The Thrill Is Gone
NOTE: The below originally appeared as the editorial in our March 18 One Minute Week newsletter. To find out more, and sign up for free, please click here.
After 27 years at Bombardier, Trevor Lambarth has started work at Guardian Jet, the US broker and consultancy company. It is only the fourth company he has worked for.
One of the best known aircraft salespeople in Europe, Lambarth sold his first business jet, a LearJet 31, in 1993.
He is Guardian Jet’s first person in Europe – a market that few expect to grow this year.
“We launched in 2002 in the depths of the recession and believe there will always be opportunities in tough markets,” says Michael Mikolay, executive vice president and director of operations. “We are confident that there will be customers across the region and are thinking long-term.”
Lambarth is also confident. And he should know.
He has delivered more than 150 business jets, worth more than $3 billion at list prices. “It is a tough market and there is flow of aircraft out of Europe but there are still people buying aircraft across the region,” says Lambarth.
“More than just wanting to open up Europe we were really looking for a world class teammate. The fact that he is based in Europe is a bonus,” says Don Dwyer, managing partner at Guardian Jet. “I feel like we won the Trevor Lambarth sweepstakes.”
Guardian Jet is not the only company hiring for the long term. ACASS has just announced that it has hired Frank Ercolanese as its president. Ercolanese spent 25 years at Bombardier.
US law firm Pillsbury has also hired Paul Jebely as a partner to set up its first Hong Kong office.
“Demand for business jets is down in parts of Asia, but to paraphrase the great BB King,” says Jebely. “The thrill has gone, some markets have gone away from me, but if you don’t invest now you will be sorry someday.”
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