Trenchard Aviation Group has appointed Gary Smith as its new COO (chief operating officer). Smith has more than 25 years of senior management experience in airline engineering and MRO operations, having served as head of engineering and postholder at easyJet, and having led MRO facilities at Rolls-Royce and Triumph Air Repair for over 10 years. At Trenchard he will be responsible for all the company’s operations across manufacturing, parts and repairs, and on-wing services.
Prior to joining Trenchard Aviation, Smith was director of operations transformation at easyJet, responsible for formation and delivery of the airline’s operations strategy, and for delivering its ‘Operational Resilience’ programme, focused on reducing disruption and improving operational performance.
He progressed through the easyJet organisation, joining as head of powerplant, responsible for managing over 450 engines, then forming the easyJet ‘asset transition’ team, responsible for delivery and redelivery of aircraft to lessors, moving onto the ‘future cabin’ programme, responsible for the 186-seat cabin retrofit programme, and finally becoming head of engineering. Smith also led the Triumph Air Repair operation in the UK, carrying out component repair and APU overhaul, and was general manager of component repair at Rolls-Royce.
Smith has an Honours degree in aeronautical engineering from City University, London, and an MBA from Cranfield University.
Mark Faulkner, CEO of Trenchard Aviation Group, commented, “Gary’s enviable experience and expertise will be a brilliant asset as we move forward out of the coronavirus pandemic, and longer-term with our strategic international growth plans.”