2Excel Aviation, the innovative aviation services company, has recruited Stuart Stanyard, a former Finance Director from engine-maker Rolls-Royce Plc’s Civil Aerospace business, to its Management Board.
The fast-growing business based in Sywell, Northants, was founded in 2005 by two Royal Air Force pilots, Andy Offer and Chris Norton, and has grown from The Blades Aerobatic Team to provide a suite of aviation services to industries including defence, security, engineering, survey, agriculture, events, travel and disaster response for the oil and gas industry.
Harant Singh, Director of 2Excel Aviation, said: “Stuart is an incredibly important addition to 2Excel Aviation’s Management Board as we mature as a business and continue with our ambitious growth strategy. Fourteen years ago we started trading with just four people and four aeroplanes. Today we employ over 400 and have 30 aircraft, ranging from stunt planes to turboprops and Boeing airliners.
“To attract a senior finance professional of Stuart’s calibre and experience is a measure of how far we have come as a business. His arrival greatly enhances our Support function, which not only enables our Charter, Special Missions and Capability Development divisions to operate, but crucially ensures we have the financial discipline and firepower necessary to meet the complex and growing aviation needs of our customers.”
Stuart qualified with PWC, working in Nottingham and Hong Kong, before joining Rolls-Royce Plc in 1997. After a variety of increasingly senior finance leadership positions cumulating in the Finance Director for Customers and Services of its Civil Aerospace business, he left the business after 21 years in 2018. In his last role he worked closely with key customers to develop pragmatic solutions to complex issues and delivered significant efficiency improvements in the business evaluation and service contract review processes.
He was seconded as CFO to Hong Kong Aero Engine Services Limited (HAESL), a joint venture with HAECO (part of the Swire Group), one of the leading Engine MRO in Asia for 4 ½ years 2008 – 2012, driving a complete change in culture and finance / operational efficiency after the 2008 financial downturn.
Stuart is a fellow of the ICAEW and served as a non-exec Board director of TAESL, a joint venture with American Airlines in Dallas Fort Worth. Stuart is also a Board Trustee and Chair of the Audit and Finance Committee at the Archway Learning Trust, a leading multi-academy group of schools in Nottingham. He is a keen tennis player, enjoys the challenge of walking up mountains and snowboarding.
