Our Team
Stephen Murphy
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
[ AV AIRFINANCE LIMITED, IRELAND ]
Mr. Murphy has 20 years of financial services experience and joined AV AirFinance in August 2022 as CEO, moving from Goshawk Aviation Limited. At Goshawk, Mr Murphy held several executive positions, primarily as Head of Corporate Finance with responsibility for Capital Markets and Structured Finance activities while scaling it to be a top 15 leasing company at time of sale. Prior to Goshawk, Mr. Murphy worked in the banking sector, most recently at HSBC Bank plc with responsibility for investing the bank’s balance sheet and developing the coverage model in the aircraft leasing space. Mr. Murphy has a BA in Engineering and MBS, both from University College Cork, Ireland.
Axel Hammar
Chief Investment Officer
[ AV AIRFINANCE LIMITED, IRELAND ]
Mr. Hammar joined AV AirFinance in 2021 and currently serves as the Chief Investment Officer. Prior to his role with AV AirFinance, Mr. Hammar served as a senior vice president of Volito Aviation Services, a company he co-founded in 2016 that provided debt origination services for Goldman Sachs among others. He began his career with one of the world’s leading oil majors and quickly advanced to roles within the corporate M&A function. Mr. Hammar holds an MSc in Industrial Engineering and Management from Lund University of Technology.
Ciara McGrath
Director of Operations
[ AV AIRFINANCE LIMITED, IRELAND ]
Ms. McGrath is responsible for the operation side of AV AirFinance overseeing contract management, compliance, accounting, tax and treasury functions among others. Ms. McGrath has over 20 years of experience in commercial aviation finance first with Babcock and Brown and later with for BBAM. Ms. McGrath also spent five years with Hannover Aircraft Leasing as a company director and consultant monitoring tax compliance, preparing financials and overseeing general corporate affairs. Ms. McGrath is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA) and holds a B.A. in Accounting and Finance from Dublin Business School.
Kiel Garcia
SVP – Loan Origination APAC
[ AV AIRFINANCE LIMITED, IRELAND ]
Mr. Garcia has over 18 years of experience in aviation and asset finance. Prior to joining AV AirFinance, Mr. Garcia spent three years in MUFG, as Deputy Head of Aviation Finance, APAC where he was responsible for sourcing and structuring finance leases, limited recourse operating lease financings, PDPs, engine financings, and warehouse facilities across a wide range of airline and lessor clients and jurisdictions in the APAC region. Mr. Garcia also held senior roles at Philippine Airlines as Vice President for Corporate Finance earlier in his career dealing with banks, aircraft lessors, and OEMs. Mr. Garcia holds a degree in Economics and Business Management from De La Salle University Manila.
Edel Brennan
SVP – Loan Origination EMEA
[ AV AIRFINANCE LIMITED, IRELAND ]
Ms. Brennan has over 15 years of experience in the aviation industry. Prior to joining AV AirFinance, Ms. Brennan spent seven years at Goshawk in a variety of executive roles, most recently within the Corporate Finance function with responsibility for Investor Relations and sourcing a broad spectrum of debt capital. Prior to Goshawk, Ms. Brennan was Financial Controller Ireland at Intrepid Aviation and started her career in KPMG Audit covering both the Aviation and Banking industries. She is a Fellow Chartered Accountant and holds a master’s in accounting and a Business Degree.
Michael Rubinett
SVP – Loan Origination Americas
[ AV AIRFINANCE L.P., USA ]
Mr. Rubinett has over a decade of experience in commercial aviation and finance. Prior to joining AV AirFinance, he served as Vice President of mba Asset Management where he had responsibility for portfolio management, remarketing, trading of managed assets, and also advised debt and equity investors on airline restructurings, non-performing assets. Prior to mba Asset Management, Mr. Rubinett worked in capital markets at Aircastle, where he was responsible for raising debt capital, managing debt origination and aircraft trading within the lessor’s various joint ventures, while also raising both unsecured and secured debt for the Aircastle platform. Mr. Rubinett holds a BBA from the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin.
Jack Dwan
VP Marketing
[ AV AIRFINANCE LIMITED, IRELAND ]
Mr. Dwan joined AV AirFinance in 2021 and is responsible for loan origination and pricing analysis. Prior to joining AV AirFinance, Mr. Dwan worked with ORIX Aviation as a Pricing Analyst within the Corporate Planning and Investment team. Mr. Dwan holds a BSc in Economics and Finance from University College Dublin and an MSc in Finance from Imperial College London. Mr. Dwan is also a CFA charterholder.
Aideen Tivnan
SVP TREASURY
[ AV AIRFINANCE LIMITED, IRELAND ]
Ms. Tivnan joined AV AirFinance in 2022 as Treasury Manager and is responsible for portfolio reporting and treasury management. Ms. Tivnan has over 15 years’ experience in accounting and finance roles having begun her career in EY corporate tax and financial services assurance departments. Prior to joining AV AirFinance, Ms. Tivnan held senior finance roles in aviation leasing. Ms. Tivnan holds a B. Comm. from University of Galway and an MBS in Accounting from Dublin City University. She is a Fellow Chartered Accountant and holds a Diploma in Aviation Leasing and Finance from Law Society of Ireland.
Kate Bell
VP FINANCE
[ AV AIRFINANCE LIMITED, IRELAND ]
Ms. Bell joined AV AirFinance in 2022 as Finance Manager and is responsible for the accounting and financial reporting functions of AV AirFinance. Ms. Bell began her career in KPMG financial services audit and has since gained over 15 years’ accounting experience from holding finance roles across a range of industries including financial services, retail, and manufacturing. Ms. Bell is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA) and holds a Bachelor of Commerce from University College Dublin.
Gareth Rowe
SVP CONTRACT MANAGEMENT
[ AV AIRFINANCE LIMITED, IRELAND ]
Mr. Rowe joined AV AirFinance in 2023 as Contract Manager where he is responsible for ensuring the compliance of the loan covenants for the portfolio and managing transaction closings. Mr. Rowe has over 15 years’ experience in aviation and financial services. Prior to AV AirFinance, Mr. Rowe spent three years in Goshawk in the Contract Management team having previously spent nine years in the Maples Group on the Director services team. Mr. Rowe began his career in Citibank Europe. Mr. Rowe holds a Bachelor of Business Studies from Dublin City University.
Sarah Foy
AVP CONTRACT MANAGEMENT
[ AV AIRFINANCE LIMITED, IRELAND ]
Ms. Foy joined AV AirFinance as a Finance and Operations assistant with primary responsibility for accounts payable and office management. Prior to joining AV AirFinance, Ms. Foy spent almost 5 years with Goshawk in both operational and finance-based roles. Prior to Goshawk, Ms. Foy began her career with Etihad Airways in Abu Dhabi. Ms. Foy holds a BSc in Athletic Therapy from Dublin City University and Professional Diploma’s in Accounting and Finance and Management from Dublin Business School.
Matthew Bourke
AVP PRICING
[ AV AIRFINANCE LIMITED, IRELAND ]
Mr. Bourke joined AV AirFinance on the Pricing Analysis side, and is responsible for financial modelling, commercial analysis and assists the marketing and loan origination teams. Prior to joining AV AirFinance, Mr. Bourke worked as a quantitative analyst within Credit Risk at Bank of Ireland, where he was responsible for management and analysis of corporate exposures. Mr. Bourke earned a BSc in Financial Mathematics and Economics from the University of Galway and is currently enrolled in a Master’s in Quantitative Finance at UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School.
Jubelle Arboleda
AVP TREASURY
[ AV AIRFINANCE LIMITED, IRELAND ]
Ms. Arboleda joined AV AirFinance in 2024 as Treasury Accountant. Prior to joining AV AirFinance, Ms. Arboleda was Client Manager with Vistra for two years where she was responsible for the overall transaction management and ABS investor reporting. Prior to Vistra, Ms. Arboleda gained over seven years external audit experience with Ernst & Young. Ms. Arboleda holds a BS in Accountancy from the University of the Philippines and is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).
With a group of experienced finance professionals and the support of KKR, we intend to become a global leader in commercial aviation lending, supporting the financing needs of airlines, lessors, manufacturers, and investors.