Chief Strategy Officer, Steven Ades, talks to LARA on Leadership

Rising to the Challenge

Providing aftermarket support solutions to the aviation industry is no small feat. Yet whether it is services ranging from the whole aircraft to the engine sale, to tailored support solutions, having a Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) at the helm to keep the machine that is AerFin ticking over is just as vital. Enter Steven Ades, AerFin’s CSO. A recent appointment – Ades will celebrate a year in the position in September – he first joined AerFin as its Finance Director in 2010, where he oversaw the rapid expansion of the company. However, it is his sporting background that he initially credits as giving him the skillset to meet the challenges that come up in the role of CSO, and that indeed have been present throughout his entire career path. “There was a lot of crossover in the business world,” he says, “and I first took the route to study to become a certified chartered accountant. I felt that understanding the financial side of the business would serve me well to develop a level of commercial understanding and career security. I really benefited from working in what was then a small entrepreneurial business”.

During Ades’ 13 years with AerFin, he has overseen award-winning levels of growth, two sales processes and a significant acquisition – when the company acquired Airline Services Components in 2015. After some “great exposure” to aviation projects within AerFin, and by amassing these significant wins, it was here that Ades began to build his aviation knowledge, which progressed over the following 12 years, before moving into the CSO role. “Now (with the expansion and new role) I have a wider commercial reach, which allows me to broaden my experience and also to focus on value creation for AerFin”, he says.

A Favourable Market

As for the wider outlook for the company, Ades’ confidence and excitement is palpable. “The market conditions for AerFin are really exciting”, he says. Despite an otherwise turbulent market, it seems that weathering these conditions is precisely where AerFin’s strengths lie. And as its CSO, Ades is at the forefront of the company’s plans for 2023 and beyond. “We’re seeing entry into service for current production aircraft slow down and new technology problems persist with no apparent quick fix”, he says. “This in turn, prolongs the lives of our target fleet and core products”. As an aftermarket parts supplier in the aviation industry, AerFin has a broad portfolio. Noting the ongoing Pratt & Whitney GTF engine issues as one example, its leasing and component support services, as well as trading on older engine options, naturally comes into play as an advantage.

AerFin covers the CF34-8C, CFM56-5B and CFM56-7B engines, alongside the older Pratt & Whitney V2500 model. The latter engine recently celebrated its 40th anniversary and is still used on approximately 45% of all A320ceo family aircraft around the world – signalling that there’s plenty of use and demand from customers despite the rising order book for the A320neo. What’s more, roughly half of the parked V2500 fleet is expected to return to the skies in around two years, likely boosting demand for AerFin’s services in the process. Ades explains how AerFin is so well positioned, particularly when the industry is facing such challenging headwinds. “Our customers are looking for partners with a deeper technical understanding to help them manage ever-changing fleet plans”, he says. “AerFin’s expertise has notably come through engine lease and exchange programmes, but also through the supply of USM (used serviceable material) directly from AerFin or through pooling arrangements. 2023 has started in an extremely positive fashion and we are firmly on track for a record-breaking year”, says Ades. “We’re really excited about the sustainability of our growth too”.

Strategic Focus

Insofar as the regional and low-fare markets are concerned, Ades mentions its “huge strategic importance” to AerFin. The company serves over 140 airline operators, of which these carriers make up a sizeable portion. “Back in 2016 we saw this sector as an area dominated by a few players,” says Ades. “Mainly OEMs creating an opportunity to build a service offering which really makes a difference in our customers’ value chain”. Indeed, the company’s development of a liquid portfolio of rotable components has meant considerable cost savings can be delivered to customers. Here, Ades mentions AerFin’s “Beyond Pool” offering as a highly significant part of where AerFin’s work as an aftermarket support supplier to regional operators comes in. The “Beyond Pool” focuses on power-by the-hour rotable components for a variety of Airbus, Boeing and Embraer regional and narrowbody aircraft. In fact, AerFin is the largest supplier of Embraer pool solutions outside of the OEM for an array of its regional jets (E170, E175, E190, E195).

AerFin’s current role with providing spare engines has also proven highly useful to help with operators’ challenges securing engine repair slots, says Ades. Particularly as operators set about managing their fleet retirement plans due to the backlog and subsequent delays of new aircraft deliveries. It is against this backdrop, understandably, that Ades as CSO recognises there are significant challenges to overcome, with the pressure to serve customers to continually high standards being at the forefront of his mind. “We take customer satisfaction incredibly seriously at AerFin” he says, “and in this, we strive to deliver the highest levels of service. We continually need to move fast and work creatively to ensure that we maintain the service levels and pricing that the business has become known for”.

Ades also mentions the conditions surrounding the fractured, sluggish supply chain as one of AerFin’s most challenging factors. “The pandemic and Russia/Ukraine war have created conditions within the supply chain where raw materials and labour have been severely depleted”, he says. Recruitment to try and manage these challenges has also occurred – although interestingly not through lack of interest, but due to “significant competition” in a scarce labour market and finding people with the right skillsets. As for the biggest lesson he’s learned in his role, Ades offers this nugget of wisdom. “Challenge yourself to the point where it feels uncomfortable” he says. “That is where the change is stimulated”.