Airline Economics 40 under 40

Airline Economics, the flagship publication dedicated to the commercial aviation finance and leasing industry owned by Aviation News Ltd, has announced the Airline Economics 40 under 40 Class of 2023 along with the leading Aviation Industry Mentors for 2023 in September 2023.

The strength of the nominations to the Airline Economics 40 under 40 for 2023 shows that the industry is well prepared for this changing of the guard with a highly skilled and experience talent pool heading into the next decade.  The Airline Economics 40 under 40 Class of 2023 was compiled from another record amount of nominations and endorsements, many from senior members of the wide aviation community. All 40 members of the final list received 1,305 endorsements in total, with the majority of those from clients. 

“We have been astonished at the response to this year’s 40 under 40 nominations process, from the sheer number of talented individuals submitted for consideration to the wealth of support provided by their clients, peers and colleagues. Our sincere thanks to everyone who took the time to nominate and endorse entries to this year’s 40 under 40,” Victoria Tozer-Pennington, editor and co-founder of Airline Economics, commented at the time the list was announced. “As ever it was difficult to choose just forty individuals from the 119 nominations. The number of nominations and endorsements is testament to the achievements of all of these professionals, which demonstrates the strength of the next generation of aviation industry leaders.”

Although the 40 under 40 group is not ranked, Airline Economics does present its Future Leader award to the individual with the most impressive endorsements from clients and senior industry figures. In 2023 – for the first time – the award was shared by two very impressive candidates. Kinnary Armstrong, executive director at Mizuho and Kalash Pandey, managing director at Goldman Sachs.

In 2023, four individuals achieved the Highly Commended designation that recognises the calibre and sheer quantity of their supporting nominations. These were: Claire McDermott, partner at Flynn O’Driscoll; Claire Waters, aviation finance tax director at KPMG Ireland; Matheus Piorino, head of customer finance at Embraer; and Joe Conboy, aviation finance partner at PwC. 

All 40 under 40 members are given the opportunity to nominate an individual or individuals that have acted as a mentor or an inspiration during their aviation industry career, which was revealed in the fourth Airline Economics Aviation Industry Mentors group for 2023. 

The Airline Economics 40 under 40 Class of 2023 celebrated with sponsors and guests at a glittering gala dinner held at the guildhall in London, on October 2, 2023.