Bio

Dómhnal Slattery is an Irish entrepreneur, innovator and philanthropist. With a career centred on aviation, Dómhnal has played a major role in the growth and development of the global aircraft finance industry. Since starting work in 1989, Dómhnal has established three aviation finance platforms including Avolon, IAMG and RBS Aviation Capital (now SMBC Aviation). Most recently, Dómhnal founded Avolon in 2010 which today is the world’s second largest aircraft leasing business with a balance sheet of over US$30 billion. Dómhnal’s career has seen him innovate, develop and support a range of businesses – both within the aviation sector and across a range of other sectors including media, film and technology. He has also worked to foster an enduring entrepreneurial culture in the Irish market through his Innovate for Ireland initiative. In founding this initiative, as part of a public-private partnership with the Irish Government, Dómhnal will raise €300 million to fund 1,000 PhD projects at universities on the island of Ireland over the next decade; creating a sovereign calling card for Ireland and to position the Irish economy as a global centre of excellence for entrepreneurship and innovation. Dómhnal began his aviation finance career in 1989 with Guinness Peat Aviation (GPA), a business which introduced the concept of aircraft leasing to the global aviation sector. Over the following three decades, Dómhnal established and scaled three industry leading businesses: IAMG, RBS Aviation Capital (now SMBC Aviation) and Avolon. These businesses have raised and deployed over US$75 billion of debt and equity capital to finance aircraft for airlines and investors around the world. In January 2022, Dómhnal was also appointed Chairman of Vertical Aerospace, an NYSE listed company that is revolutionising urban air mobility and decarbonising air travel through the development of zero-emissions aircraft. Dómhnal has been honoured for his success in the aviation industry including receiving awards from leading universities NUI Galway and Glucksman Ireland House, a part of NYU. The Ireland-US Council honoured Dómhnal with an Outstanding Achievement in Business at their 58th Annual Dinner in New York in December 2021. On May 2022, Dómhnal was conferred with an Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy (Honoris Causa) from Dublin City University to mark his career and his profound impact across Irish businesses, the arts and charitable organisations.