Citadel Aviation has hired Fred Cromer as executive vice president and chief financial officer. Cromer will be based at the company's Dallas Love Field centre of excellence in Texas and will report to chief executive officer Greg Colgan.

Cromer joins Citadel as the company scales a multi-site platform for the maintenance, modification and refurbishment of the industry's most elite and VVIP aircraft. Citadel serves private owners and operators from its facility Chennault International airport in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and its DAL centre of excellence in Dallas, Texas, along with rapid AOG services around the globe.

As a key strategy partner to Citadel's CEO, Cromer holds enterprise responsibility for finance, information technology, human resources and legal. His primary objectives focus on aligning these functions behind a common operating model to accelerate profitable, scalable growth through an optimal capital structure, targeted mergers and acquisitions, and long-range planning.

The integrated scope is deliberate. Finance, technology, people and performance are the levers that determine whether growth is profitable and scalable, and aligning them behind a single operating model gives Citadel one accountable leader as the company adds sites, customers and capability.

“Fred is a well-respected industry executive, and he's led numerous organisations through adversity and opportunity in nearly every corner of this industry: airlines, leasing, OEM and technology,” says Greg Colgan, chief executive officer of Citadel Aviation. “His background and partnership mentality fits our needs extremely well and will further position Citadel Aviation as a go to trusted advisor in the industry. Citadel is growing quickly, and I'm glad he helps shape what comes next.”

“What makes Citadel compelling is the combination of genuine technical craftsmanship on the hangar floor and a leadership team with the ambition to build an industry-leading platform around it,” adds Cromer. “The teams in Lake Charles and Dallas have built something with real momentum and scalability. My first priority is to plug into this team and then implement meaningful financial and operating discipline to support our strategic goals.”

Cromer brings three decades of aviation experience spanning airlines, aircraft leasing, original equipment manufacturing and aviation technology. He has led both independent companies and wholly-owned subsidiaries through periods of significant growth, transition, acquisitions, divestitures and IPO readiness, including a successful initial public offering.

About Citadel Aviation

Founded in 2017, Citadel Aviation is a privately held and operated FAA Part 145 aircraft services provider specialising in the maintenance, modification, refurbishment and completion of elite and VVIP aircraft. From Chennault International Airport in Lake Charles, Louisiana, Citadel performs full nose-to-tail work on narrow- and wide-body aircraft for Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier, Embraer, Dassault and Gulfstream, serving private owners, heads of state and government protocol operators. Its Dallas Love Field centre of excellence serves corporate and large-cabin business jets. Citadel is an authorised Boeing Business Jets maintenance service centre and Boeing 777-200/300 completions centre, an Airbus Corporate Jets service centre network provider and an authorised Starlink dealer.