AIG Hires Airbus Vet to Head ILFC

Government-controlled American International Group Inc. has appointed Henri Courpron, an aviation investment banker and former top Airbus executive, as chief executive of its giant airplane-leasing unit, International Lease Finance Corp., The Wall Street Journal reported.

Courpron, a 47-year-old French citizen who has worked extensively in the U.S., stepped in to fill the top job at ILFC on Tuesday. He takes charge of the world's second-largest aircraft lessor by fleet size and a company that faces big changes in its business model following the financial crisis that caused the near collapse and government rescue of ILFC's parent AIG.

ILFC had been without permanent leadership since February, when its former chairman and chief executive, Steven Udvar-Hazy, retired from the company he co-founded in 1973. One of his top lieutenants, John Plueger, briefly stepped in to head ILFC, but left in March to join a start-up aircraft lessor formed by Mr. Udvar-Hazy.

ILFC, whose business was profitable last year, didn't cause AIG's woes. But its access to funding was affected by AIG's problems. ILFC's long-term future has also been uncertain since the insurance giant deemed it a noncore business following its U.S. bailout.

AIG has said it doesn't intend to provide financial support to ILFC beyond February 2011, but also has no imminent plans to sell the entire company.

One of the biggest challenges facing Courpron will be weaning ILFC off financial support from AIG, which is nearly 80 percent owned by U.S. taxpayers and is trying to repay tens of billions of dollars to the government and restructure itself into a smaller, insurance-focused company.

Previously, Courpron was president of the aerospace division of Seabury Group, a New York-based aviation investment bank and consulting firm, since 2007. Before that, he spent almost 20 years at the Airbus unit of European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co., mostly in sales—including 13 years in the U.S. He was chief executive of Airbus's North American unit for several years before being promoted in 2005 to executive vice president of procurement for all of Airbus.