Vimana Private Jets has appointed Marcus Manning as managing director, where he will work closely with founder and CEO Ameerh Naran.

“I am delighted that Marcus will be joining our team,” says Naran. “Since we launched in 2016, our fast-paced growth has seen the company expand its services portfolio around the globe. With Marcus' well-established expertise and industry experience we will be able to further develop the network and deepen our market penetration as well as enhance our differentiating lifestyle services.”

Mannings' core competencies in finance development, financial reporting, global business development and commercial negotiations have been honed through a series of senior management roles gained in over 30 years in commercial and private aviation. He has worked in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and the Middle East with companies of every size, and his passion for aviation first began when working at Air Europe, followed by Virgin Atlantic Airways and its franchise CityFlyer Express. His next move took a more entrepreneurial slant as a member of the launch team for charter airline Astraeus. Through his insight, negotiation skills and business acumen the business went from start up to first flight in under a year and during his five year tenure achieved key milestones.

The world of private aviation followed with PrivatAir, where he was appointed CFO and charged with reorganising the company through a cost reduction programme, and to improve the functionality in order to build a more effective structure for growth. Having successfully completed his remit there, he was approached by Chapman Freeborn to be its group CFO. This role encompassed 34 entities across 16 countries with a turnover of $1billion and included being the finance lead of the company's profitable sale to an international corporation. Through his skill at change management, operational reviews and financial performance analysis, Manning has additionally supplied consultancy to numerous large and small companies around the world. His effective and, at times, out-of-the-box thinking was pivotal in their future development.

“Vimana Private Jets' signature style and standards have made it one of the most interesting players in private aviation,” says Manning. “Ameerh's founding vision and how he has taken the business forward is exceptional. The outstanding level of service by the team has set a new benchmark in ultra-personalised charter services, while the unmatched connections and attention to detail are second to none. I am greatly looking forward to being an integral part of the next phase of the business.”

Manning will continue his non-executive director board role at The Air Charter Association.