After nearly eight years working for The Registry of Aruba, Alexandria Colindres is stepping up as CEO, from her current role as COO of the company. Her father, the company's founder, Jorge Colindres, will stay on as the executive chairman and CEO of ARG (Aviation Registry Group of Companies), the registry's holding company.

Colindres started at the company in the summer of 2013, performing public relations duties. She helped to transform the company's brand identity and attract new clients, as well as stabilising the company's core team. The staff of 11, based in Miami, works closely with the DCA of Aruba to deliver timely aircraft registration to business and commercial aircraft clients. The partnership is at the heart of the company's business, and Ms. Colindres is proud of her role in nurturing that relationship.

“Through the years our relationship with the DCA has flourished. There has been a strong focus on team building between both organisations,” she notes. “The Registry of Aruba team and the DCA are an integrated, trusting team.”

Since Colindres joined the company, it has grown the commercial operation department from one AOC to seven. She credits this to the work of her staff, who have responded well to her team-building management style as COO. The company has limited turnover and offered more flexibility by restructuring the roles and positions to keep employees playing to their strengths.

“Before, our team was more compartmentalised. We did a lot of cross-training at work and team-building outside of the office. Now, we're all revolving and working around each other. It's like a solar system, circling each other, rather than being in our own galaxies,” she continues.

Established in 1995 as the first public-private aircraft registration programme, Aruba is managed, alongside the DCA, by a private team. This business model means customers are dealing with dedicated, personalised service instead of a bureaucracy. The registration process is streamlined to exclude red tape while maintaining, at its core, a high level of safety, allowing owners and operators to fly unrestricted worldwide, as quickly as possible. This was nearly uncharted territory when the registry began. Since its founding, ARG has developed two successful aircraft registries in Aruba and San Marino, with more on the horizon.