Labrozzi’s Back From The Beach

Image courtesy of of Creative Commons

NOTE: The below originally appeared as the editorial in our January 15 One Minute Week newsletter. To find out more, and sign up for free, please click here.

Dave Labrozzi was on the beach when he got phone call from Shawn Vick.

After 35 years at GE – including 15 years as president of GE Capital Corporate Aircraft – he was enjoying retired life. He was happy to speak with Vick – someone he had known for many years – but he was not expecting to be offered a job.

Vick, executive director of Global Jet Capital, wanted Labrozzi to come back to run his old portfolio. And grow it. Global Jet Capital had agreed to buy both GE’s North American business jet finance portfolio as well as five of GE’s team. He was offering Labrozzi the opportunity to be COO.

It did not take Labrozzi long to decide.

“I was not looking for anything when Shawn called,” says Labrozzi. “But there was no way I could turn down the opportunity to work with both an executive team that I have known for decades and my own great team from GE.”

Few people know business jet finance as well Labrozzi. He joined GE Capital straight from college. In the early 1980s he became involved in managing GE’s business jet portfolio. He moved onto several other roles before moving into aircraft origination in the early 1990s origination. He financed his first business jet in 1994.

As COO he is now responsible for getting new deals as well as selling and re-leasing aircraft from his old portfolio. Global Jet Capital says he is ultimately responsible for risk, underwriting, portfolio management and asset management.

Labrozzi’s team at Global Jet Capital helped colleagues around the world, but most of his career was focused on North America.

One of the things that is exciting him most is the opportunity to grow a global portfolio.

Although his team helped GE establish corporate jet finance in other regions and continued to advise, each region has its own portfolio.

As well as getting more aircraft, the company is looking to grow its team. Global Jet Capital is looking to fill an astonishing 23 vacancies. This includes aircraft finance salespeople in Johannesburg, Abuja, Shanghai, Singapore, Hong Kong, Sydney, Connecticut, New York, Los Angeles, Mexico City, São Paulo, London, Geneva and Dubai.

“It is a tough market but some of the volatility seems to have gone,” says Labrozzi. “After 25 years in business aviation I am used to cycles.”

He adds: “I have not been this excited about work for many years. I fell in love with this industry more than 20 years ago and it is fantastic to be back in it and be part of an exciting new business.”