Professional Documents
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AIRCRAFT LEASING
SALARY GUIDE
01
WELCOME TO OUR INAUGURAL
2016 AIRCRAFT LEASING
SALARY GUIDE
To our knowledge, this is the first Whilst we have already met and
dedicated salary guide that has worked with a great number of you,
ever been produced exclusively we always welcome correspondence
for the aviation finance industry, from industry peers – so please do
and we hope that you find it both feel free to get in touch with us if
interesting and informative. you would like to discuss any of the
points raised within.
A couple of key points to note:
Best wishes,
• The primary market referred to in
Richard Pigott
the report is Dublin, however we
do try and provide comparisons to
other locations, where appropriate.
Richard Pigott
• All salaries are denominated in Director
Euro, although packages are
broadly comparable across most
major global leasing hubs. To contact Richard directly,
he is available on:
• Please note that this report is an Mobile: +353 86 608 9481
honest appraisal of the market as Email: rpigott@elginsearch.com
we see it, but it is important to
Tel: +353 1 443 3300
remember that all views and
Web: www.elginsearch.com
thoughts are our own.
HOW TO MEET US
If you are based in or visiting Dublin, please feel free to get in touch
anytime – we would be delighted to meet you. Alternatively, we
frequently attend major industry conferences and will be present at
the following events globally in next 12 months:
FOR CLIENTS
about your brand and company. This is candidate audience will be reached
particularly true for new entrants to the by using such a strategy. The more you
market. It is important to emphasise build up a strong relationship with
profiles, so it is vital to have a good these to your target candidate pool your preferred recruitment partner,
i) Think clearly about your staffing
requirements – what kind of functions understanding of the criteria you are as it will give them comfort that they the better they will understand your
will you base in which location? What looking for before starting out on a are joining a fiscally strong, reputable business, and the easier it will be
specific type of expertise will you need hiring process. business. It will also boost your for them to represent you in the
in each role? We cannot stress how In an ideal world, it is preferable to profile in the market and create a correct way.
important it is to have a very definite hire the leadership team first as their favourable impression amongst your
At Elgin Executive Search, we only take
idea about the exact skillset that you will experience will assist you in deciding peers in the industry.
on work on an exclusive basis for these
need as this will make the subsequent whether to base an entire function in- reasons – as a result, we can ensure
candidate search much easier.
For example, if you are seeking to hire
a VP Legal, it is useful to know exactly
house, or to outsource. It is also useful
to remember that sometimes it is a very
different type of candidate that fits well
iii) Choose carefully one recruitment
partner to work with and try to build
a deep partnership with them. It is
that the entire candidate pool is fully
advised about the opportunities at our
client companies and we can totally
what kind of expertise is a priority – will into a startup environment. Often we important to remember that it is control the message that our clients
this candidate be performing mainly have seen candidates coming from long practically impossible to manage how want them to receive about their
Corporate Counsel duties or will they established companies struggle in this the message of your business is being business. In our experience, this is the
be transaction focused and part of a type of situation, as they will likely have communicated to the market if you only way to manage a recruitment
customer facing, deal team? These fewer local operational resources to use multiple headhunters for your process effectively and is why we insist
are two very different skillsets and call upon. hiring. Secondly, using this approach it on such exclusivity.
06
the Boards of aircraft leasing companies, and for can be significantly higher. In many cases, the Chief
very good reason. Ultimately they are responsible Commercial Officer is the second most highly paid
AIRCRAFT LEASING SALARIES for the strategic direction of the business and
shareholder profitability, and their compensation
person on the Board of many lessors, though this is
not surprising given their overall responsibility for
scheme reflects this. marketing and trading. Other C-Suite roles such as
Total compensation packages in excess of the CFO and COO do tend to be paid slightly less,
€1million are not uncommon (particularly for Chief though not in all cases.
E) TECHNICAL
In 2015, there was strong demand in the Irish Asset Management duties fall under the remit of
market for technical candidates, particularly the Technical department in smaller lessors.
at a senior level. Technical expertise is In 2015 we noted a specific demand for technical
vitally important from a fleet and portfolio candidates with repossession experience among
management perspective, and this type of the newer lessors as many of them lack this type
C) CONTRACTS function is found is all leasing companies. Often of expertise internally.
Contracts teams are also expanding in many of this organisation, and we expect demand for
the larger lessors, as again they move to build contracts staff in 2016 to remain strong. SALARY RANGE – TECHNICAL
these functions internally. The transformational It is often a good route of entry for professionals CORPORATE TITLE BASIC BONUS PENSION CONTRIBUTION
ILFC / AerCap deal has created huge into the industry and an opportunity to ‘learn Head of Technical €180,000 - €240,000 35 - 70% 15 - 25%
opportunity for contracts candidates within the ropes’ so to speak.
SVP Technical €130,000 - €180,000 35 - 50% 10 - 15%
SALARY RANGE – CONTRACTS VP Technical €80,000 - €130,000 20 - 45% 8 - 15%
CORPORATE TITLE BASIC BONUS PENSION CONTRIBUTION Technical Manager €50,000 - €80,000 0 - 20% 6 - 10%
VP, Head of Contracts €80,000 - €140,000 30 - 40% 6 - 10%
Contracts Manager €45,000 - €80,000 20 - 30% 0 - 6%
F) MARKETING
Contracts Staff €35,000 - €45,000 0 - 20% 0 - 6%
Competition is intense for highly experienced backgrounds who have steadily moved into
marketers as it is obviously a major source more commercially orientated roles, but
of revenue generation for every lessor. recently we have noted a trend that many of the
D) RISK & PRICING High performers tend to be exceptionally new generation of marketers are increasingly
In smaller lessors, risk and pricing can be accurate guidance on an ‘average’ salary in this well remunerated and if you are to hire at the coming from the legal or investment banking
the sole responsibility of one person or, area. Generally, these types of roles are open to top end of the market, you may even have to professions. Regardless of the level marketing
alternatively, the larger lessors will have specific candidates from outside the industry and again, exceed some of the figures outlined below candidates are always in demand, particularly
teams looking after both of these functions provide an ideal opportunity to acquire a solid to attract quality talent. Traditionally, many those with a significant track record and
individually. It is therefore is difficult to give industry foundation. marketers came from avionic engineering relationship network with the airlines.
Head of Trading €250,000 - €350,000 50 - 200% 15 - 25% CORPORATE TITLE BASIC BONUS PENSION CONTRIBUTION
SVP Trading €200,000 - €250,000 50 - 100% 15 - 25% Head of Corporate Finance €200,000 - €250,000 40 - 80% 15 - 25%
VP Trading €120,000 - €200,000 30 - 70% 10 - 20% SVP Corporate Finance €160,000 - €200,000 30 - 60% 10 - 15%
Trading Manager €80,000 - €120,000 20 - 45% 10 - 15% VP Corporate Finance €120,000 - €160,000 25 - 50% 8 - 15%
D. NOTICE PERIODS
B. RELOCATIONS AND Typically at more junior levels, a one month notice
EXPATRIATE ALLOWANCES
period is quite standard in the industry, however
The days of full expatriate entitlements are when candidates reach VP level, three months
becoming less common, particularly in Europe, notice is the norm. We have seen pressure to
although we are aware that in Singapore and increase this to four months in some instances,
Hong Kong, housing allowance is often expected particularly at SVP level. At Executive level, it is
due to the high local rents. Interestingly, with the typical to have a minimum of six months notice
cost of accommodation soaring in Ireland, we are and often Boards of leasing companies are centrally
seeing this becoming more of a consideration when bound for up to one year. In most cases, this is
candidates are choosing whether or not to relocate. negotiable, depending on the circumstances.
School fees are sometimes paid in Singapore and
Hong Kong (again due to the high cost of private
Western education in these locations). E. HOLIDAY ALLOWANCES
Finally, we are aware of at least one company The standard holiday entitlement in Dublin and
that has offered significant numbers of their key London is between 20-25 days, although we are
staff a very generous tax equalisation scheme aware of some companies offering more for long
to relocate to their Irish hub. Given the financial serving employees. In the US, this entitlement
implications of running such a scheme, we do not can be as low as 12 days, though most staff are
anticipate many other firms offering similar type awarded 20 days leave. Singapore, Hong Kong and
arrangements in the near future. Tokyo offer similar holiday allowances to the US.