CHARLOTTE, N.C., March 23, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Barings Alternative Investments, part of Barings LLC, one of the world’s leading financial services firms, announced today the expansion of its aircraft leasing platform on behalf of the firm’s institutional fund clients through Genesis Aircraft Services Limited. To facilitate new aircraft acquisitions on behalf of Barings’ clients, Genesis will increase existing capabilities to now include all commercial, technical, portfolio and legal management functions required of a full-service premier owner and lessor of commercial aircraft.

As part of its increased capabilities, Karl Griffin will join Genesis as Chief Commercial & Investment Officer and will also be appointed to the Genesis Board of Directors effective May 2018; Anna Reimers will join Genesis as Chief Legal Officer; and John McMahon will be appointed to Genesis’ Board as an independent director.

Griffin is currently the Chief Operating Officer at DAE Capital, an aircraft leasing firm. He has held key leadership roles in the engineering, airline, financing and leasing industries throughout his 30-year aviation career. Prior to DAE, he served as the Chief Operating Officer at AWAS, was the Chief Technical Officer at CIT Aerospace International, and was Senior Vice President Engine Leasing & Finance with RBS Aviation Capital. Griffin started his career as an aircraft maintenance engineer at Shannon Aerospace, a joint venture of GPA, Lufthansa and Swissair.

Reimers has more than 18 years of legal experience in the aviation industry and joins Genesis from McGuireWoods LLP, where she focused on aviation investments while representing financial institutions, equity investors, investment advisors and lessors. McGuireWoods has represented Barings in the acquisition, disposition, financing and management of various aircraft portfolio investments.

McMahon has more than 30 years of experience in aviation, finance and leasing. He currently serves as an aviation consultant, university professor and non-executive director. He was the Chairman and CEO of Genesis Lease Limited from 2006 until its merger with AerCap Holdings N.V. in 2010. Previously, McMahon held senior management positions at Lloyds TSB Bank and Debis AirFinance (now AerCap), as well as executive roles at GE Capital Aviation Services, GPA Group and Aer Lingus.

“We are delighted with the new appointments to the Genesis team, and our goal to expand our aviation platform and create a best-in-class leasing company has taken a significant step forward,” said Cian Mackey, Chief Operating & Financial Officer at Genesis. “Karl, Anna and John each bring a wealth of experience to the company and will be an integral part the Genesis leadership team.”

Jon Rotolo, Head of Barings Alternative Investments’ Private Equity and Real Assets team, added, “This expansion supports our goal to develop a preeminent management team at Genesis that can implement our strategy to acquire and actively manage a targeted fleet of aircraft. In partnership with Barings, Genesis is well-positioned to be an industry leader in the aviation leasing space given strong fundamentals that are driven by secular growth in travel, and we’re excited about the growth opportunities ahead.”

Barings Alternative Investments (BAI), a 400+ associate team located across 11 countries that manages $52.6 billion* in client capital, seeks differentiated sources of returns by incorporating decades of investment experience in alternative assets. BAI offers investors access to a diverse range of opportunities across private equity, real assets, asset-based investments and the four quadrants of real estate. We serve as a trusted partner to clients, leveraging our global presence and robust origination capabilities to identify the most attractive risk-adjusted return opportunities. The Barings Private Equity and Real Assets team focuses on control positions in actively managed, thematically driven, asset-based investments that generate current income as well as opportunity for capital appreciation. Led by a research-intensive investment process that identifies long-term investment trends, the team invests across eight specialist sectors in four asset classes: Capital Assets, Infrastructure, Intangible Assets and Natural Resources. Learn more at https://www.barings.com.

About Genesis
Genesis Aircraft Services was established in 2014 by Barings LLC and currently manages a combined portfolio of 53 mainly mid-life narrow body Boeing and Airbus aircraft on behalf of Barings LLC’s institutional clients. Genesis is headquartered in Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland.

About Barings LLC
Barings is a $304+ billion* global financial services firm dedicated to meeting the evolving investment and capital needs of our clients. We build lasting partnerships that leverage our distinctive expertise across traditional and alternative asset classes to deliver innovative solutions and exceptional service. Part of MassMutual, Barings maintains a strong global presence with over 1,800 associates and offices in 16 countries. Learn more, at www.barings.com.

*As of December 31, 2017.

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Contact: 
                  Brian Whelan
                  Barings
                  (980) 417-7700
                  brian.whelan@barings.com