC’s marketing team and activities across Asia Pacific & Middle East/Africa & South America with responsibility for all airline origination, placement and remarketing activities in the region.
Prior to joining NAC, Aashish spent eight years with GE Aircraft Engines in Cincinnati and Asia followed by 16 years at GECAS. His most recent role in GECAS was SVP and APAC Regional Manager based in Singapore.
Board of directors
Yadin Rozov
Yadin Rozov is an investment professional with over 20 years of experience in capital markets, corporate finance, investment banking and investment management. He is the founder and Managing Partner of Terrace Edge Ventures LLC. Previously, Yadin was a Partner of GoldenTree Asset Management LLC, a leading global credit asset management firm. Additionally, he was a Partner and Managing Director at Moelis & Company, where he headed the Financial Institution Advisory Group. Before Moelis, Yadin was a Managing Director at UBS AG, where he was the Head of the Americas for the Repositioning Group. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Midwest Holding, Neo Performance Materials and Oramed Pharmaceuticals. Yadin earned an M.Sc. in data science from Columbia University and a B.S. degree with highest honors in physics and materials engineering from Rutgers University.
Paul Donovan
Paul Donovan joined NAC as Board Director in July 2024. He has over 30 years of experience in senior executive roles across the technology, media, and telecommunications sectors. He is currently Chairman of the Investment Committee at Oxford Innovation Finance. He is a Board Director at Arqiva following two years as CEO. Paul was previously CEO of Odeon and UCI Cinemas Group and was CEO of eir, Ireland’s leading telecommunications business. He was also Regional CEO at Vodafone, where he was a member of the Executive Committee and led the Group’s emerging markets businesses. His early career included senior commercial roles at Cable & Wireless, Apple Computer, Coca-Cola and Mars.
Paul holds a BA from University College London. In 1989, he was awarded an MBA and an Honorary Doctorate in 2016 by the University of Bradford, where he is now a member of the Governing Council.
Catherine Duffy
Catherine Duffy joined NAC as Board Director in June 2022.
Catherine is a former partner and Chair of a leading Irish law firm, A&L Goodbody where she headed up the Financial Services Department for 13 years and the Aviation Finance group for 19 years. She is currently a consultant to the Financial Services Department of the firm. Catherine has over 30 years’ experience advising the industry in relation to aviation finance and leasing.
Catherine is a member of the executive committee of the Aviation Working Group Legal Advisory Panel advising on implementation and interpretation of the Cape Town Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment as it applies to aircraft assets.
Catherine graduated with a degree in law from Trinity College Dublin in 1984 and qualified as a solicitor in Northern Ireland in 1988 and in Ireland in 1990.
John Higgins
John Higgins has almost 30 years of experience in the aircraft leasing and finance sector. A founding partner of aircraft leasing firm Avolon in 2010, he served as its President & Chief Commercial Officer from launch until stepping down in 2021. John was a member of the Board of Avolon during this time which saw the company successfully launch an IPO on the NYSE, complete a number of significant capital raises and M&A transactions and grow the business to become a top three global lessor.
Prior to Avolon he held senior executive roles in RBS Aviation Capital (now SMBC Aviation Capital), GECAS and GPA. He is currently a Board member and shareholder in Emerald Airlines, the exclusive operator of the Aer Lingus Regional network. He is also an investor in Optifly, a leading supplier of next generation schedule-optimisation software to low-cost airlines. He is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland and holds a B.Sc. Mgmt from Trinity College Dublin.
Norman C.T. Liu
Norm Liu was named President & CEO of Nordic Aviation Capital during the fall of 2021. He also serves as a Senior Advisor to Global Infrastructure Partners and a Board Member of GA Telesis. Prior to assuming the role of President & CEO, Norm was a Senior Advisor to NAC from May 2019.
Norm is the former Chairman of GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) and left GECAS at the end of 2016. Norm’s 40-year career has included 5 years in investment banking and 30 years with GE Capital, of which 22 years were with GECAS. He served as EVP-Commercial for 14 years at GECAS and as Chairman, President, and CEO for 8 years. During these 22 years, GECAS’s net income and assets grew dramatically to over $55B AUM. GECAS was the world leader in aviation finance during his entire tenure as CEO. He also served as a Senior Advisor to ICBC Leasing for 4 years following his GECAS primary career.
Norm graduated with a BS from Yale in 1979 and received an MBA from Harvard in 1982. He was also a 2017 Advanced Leadership Fellow at Harvard.
Dermot Mannion
Dermot Mannion joined NAC as Board Director in June 2022.
Dermot has been active in the aviation sector now for more than 30 years. In 1985, he joined Emirates rising to the position of President Group Support Services. Subsequently, he went on to hold the position of Aer Lingus CEO between 2005 and 2009, leading the airline through the process of privatization.
More recently, he has completed a four year term of office as Deputy Chairman of Royal Brunei Airlines which was awarded the accolade of ‘Asia Turnaround of the Year 2013’. Dermot has also completed a three year term of office as non-executive director of Abacus Holdings Limited, one of largest IT companies based in Singapore.
He is now based in Ireland and acts as consultant to a number of aviation projects worldwide. Dermot is a graduate of Trinity College Business School in Dublin, and he is also a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland.
Paul O’Donnell
Paul O’Donnell joined NAC as a Board Director in January 2021.
Paul was previously a Managing Director at Blackstone in London. He has over 20 years of corporate finance experience as an advisor to public and private companies, as well as private equity funds, on M&A and financial restructuring transactions.
Prior to Blackstone, Paul worked at Close Brothers Corporate Finance and in the Corporate Recovery team at PwC in Dublin.
Paul is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland and graduated from NUI Galway with a Bachelor of Commerce and UCD with a Master of Accounting.
Table detailing the different committees that the board sits on.
Global customers
Industry partners
Financial partners
