Award was celebrated at a breakfast reception today at the historic Union League Club of New York

18 April 2024: The Irish American Partnership has presented its 2024 New York Business Leadership award to Paul Geaney, President & Chief Commercial Officer at Avolon. The award was celebrated at a breakfast reception today at the historic Union League Club of New York attended by over 300 business leaders, friends, and supporters.

Irish American Partnership previous honorees include Adrian Jones, Chairman and Co-Head, Global Private Equity, Goldman Sachs; Stan McCarthy, former Chief Executive, Kerry Group; Michael Dowling, President and Chief Executive at Norwell Health; and Bernie Brennan, President of the Royal Dublin Society.

A founding member of the Avolon team in 2010, Mr. Geaney was appointed as Avolon’s Chief Commercial Officer in July 2021, adding the role of President in July 2022. He had previously held Head of Americas, Head of OEM, and Chief Risk Officer roles. A Dublin native, Geaney holds a Bachelor in Economics and Politics from Trinity College Dublin, and served on the Board of the International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading (2019-2023).

Avolon is a global leader in aviation finance, with 145 airline customers in 64 countries, and an owned, managed and committed fleet of 1,033 aircraft. In its 2023 financial results it reported net income of $339 million and $31 billion in total assets.

Guests enjoyed an in-depth interview of Mr. Geaney by Brian Ruane, Global Head of Clearance with BNY Mellon and Board member of the Partnership.

Chairman of the Partnership Michael T. Clune presented Paul with the 2024 New York Business Leadership Award, saying: “We would like to congratulate Paul Geaney on his innovation and contribution to Irish business, and to the global aircraft leasing industry. This award is truly deserved and is a testament to Paul’s ingenuity, and hard work. He now shares the Irish American Partnership Business Leadership Award with some of the titans of global commerce.”

Receiving the award Paul Geaney said: "I’m very grateful to the Irish American Partnership for this award, which I accept on behalf of the Avolon team, whose amazing efforts have built us into one of the world’s leading aviation finance companies. We take great pride in using our expertise, our capital and our orderbook of new aircraft to support our customer airlines in facilitating the social and economic benefits of air travel. The Partnership’s philanthropic work funding education, community development and peace initiatives in Ireland is hugely important and all involved are to be commended for their ongoing support."

The 2024 Business Leadership Breakfast was co-chaired by Brian Ruane, Global Head of Clearance and Collateral Management with BNY Mellon and Board member of the Partnership, Tommy Dwyer, and Sean Clune, President of Clune Construction New York.