Howard Millar, the ex finance chief of Ryanair, has been appointed as chief operating officer of the Stellwagen Group of companies and the chief executive officer of newly-formed subsidiary Stellwagen Capital. The Stellwagen Group also includes the Aviation Finance Company and Seraph Aviation Management.
Douglas Brennan, CEO of the Group, welcomed Millar to the team: “I can think of no better person to lead our team of investment professionals than Howard Millar. He brings game changing ability to the group with 23 years' experience in aviation, including raising capital in the public and debt markets, using a range of financial products, while propelling Ryanair to become the largest and most profitable airline in Europe.
"Howard will work closely with me as COO to drive the operating and financial performance of the Group. As CEO of our new subsidiary Stellwagen Capital, Howard will lead this innovative financing vehicle in raising capital from both the debt markets and from large institutional investors mainly, in Europe and the US. This capital will enable the Group to provide secured aircraft financing to airlines across the globe. This is a big step forward in the evolution of the Group and we expect Stellwagen Capital to launch its initial capital raise of $1 billion in Q4 2016."
Millar expressed his delight at joining the Stellwagen Group, where he promises to focus on driving the business forward by profitably growing each of the business units with the aim of making the Stellwagen Group “a major force in global aviation finance”.
He says: "As CEO of the newly formed Stellwagen Capital, I believe there is a great opportunity to raise significant amounts of capital to finance the world's growing fleet of aircraft. The initial capital raise of $1 billion is slated for Q4 2016, and we expect to raise up to $5 billion over the next three years. We will use innovative and highly-efficient structures to raise capital for secured financing of both new and delivered aircraft, and generate significant returns for our investors. The leveraging of my own and the Group's outstanding aircraft financing knowledge and experience will have a transformational impact on the industry."
We wish Howard well in his new role.