Executive Management Team

Yuichiro Noguchi

Chairman

Mr Yuichiro Noguchi became Chairman of elfc in June 2019. Mr. Noguchi also holds a position at Jackson Square Aviation Ireland Limited. Until May 2019, he held the position of Deputy General Manager and Executive Expert, Aviation Business Department (ABD) at Mitsubishi HC Capital (MHC).

After 20+ years of experience in aviation finance/ structured finance field, Mr. Noguchi joined MHC in 2009. Since then, he has held various positions, including: Product Syndication Office responsible for JOLCO equity underwriting and distribution, secondment to Jackson Square Aviation (JSA) in San Francisco for post-merger integration of JSA after its acquisition by MHC.

Mr. Noguchi’s relationship with elfc started in 2016, as Deputy General Manager of ABD to oversee the company and work closely with elfc management and staffs.

Mr. Noguchi holds a Bachelor of Economics from Aoyama Gakuin University.

Richard Hough

President & CEO

Mr. Hough is the President & CEO for elfc.

Richard started his career in aviation in 1990 as an apprentice aircraft maintenance technician with Shannon Aerospace and after qualification was appointed team leader of the engines team. Over the following five years he obtained various maintenance engineer licenses and approvals for both airframe and engine.

In April 1997 he joined elfc as Technical Services Manager. His early role involved a mixture of technical, sales and marketing research functions. In 2000 he was promoted to the position of Vice President Technical with responsibility for asset management, engine valuations and technical aspects of contract negotiation. In 2009 Richard was promoted to the position of Senior Vice President Technical, with responsibility for day to day operations of the technical department including management of a portfolio of 200+ engines. In 2011 he was appointed as Executive Vice President and Chief Technical Officer with overall responsibility for the technical function of elfc, a position he held until January 2022 where he became elfc’s Chief Operating Officer. Richard took up the role of President & CEO of elfc in January 2024.

In addition to his aeronautical engineering licenses, Richard has a Diploma in Business Studies (Hons) from the National University of Ireland and an MBA in Aviation Management from the University of Limerick.

Darren Wormald

Chief Operating Officer

Mr. Wormald is Chief Operating Officer for elfc.

Darren joined elfc in 1999 with responsibility for managing the legal function. In 2014 he was appointed Executive Vice President and General Counsel of the elfc Group. Mr. Wormald has 25 years of experience delivering world-class legal risk management, advice, and transaction structuring solutions to the business and has worked on a range of industry-leading and award-winning transactions with airlines, engine and aircraft lessors, and OEMs. Darren was appointed Chief Operating Officer in January 2024.

Mr. Wormald is a practising barrister who previously held positions as Associate Director at UBS (London) and Legal Counsel at Lehman Brothers (Europe).

Julian Jordan

Chief Commercial Officer

Mr. Jordan is the Chief Commercial Officer for elfc.

Julian is responsible for developing and executing elfc group’s global sales and leasing strategy across all commercial divisions including new business growth, engine portfolio management and INAV engine material supply.

Following commercial roles for elfc commencing in 2000 in S.E. Asia, Europe and the Middle East, he was promoted to Senior Vice President in 2008 to assume responsibility for new products, including expansion into joint venture aircraft leasing. In 2020 Julian was appointed Executive Vice President & Head of New Business overseeing the company’s worldwide sales team and execution of all new business activity, a position he held until taking his current role as Chief Commercial Officer in February 2023.

Julian is a 1993 sponsored graduate of Aston University in the UK and started his career with a BSc (Hons) at BTR PLC and Dowty Group PLC in aerospace and defense manufacturing.

Aoife Fennell

Chief Technical Officer

Ms. Fennell is the Chief Technical Officer for elfc.

Aoife joined elfc in 2000 with responsibility for asset management. She was then promoted to the position of Manager of the EMEA technical team where she was responsible for leading the asset management, spare engine portfolio operations and technical commercial support for the customers and engines in that region. In 2022 Aoife was appointed as Chief Technical Officer with overall responsibility for the technical function.

Aoife has over 25 years aviation experience gained in airline, MRO and leasing roles. She holds a degree in Aeronautical Engineering from University of Limerick, a diploma from the Law Society of Ireland and has held previous positions at TEAM Aer Lingus and FLS Aerospace prior to her current role.

Avril Comerford

Chief Financial Officer

Ms. Comerford is the Chief Financial Officer for elfc.

Avril joined elfc in 2013 and since then has held several positions of increasing responsibility within the finance department, contributing notably to areas of digitisation, Japanese Sarbanes Oxley & large transactions such as business combinations. In 2023 Avril was appointed to the Chief Financial Officer role.

Avril has 20+ years of experience in the aviation industry, graduating from University College Dublin in 1994 and holds a Bachelor of Commerce Degree. Avril subsequently qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1998 with BDO Simpson Xavier. Avril also holds an Aviation Diploma from the Law Society of Ireland.

Joe Hussar

Head of Portfolio

Mr Hussar is the Head of Portfolio for elfc.

Joe Hussar began his career in aviation in 1995 while employed at BTM Capital Corporation remarketing aircraft for owned and serviced portfolios. Joe joined elfc in 2002, with his current role serving as Head of Portfolio overseeing all activities related to remarketing, portfolio servicing, syndication and capital markets.

Joe is a 1992 graduate of the Bryant University School of Management and in 1996 received a Masters of Business Administration with a Finance concentration from the Sawyer School of Management at Suffolk University.

Bruce Ross

General Counsel

Mr Ross is General Counsel for elfc.

Bruce has over 15 years experience in providing legal advice in the spare engine leasing and finance sector.

Bruce first worked with elfc in the Shannon office on secondment from a London based US law firm, having previously qualified at one of the world’s largest international law firms. Bruce joined elfc permanently in 2010 and has since worked in the London, Hong Kong and Singapore offices of elfc, providing transaction and general legal advice, including on several joint ventures and large volume acquisitions. Bruce took up the role of General Counsel for elfc in January 2024.

Bruce is a qualified solicitor in Scotland as well as England & Wales and holds an honours degree from the University of Edinburgh.

Ed Colleran

Chief Risk Officer

Mr Colleran is the Chief Risk Officer for elfc.

Ed joined elfc in 2012, he has over 20 years Aviation experience and is responsible for managing a team of Risk analysts based out of our Shannon and Singapore offices, providing global coverage.

Ed’s career has covered both aircraft leasing – for 9 years with RBS Aviation Capital (now SMBC) and then AWAS (now DAE) – and engine leasing. Previously he also worked in Bank of Ireland in Corporate Banking, Business Banking and Credit Audit. He is a Graduate of University College Galway and the University College Dublin Smurfit Business School.

Ed Connolly

Head of Capital Markets & Treasury

Mr Connolly is the Head of Capital Markets & Treasury for elfc.

Ed started his career as a Trainee in KPMG’s Financial Services Tax group in Dublin in 2005.  Having completed his training contract in 2009, Ed remained with the firm and managed various accounts across the financial services sector but with particular emphasis on the aviation leasing space advising many of the industry leading companies on worldwide tax matters.

In January 2012 he joined elfc as in-house Tax Manager and later took responsibility for the treasury function managing group debt and external fundraising activities in both the debt and equity spaces. Ed was promoted to Vice President Tax and Treasury in 2016 and Senior Vice President Capital Markets in 2019, with his role encompassing not only all treasury, capital markets and tax related matters but also pricing, investment analysis, structured products and servicing of managed portfolios. Ed was appointed Head of Capital Markets & Treasury in February 2024.

Ed holds a degree in Law and Accounting from the University of Limerick and is qualified both as an FCA with the Association of Chartered Accountants Ireland and as a Tax Consultant with the Irish Taxation Institute.

Justin Phelan

Head of Origination

Mr. Phelan is Head of Origination for elfc.

Justin previously served in the role of Senior Vice President Sales & Marketing with responsibility for the European Sales Team, OEM and Lessor Relationships and Corporate Marketing since joining the sales team in 2018 as Vice President Marketing.​

Having originally joined elfc in 2007 Justin has served as Powerplant Engineer and Vice President Technical responsible for Asia.

Prior to elfc Justin started his career in aviation in 1992 as an apprentice aircraft maintenance technician with Lufthansa Technik Shannon holding various roles including Team Leader, Lead Engineer and Production Manager during which time obtained approvals for A320, B737, DC-9 and MD-80 aircraft.​

Justin has a BBS (Hons) Marketing from the National University of Ireland and an Executive MBA from the University of Limerick