CDB Aviation announced new executive appointments to its Asia team: Sign Kadouh took the position of head of Commercial, Asia Pacific and Nick Seah assumed the role of head of Commercial, Greater China & North Asia.

“We are very delighted to welcome Sign and Nick to our Asia commercial team, as we continue to strengthen our operations in this important market, particularly in China,” said CDB Aviation Chief Executive Officer Peter Chang. “We are bringing our newly established global platform back to China to re-energize our presence. China is where our roots and foundation are, and where we hold unique relationships with its airlines. With a significant number of new aircraft deliveries destined for China, CDB Aviation is poised to leverage the strength of our leasing platform to benefit the Chinese airlines and their customers.”

Kadouh has been instrumental over the past two years in building a strong and sustainable customer base across the region, further emboldening CDB Aviation’s pedigree among Asia’s leading airlines. “His energy, enthusiasm, and significant transaction experience make him well positioned to lead further development of our business in the fastest growing air travel market in the world,” said CDB Aviation President & Chief Commercial Officer Patrick C. Hannigan.

Kadouh joined CDB Aviation in February 2017 as senior vice president, Commercial, becoming part of the lessor’s commercial team based in Hong Kong. Kadouh has more than a decade of experience in aviation finance and legal, and has spent nearly a decade of his career working in Asia. Prior to CDB Aviation, Kadouh served as vice president, Legal, at International Lease Finance Corporation and AerCap (post the 2014 acquisition). He advised leasing teams on legal matters and led aircraft lease negotiations across Asia Pacific. He also was part of the M&A and Private Equity Group of Paul Hastings, based in the Los Angeles and Shanghai offices, focused on representing private equity funds and corporations in domestic and cross-border acquisitions.

“I am very excited to join CDB Aviation and work alongside the industry’s leading commercial team, who know the industry well and, most importantly, who are versed in understanding and anticipating the needs of airlines globally, to deepen our customer relationships across Asia Pacific. I look forward to leveraging our company’s strong brand as a global, full-service lessor to bring us closer to our customers in the region and to better serve their needs to meet their growth objectives,” commented Kadouh.

With a strategic focus on China being central to CDB Aviation’s aggressive growth strategy, and the region’s increasingly significant role in global aviation’s future, Seah will head the company’s commercial activities in Greater China and North Asia. “We look forward to leveraging Nick’s extensive leasing and finance expertise, as well as his broad network of strong airline relationships in China to increase our efforts to better serve clients in this important region,” added Hannigan.

Seah joined CDB Aviation from BOC Aviation, where he served as executive vice president, overseeing airline leasing and sales for a number of Asia Pacific jurisdictions, including China, Hong Kong, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Brunei, Bhutan, Nepal, Mongolia, Tibet, and the Himalayas. Seah has more than two decades of experience in aviation and corporate finance. Prior to BOC Aviation, he managed Citi’s corporate and investment banking activities for the energy, aviation and telecommunications clusters in Singapore. Previously, he held executive positions in corporate finance, commodities and trading, M&A, and global banking for Fortis Bank and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi.

Seah commented: “I’m truly excited to be part of the core team bringing the CDB Aviations’ franchise to new heights in the Greater China and North Asia region. I am confident in the dedication of the management bench and the scale of our recognized world-class operation to energize our Chinese platform well into the future.”

Hannigan concluded: “We are continuing to strengthen our commercial team in Asia and across the globe, adding the highest calibre of leasing and finance leaders who are well versed in our industry, boasting the breadth of expertise and experience that enables them to anticipate the needs of airlines in all markets of the world, delivering on our commitment to being a global, full-service lessor.”