Sound vision, strong strategy

Dave Paddock, President, Jet Aviation, talks to Anthony Harrington about the company’s strategic vision under his leadership

AH: Dave, you replaced Rob Smith as President on 1st July, with Rob going on to head up General Dynamics’ Marine Systems business unit. You were SVP in charge of regional operations for the USA, now you have a global responsibility. Is it a big leap?

DP: Sure. I now have all of Jet Aviation’s businesses around the world reporting into me. However, what makes this an easier transition for me, is that I have really great people heading up our operations around the world. On top of this, I have a long history with the company I can draw on, and the experience gained from over 20 years in the industry.

My affiliation with Jet Aviation in fact goes back to 1999. I was working for a consulting firm in New York and we were doing some start-up work for a company based in the Middle East that Jet was involved with. I started consulting for Jet Aviation in 2005 and joined the company in 2007.

AH: You are now permanently based in Basel? Is this your first permanent move outside the US?

DP: I’ve travelled a lot and will continue to do so in my present role. This, however, is the first time my family has been based outside the US, though. My son is in High School here and will probably be proficient in German soon. My wife and I will be starting German lessons and I’d like to at least be fluent to the point where I can readily engage in conversations.

AH: Should we be looking for any change in strategy now, with you at the helm?

DP: The way we articulate strategy at Jet Aviation will continue as before. Our Basel site is our largest by far, and our most historic site. We’re doing some things here with our Basel facility to expand our presence, and to improve the overall customer experience, and that will continue.

Clearly, one of our major activities at present continues to be managing the integration of Hawker Pacific into the Jet Aviation family. We acquired Hawker Pacific in the late Spring last year and we have had a tremendous first year of ownership. We now want to focus on how we expand on the portfolio that Hawker Pacific has developed over the years.

One of the key areas is their strength in government fleet services. They fly and maintain aircraft for a number of Asia Pacific governments and defence forces. With the backing of our parent company, General Dynamics, and its very strong presence in the defence market, there is clearly much there for us to build on.

We are one of the largest global aircraft management organisations and that too, looks like a very fruitful area for cooperation and expansion.

At the same time as we look at growth opportunities, however, we also have to have one eye on the state of the market. The on-again, off-again tariff disagreements between the US and China are disturbing the markets. We seem to be in uncertain territory as far as overall market sentiment is concerned and we will have to manage through this dynamic, as will everyone in the sector.

Uncertainty is never good for markets. However, I have been through three full market cycles in my working career in aviation. It does not seem to be very likely, even if the market does turn down, that we will see anything as precipitous as the crash in 2008. I expect that if the market does decline, it will do so moderately and recover moderately. We would expect to manage our way through that better than most. 

AH: What would you say were the factors that would help Jet Aviation manage any downturn better than the average player in the business aviation space?

DP: One thing we certainly benefit from is the fact that there are many parts to our business. When one line of business, such as FBOs, is slowing, another, like completions, or MRO, can be experiencing growth. So that helps to balance performance over time. 

Another factor is that uncertain markets have at least one up-side. They open up possibilities for players that are nimble, with strong balance sheets. The strength of our parent company is a huge advantage for us and for our sister company, Gulfstream. There are many possibilities that might open up in those circumstances, ranging from airport hangars and expansion projects to aircraft management wins and company acquisitions. And, of course, there would be the opportunity to benefit from signing talent via strategic hire opportunities that might arise from other companies downsizing or leaving a sector. It is all about how you respond to these market challenges.

Read the full article here: https://online.anyflip.com/yosh/hfiw/mobile/#p=70