The Public Investment Fund (PIF), the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund with $620bn assets under management, has entered into the world of aircraft leasing with the launch of a new leasing platform, AviLease. The new lessor, which will have a core focus on leasing, trading and asset management services, is headed by industry veterans Ted O’Byrne, former managing director at Carlyle Group, Alec Burger, former CEO of GECAS, and David Power, former CEO of ORIX Aviation and current executive chairman of Aergo Structured Products at Aergo Capital. Power and Burger will be board directors with PIF executives, while O’Byrne will