Farhad Azima is an internationally recognised entrepreneur and business executive. For more than thirty (30) years Mr. Azima has proven his leadership in a number of industries including commercial airlines, aircraft leasing, finance, and hotels.
He has served in positions of trust and honor under Presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, and Governor Mel Carnahan of Missouri and many of the Congressional leaders of the United States Senate and House of Representatives. President Clinton appointed him to the United States Economic Development Commission in 1999.
Mr. Azima attended William Jewell University in Liberty, Missouri, graduating in 1967 with degrees in Political Science and Business Administration.
Mr. Azima is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Aviation Leasing Group of Companies (ALG), an international aviation enterprise that provides comprehensive financial, operational and maintenance support services to domestic and international airlines. ALG has operations in more than a dozen countries in Europe, Asia, the Pacific Rim, the Middle East, and Africa, and has operated leasing and airline companies since its inception in 1980.
Under Mr. Azima's leadership, ALG has owned and operated a fleet of more than eighty (80) commercial passenger and cargo aircraft. The various divisions of the company offer operations, maintenance, and sophisticated training services to clients, including the United States Federal Aviation Administration, the United States Navy, American Airlines and a number of international airlines.
ALG's diverse business includes the leasing of aircraft, financing, airline operations and technical services both U.S. domestic and international.
In 1977, Mr. Azima formed Global International Airways which was one of the first airlines to be formed under the Airline Deregulation Act of 1976. Global became one of the largest commercial charter operators in the United States with worldwide operations.
In 1982, Mr. Azima acquired controlling interest in Capital Air, a major scheduled airline operating both U.S. domestic and international routes out of New York JFK, Chicago ORD and Los Angeles LAX airports. Capital Air also included Capital Technical Services, a wholly owned U.S. Part 145 Repair Station, which performed scheduled heavy maintenance on the Capital Air fleet and also on third party aircraft fleets. Capital Air was later acquired by a U.S. based aviation group in 1985.
In 1988, Mr. Azima acquired a 100% interest in Buffalo Airways, a U.S. Part 121 cargo airline. In addition to operating contract charter flight for the Military Airlift Command (MAC), Buffalo Airways also provided extensive training services to the U.S. Navy for the E6 airborne submarine communications system.
During that same time period, Mr. Azima acquired a controlling interest in Tennessee Technical Services (TTS), a U.S. Part 145 Repair Station. TTS primarily provided scheduled heavy maintenance to contract cargo airlines serving the U.S. overnight freight industry. In addition to TTS, Mr. Azima also became the largest single shareholder in HeavyLift Engineering, a United Kingdom JAA/JAR/FAA Repair Station. HeavyLift Engineering provided technical support and heavy maintenance to European based outsized cargo airlines. TTS and HeavyLift Engineering between them employed over 800 skilled technical personnel.
Mr. Azima founded ALG in 1980 and has been its Chairman and CEO since inception. ALG continues to be the flagship of his business operations and is recognized as one of the leading aircraft leasing, management and service providers to the aviation industry. ALG, since the early 1980s has built a number of turnkey airlines in the United States, South America, Africa and Middle East, for various clients both private and government.
Mr Azima in 2004 founded HeavyLift International Airlines, a Heavy Transport Category certificated airline in the United Arab Emirates. HeavyLift provides cargo and freight services to airline clients in the Region, Europe, CIS, Asia, the Far East and Africa. Mr. Azima serves as Chairman and CEO of HeavyLift.
http://www.algkc.com
http://www.heavyliftfreight.com
http://www.grand-europe.com
Mr. Azima has been recognized by the United States Air Force for his exceptional services to America during the build-up to and execution of Operation Desert Storm in 1991. In 1998, he was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor and has also been honored for his significant role in economic development, in particular his pioneering development of the airline industry.
Farhad Azima has served as a Commercial Advisor to Rolls Royce Plc, He serves on the Boards of Directors of Palm Pictures and the U.S. Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Azima is a member of Conquistadores Del Cielo, an honorary society of executives who lead the major international organizations in the airline and aerospace industries worldwide. He is a member of Wings Club, the Aviation Club of Great Britain and the Carlton Club.
Mr. Azima is a major benefactor of William Jewell College and the University of Missouri and has provided scholarships for dozens of deserving students. He is also a patron of the arts in Kansas City and New York.
During the 1996 U.S. presidential campaign, Mr. Azima played a key role for then President William Jefferson Clinton, both advising on public policy and aggregating financial support for the campaign and the Democratic Party.
Mr. Azima was born in 1941 and moved to the United States as a student in 1962, married in 1967 to Lynda Hutchison and has two daughters, Leila and Jenny. He has residences in Kansas City, New York and London.