Tony Diaz serves as Chairman of Zephyrus Aviation Capital. 

Mr. Diaz was previously President of CIT Aerospace. Also previously serving as an Executive Vice President of CIT Aerospace, Mr. Diaz was associated with subsidiaries and affiliates of CIT from 1987 through 2017. At CIT, he was responsible for running CIT Aerospace, which consisted of 467 commercial aircraft in total, valued at approximately $10 billion dollars of owned, managed and committed aircraft. From 1981 to 1987, he was employed by People Express Airlines (which was subsequently merged into Continental Airlines) in a variety of operational and financial capacities. Prior to 1981, he was employed by Cessna Finance Company, primarily involved in aircraft finance. He has also served as a Director of CIT Aerospace International Ltd.

Mr. Diaz holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and an Associate of Science degree from the State University of New York at Farmingdale.

David Gleeson is the Chief Technical Officer at Zephyrus Aviation Capital.

Mr. Gleeson is a former Fleet Management Director at Dubai Aerospace Enterprises (DAE) where he was responsible for technical and asset management of multiple aircraft within Europe, the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent.  At DAE, Mr. Gleeson managed the technical aspects of aircraft and asset transactions, including LOI and lease negotiations, lease administration, aircraft delivery and redelivery processes, maintenance reserve analysis, aircraft sale processes, and default analysis and management. 

Prior to working with DAE, Mr. Gleeson worked in a similar capacity as Vice President Technical at CIT Aerospace (now Avolon) within the EMEA region.

Mr. Gleeson initially trained at Shannon Aerospace (now Lufthansa, Shannon) commencing in 1993 as an Aircraft Maintenance Technician, and subsequently moving to Team Aer Lingus (Dublin) working initially as an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer and later within the Planning Department. 

Mr. Gleeson is a graduate of T.U. Blanchardstown with a Bachelor of Business Studies degree (with Distinction) and also holds a Specialist Diploma in Aviation Leasing and Finance (with First Class Honours) from the University of Limerick.

Aileen McElroy is the Director of Structuring & Planning at Zephyrus Aviation Capital.

Ms. McElroy has over ten years' experience in the aircraft lease and finance sector. She previously served as Director of Financial Services with Canyon CTS where she was actively involved in establishing and managing a broad range of services to multiple aviation structures. Throughout her career, Ms. McElroy has worked closely with airlines, lessors, investment managers and private equity funds.

Ms. McElroy has developed a wide range of knowledge throughout her time in the changing environment of aviation financial services. She has been involved in the set-up of multi-jurisdictional ABS facilities, joint venture fund platforms, warehouse debt-financing facilities, and pre-delivery payment financing transactions to single entity asset owning vehicles. Within each of the structures, Ms. McElroy was involved in the establishment and full service of the platform in Ireland.

In addition, Ms. McElroy has extensive experience as a director, having served on the board of the Irish operations for several international aviation entities. Her knowledge and experience span from corporate, legal, transaction and governance issues to management and employment matters.

Ms. McElroy is a graduate of the University of Wales and holds a Bachelor of Law Degree (LLB). She also received a Diploma in Aircraft Leasing and Financing from the Law Society of Ireland.

John Lenfestey is the Financial Controller at Zephyrus Aviation Capital.

Mr. Lenfestey is an associate of Chartered Accountants Ireland and has over eight years' experience in the aircraft leasing industry. 

Prior to joining the Zephyrus team, Mr. Lenfestey worked with Goshawk Aviation, where he had finance responsibilities for their managed assets portfolio. Prior to this, Mr. Lenfestey worked with Canyon CTS, where he gained a detailed understanding of ABS structures and provided management oversight in the provision of managing agent services across several transactions.

In addition, Mr. Lenfestey previously worked with Elix Aviation Capital, where he held a variety of finance roles focusing on reporting (investor, management & statutory), cashflow forecasting, budgeting and management of accounts payable function.

Mr. Lenfestey is a graduate of the National University of Ireland, Galway, and holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree, a Bachelor of Laws Degree (LLB) and a Higher Diploma in Business Studies.

Tim Brick is Senior Vice President at Zephyrus Aviation Capital.

Mr. Brick previously served as Vice President – Corporate Finance at Avolon, where his work focused on strategic initiatives and corporate activity, including the sale of a 30% shareholding of Avolon to ORIX in 2018, and where he managed relationships with rating agencies as Avolon achieved its primary corporate objective of obtaining investment grade ratings in 2019. Having joined Avolon in 2015, Mr. Brick initially worked on their Pricing team in roles based in Dublin and New York, contributing to the development of financial models and methodologies, as well as the hiring and development of new members of the team, which grew significantly during this time. He also worked as Avolon’s lead analyst on over $35B of contracted and executed transactions, including the 2017 $10B acquisition of CIT Group's aircraft leasing platform, as well as several large-scale OEM, placement, SLB, financing and hedging transactions.

Prior to joining Avolon, Mr. Brick worked at KPMG for four years, gaining extensive experience in the preparation of accounts and audit and controls testing for clients in the aircraft leasing industry. He also worked on a major IFRS to US GAAP conversion project and senior unsecured notes offerings and completed a secondment to KPMG’s Information Risk Management team, which focused on IT controls testing and the use of data analytics to increase the efficiency of audit procedures.

Mr. Brick holds Bachelor of Architecture and Bachelor of Science in Architecture degrees from University College Dublin. He is a member of Chartered Accountants Ireland and is currently a candidate for CFA certification.

Sonya Aherne is Vice President, Powerplants at Zephyrus Aviation Capital.

Mrs. Aherne has over twenty years’ experience in the aircraft leasing and engine maintenance industry, having previously served as Powerplant and Maintenance Reserve Director at Dubai Aerospace Enterprises (DAE), where she was responsible for engine and APU technical support during aircraft transitions, lease negotiations and aircraft acquisitions. During her time with DAE, Mrs. Aherne was actively involved in DAE maintenance budget preparation and instrumental in developing the DAE customer portal.

Prior to working with DAE, Mrs. Aherne worked as an Assistant Vice President at CIT Aerospace and later Avolon, where she provided engine technical expertise for both the owned and managed fleets across various countries within the EMEA and APAC regions.  Mrs. Aherne was also a TAM focal at Avolon for engine trading and responsible for negotiating MRO GTAs and engine service agreements.

Mrs. Aherne worked for twelve years in Lufthansa Technik Airmotive Ireland (engine MRO), where she held a senior commercial role managing all aspects of engine shop visits. During her time at Lufthansa Technik Airmotive, Sonya was instrumental in setting up a leasing entity (LTAIL) to support the MRO business.

Mrs. Aherne graduated from the University of Wales with a BEng Honours Degree in Aeronautical & Mechanical Engineering.

John O’Hara is a Vice President at Zephyrus Aviation Capital.

Mr. O’Hara has over 16 years’ experience in the aviation industry spanning both technical and operational roles. Prior to joining Zephyrus, Mr. O’Hara was a Technical Consultant with CAE Parc Aviation, where he was responsible for conducting records technical due diligence and project management at redelivery on behalf of operators and lessors, as well as providing technical input for powerplant shop visits and acting as a subject matter expert for powerplant technical issues.

Prior to working with CAE Parc Aviation, Mr. O’Hara was a pilot for Aer Lingus (Dublin). He holds an EASA ATP Licence with over four thousand hours flying the Avro RJ-85, Airbus A320 and Airbus A330.

Mr. O’Hara also previously worked with Santos Dumont as a Technical Project Manager, and began his professional career with Rolls-Royce plc., holding roles across the civil aerospace business.

Mr. O’Hara graduated from University College Dublin with a First-Class Honours degree in Mechanical Engineering. He is currently studying for a Specialist Diploma in Aviation Leasing and Finance from the University of Limerick.

Murugan (Muru) Palaniappan is a Vice President at Zephyrus Aviation Capital.

Mr. Palaniappan has over 10 years’ experience in aircraft leasing and finance and has been responsible for the origination of $1.2b worth of new and used aircraft deals.

At Zephyrus, Mr. Palaniappan is responsible for leading deal teams from LOI to lease execution and for managing aircraft in his region's portfolio from delivery to re-delivery, including amendments and restructurings.

Prior to joining the Zephyrus team, Mr. Palaniappan worked with Goshawk, where he held a sales and marketing role based in Hong Kong, and was responsible for developing and managing aircraft lease deals for the Asian portfolio. Prior to Goshawk, Mr. Palaniappan was based in Singapore and covered the Asian market for Avolon/CIT Aerospace.

Mr. Palaniappan is a graduate of Purdue University, where he received a Bachelor of Science in aeronautics and astronautics, with a major in spacecraft design.

Doire Shiels is a Vice President at Zephyrus Aviation Capital.

Prior to joining the Zephyrus team Mr. Shiels worked in PricewaterhouseCoopers in Dublin. Here Mr. Shiels was responsible for providing tax and accountancy advice to a wide range of financial services clients ranging from Private Equity clients to commercial aircraft lessors.  

Mr. Shiels worked as a Tax Consultant in AWAS where he was involved in several aircraft sales and leasing transactions mainly focused in the EMEA region. After taking a career break to do some travel Mr. Shiels took a role with the Dublin Airport Authority which has responsibility over Dublin and Cork airports. At the DAA, Mr. Shiels advised the business on wide ranging taxation areas that impact two of Irelands largest airports.

Mr. Shiels holds a bachelor’s degree in Business and Law from University College Dublin and a master’s degree in Accountancy from Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School Dublin. Mr. Shiels is an Associate of both Chartered Accountants of Ireland and the Irish Tax Institute. Mr. Shiels is currently completing a Diploma in Aviation Leasing and Finance with the Law Society of Ireland.

Margarita Zuravlova is an Assistant Vice President - Financial Accountant at Zephyrus Aviation Capital. 

Ms. Zuravlova has over seven years’ experience in the aircraft leasing industry and over 18 years in the general airline industry. 

At Zephyrus, Ms. Zuravlova is responsible for the preparation of monthly and quarterly reports for the directors and other stakeholders, managing month-end processes, inputting in the annual budgetary and cash forecasting process and leading the annual audit process, including the preparation of single and consolidated financial statements. 

Before joining Zephyrus, Ms. Zuravlova worked at Canyon CTS as a Senior Client Manager, where she was responsible for leading a team of four in providing debt servicing, management and statutory reporting services to a busy aircraft leasing client. 

In addition, Ms. Zuravlova worked at Elix Aviation Capital, where she held various roles, progressing from an Accounts Payable Executive to Financial Accountant, and prior to that, at CityJet, initially as a cabin crew, later moving into a financial role. 

Ms. Zuravlova graduated from Oxford-Brooks University (London, UK) with a First-Class Honors degree in Applied Accounting. She is a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. 

Michal Ruson is Manager of Accounts Payable/Receivable at Zephyrus Aviation Capital.

At Zephyrus, Mr. Ruson is responsible for reconciling accounts, processing invoices, monitoring payments and cash receipts, producing internal accounting reports, tracking expenses, and managing third-party service providers.

Prior to joining the Zephyrus team, Mr. Ruson worked for AMCK Aviation as an Accounts Payable Specialist, where he was responsible for financial reporting, preparation of VAT returns, invoice processing, managing vendor relationships and performing monthly reconciliations. In addition, Mr. Ruson previously worked with Musgrave Operating Partners Ireland (MBS Group), where he served as the Finance Operations Team Leader.

Mr. Ruson is a graduate of the Technical Secondary School of Economics (Krakow, Poland), and also holds an advanced diploma in bookkeeping and payroll from IBAT College Dublin, and a QQi Level 6 certification in people management.