Aviation Capital Group (ACG) announced its executive chair, Mahoko Hara, received the 2023 Trailblazer Award from Advancing Women in Aviation Roundtable (AWAR). The Trailblazer Award was presented at the AWAR Annual Leaders luncheon in Dublin.

The AWAR award recognizes individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to the advancement of women in aviation, their work in and around ESG, or who have personally broken the “glass ceilings” within their respective organizations.

“We are delighted to present Mahoko Hara with the 2023 AWAR Trailblazer Award,” Emily Wicker, president of AWAR, said. “Her career long commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion and her work to advance women in aviation are exemplary and provide a roadmap for others to follow. She is truly deserving of this award and an inspiration to others.”

Mahoko is the executive chairperson of ACG and is also a senior managing executive officer and a member of the board of directors of Tokyo Century (TC). Mahoko assumed the executive chair role in December 2019.

Mahoko joined TC in 2011 and has been responsible for strategic planning and cross-border M&A for TC’s specialty finance businesses with particular focus on the aviation sector. Prior to joining TC, Mahoko worked for Shinsei Bank and Citibank specializing in structured credit and asset finance. Prior to these roles, Mahoko was with Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank (now Mizuho Bank) fulfilling a variety of roles in corporate and investment banking.

Mahoko has strongly supported the advancement of young people throughout her career, and she particularly understands the importance of women and their impact on the future of aviation. Under her leadership, Aviation Capital Group has engaged in numerous partnerships to promote the advancement of professionals within the industry and social efforts to give back to the community, which include developing mentoring and guidance through an internship program between ISTAT and ACG; participation in and support of AWAR; maintaining a female presence at the Women in Aerospace Conference hosted by Pacific Northwest Aerospace Alliance; and annual participation in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure since 2008.

“I am honored and gratified to receive this award. There are so many women and men working together to advance women and diverse populations in the aviation industry and I applaud the work being done by AWAR to raise awareness of the importance of women to the future of our industry,” Hara said.