At the head of AFL Aircraft Finance Lease Ltd stands Deepak Sharma, who puts a distinct spin on the competitive world of aviation financing to create a niche for his London-based company since its founding four years ago. He has built the firm into a trusted partner for leading aircraft and engine lessors across the global aviation sector. His company has attracted clients of repute, from which it earns a respectable return on its business. Sharma’s aviation financing department sits in the middle of the capital structure when lending to aircraft purchasers.
According to Sharma, discussing AFL’s approach to client service, “it’s not about offering a product but providing clarity, flexibility, and long-term value.” This has been the company’s philosophy since it was founded, and it shapes the way the company operates. It certainly distinguishes AFL from many competitors who focus on serving clients in a primarily transactional way.
This moment is the point where you just started the journey. AFL did not exist until 2019, but Sharma certainly did. He was right there, working in aviation, not just at the big-name companies we all know but also at the many small and medium-sized enterprises that make this sector a huge market worth billions and billions of dollars. And he had executive-level jobs at them, which is pretty much essential if you want to know the ins and outs of what makes this extensive sector function.
At British Aerospace, Sharma built the basic knowledge that he needed in operations and engineering. Working at Brymon Airways Engineering, a subsidiary of British Airways, he refined his skills—both in engineering and in operations.
Sharma’s professional development took a major step when he transitioned to UK International Airlines. As Engineering Director, he successfully launched the airline’s operation and engineering department and earned the recognition that came with the outstanding contributions he made to that venture. (It was a venture, flatly telling, that he managed to convert into a success story in pretty much the same way he later managed to convert AFL into a success story—by building systems from the ground up.)
Deepak Sharma’s tenure as Chief Technical Officer at AJW Group was marked by transformative projects and strategic initiatives that he led and that surged forward under his command. Working with a handpicked cadre of technologists and draftsmen, he channelled his energies into changing the way things are done and effecting change on a much grander scale than he had previously worked on in his career.
Before launching AFL, Deepak Sharma was an award-winning Executive at a large global aviation services provider. He was responsible for Integrated Solutions, with a major focus on products and services for the airline industry. In this role, he had a front-row seat to a burgeoning market and the opportunity to offer creative, solution-based approaches to any number of strategic issues that airlines were facing. His time at the helm gave him the vision and the impetus to leapfrog into his own start-up, AFL, and provide it with the strategic clarity to aim for not one, but several, targets in the burgeoning aviation industry.
Deepak Sharma Builds Trust Through Consistent Service Delivery
More than just operational skills are required in the aviation finance business. Deepak Sharma has built a solid reputation on understanding that in this industry, relationships also require consistency and dependability. His method of dealing with clients goes well beyond the traditional, straightforward, transactional sort of relationship.
“Clients don’t need a partner who’s only there when things are easy,” says Sharma. “They need one who stands firm when things get difficult.”
This philosophy was tested when AFL supported a regional airline that found itself facing unexpected challenges with original equipment manufacturers, as well as with funding.
Rather than following the contractual terms to the letter, Sharma and his team redesigned the lease package to give the airline the needed room to recover. This was not just a nice thing to do—it was the right thing to do. The decision paid off, establishing a productive, long-term relationship with the airline.
Sharma elucidates about the outcome, explaining, “Sometimes, doing the right thing opens the door to much more than just one deal.” This manner of conducting business has become a hallmark of the subterranean architecture of AFL’s business model that is stretching farther and spreading wider under his leadership.
Deepak Sharma Embeds Client Focus Across International Operations
Under the leadership of Sharma, AFL has expanded, making it more important than ever to keep a client-centered focus across the company’s international operations and its cross-functional teams. That focus, reinforced by Sharma, has become the company’s operating mantra.
Deepak Sharma has put systematic methods in place to guarantee that each and every team member grasps the company’s dedication to client service.
Sharma says that from the first day, every member of the team knows that their work is to serve the company’s clients. And that service requires listening and being proactive, and taking ownership when things go a bit sideways. Workshops and sessions are run in a cross-team fashion to ensure that the client service mindset is everywhere, not just in the teams that directly serve clients.
The AFL culture is different from many others in that it emphasizes embedding empathy into work, rather than just making sure to follow service protocols. This, I think, is a deeper expression of genuine client focus. As I said in “A Culture of Customer Care,” it really stems from understanding client perspectives and taking ownership of their outcomes.
The company’s promise of client satisfaction goes beyond individual transactions. Deepak Sharma has set up structured feedback mechanisms that capture client input throughout every stage of the process, particularly with high-value or multi-stakeholder transactions. AFL has dedicated points of contact for larger deals and conducts post-deal reviews that identify the kind of recurring themes across the client base that most businesses would prefer to avoid.
When there are complaints or misalignment from clients, Deepak Sharma deals with the situations directly and with care. His methods start with careful listening to understand the root of the complaints and finish with close collaboration with internal teams to set things right and learn something that will help prevent the same mistakes from being repeated.
Navigating Complex Market Dynamics and Regulatory Changes
The constant changes of the aviation industry, from regulatory changes to economic turmoil and fleet strategy changes, are a fact of life for its lessors. At Aircraft Finance Loans (AFL), the focus is on building flexibility into lease terms and maintaining a close dialogue with clients about their needs. Sharma ensures that the company’s lease offerings remain aligned with emerging compliance requirements — including such big-ticket initiatives as the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation and European Union taxonomy requirements.
Aviation is ever-changing, and that includes regulatory, economic, and strategic facets. “What makes us effective is our ability to stay ahead,” says Sharma. This forward-thinking mentality has allowed AFL to both reduce friction for its clients and offer alternative pathways that make sense even during these times of uncertainty.
A particular complex situation involved supporting a national carrier that was undergoing privatization while midway through a multi-aircraft lease program. Stakeholders ranged from governmental bodies to investors and new management. The privatization carried significant risks for all the parties involved.
Deepak Sharma steered through these difficulties by implementing safeguards, setting up crystal-clear lines of communication, and writing flexible terms into the deal. The transaction then proceeded without a hitch and became a model that AFL has since used to assist other clients in making similar, tricky transitions.
Operational Excellence and Strategic Vision
Under Sharma’s leadership, AFL has crafted a business model that coalesces high-level service excellence with fiscal discipline and operational sustainability. This approach mirrors—and hopefully manifests—his understanding that extended success at a place like AFL requires both client satisfaction and, as they say on Wall Street, good business fundamentals.
AFL achieves operational efficiencies by largely relying on automation and strong internal controls. This makes the company a lean operation, which is quite crucial because otherwise, it is difficult to imagine how a personalized financial services provider could avoid the long wait lines typically (and notoriously) experienced in the banking sector. Sharma pushes this cost-saving idea to its limits by working with what might be viewed as “not a terrible amount of money” but, in programming terms, an inefficiently large one to do all the personalized work that AFL does.
“It’s a high-wire act, but one we have built into our culture,” says Sharma. “Our operational efficiency, automation, and strong internal controls allow us to remain lean while our teams face the clients and deliver the quality, personal service that is our hallmark.”
The satisfaction of clients is what Deepak Sharma describes as the compass for AFL’s wider strategic planning, risk management, and growth initiatives. Rather than treating feedback from clients as just a metric, the company uses it to guide decisions about the kinds of services it offers and where to expand its operations.
This strategy allows AFL to stay current and rooted in the marketplace. When clients express that something isn’t functioning, Sharma makes sure the company responds to that input rather than waiting for market forces to necessitate a change.
Deepak Sharma’s Academic Foundation and Industry Recognition
Deepak Sharma’s industry experience is backed by strong academic qualifications and professional accolades. He possesses a degree in Aircraft Engineering and holds a European Union Aviation Safety Agency license in several categories. His educational portfolio is enriched by advanced degrees in aviation, contract law, and business administration.
Sharma has combined technical know-how and business acumen to achieve success in aviation finance. His understanding of both the engineering problems that arise in aircraft operations and the commercial concerns of fleet management allows him to create financing solutions that meet the actual operational challenges of his customers.
Sharma’s contributions to the aviation industry have earned him professional recognition that includes his being a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society. This honor not only signifies the practical knowledge he possesses but also is an indicator of his commitment to the aviation industry in terms of advancing it through innovative financing and fleet management in the aviation industry.
The fellowship of the Royal Aeronautical Society denotes acknowledgment from colleagues in the international aerospace community. It also conveys that Sharma is influencing far-reaching sector conversations as a leader in industry thought. His client conversations at AFL, with their direct relations in the industry, and the influence therein, are still small potatoes compared to half-baked genius conversations for which Sharma is and should be acknowledged in better financing as well as here, there, and everywhere for aviation’s future.
The Future for Deepak Sharma and AFL
The aviation finance industry keeps on transforming, driven by worries of a greener economy, technological innovation, and shifting economic winds. Under the leadership of Deepak Sharma, AFL has managed to not only stay abreast of these changes but also to remain firmly on course toward what the company director calls “client-centered service delivery.”
He shows that success in this sector requires more than financial discipline and professional skills. It requires a real commitment to understanding and serving the needs of clients.
AFL’s client-first philosophy and Sharma’s leadership model provide a template for how aviation finance companies can engineer long-term relationships and sustainable business success. Since 2019, the company’s effective execution of this growth strategy has generated a near tripling of its assets.
Source: Deepak Sharma Transforms Aviation Finance Through Client-First Philosophy
