New State Capital Partners, an entrepreneurial-minded, middle-market private equity firm, announced it has named Chad Cundiff as chief executive officer and Claude Draillard as chief financial officer of New State Aviation Holdings, a newly created holding company. Cundiff and Draillard will also assume those roles at AVEX, which New State acquired in December 2021. AVEX is a leading provider of sales and maintenance for the Daher TBM turboprop aircraft in North America and serves as the anchor investment for the broader platform.
“Establishing the senior executive team is the first step in growing our aviation-focused platform,” said Daniel Han, senior principal at New State. “We are pleased to welcome Chad and Claude to their new leadership roles and believe their aviation and management experience will prove invaluable as New State Aviation Holdings seeks to expand both organically and through acquisitions.”
Cundiff has over 25 years of executive, managerial and professional experience in aerospace. He previously served eight years as president of the Astronautics Corporation of America. Prior to that, he spent over 15 years at Honeywell Aerospace, where he served in positions of increasing responsibility, including vice president of crew interface products. He began his career as an engineer with The Boeing Company, developing the Boeing 777 aircraft and is an ATP-rated pilot.
Draillard has spent over 25 years in the aviation industry and is the founder of AvionGarde, which provides tailored financial solutions to business aviation companies. Previously, he was CFO of GDC Technics, a private equity-owned aviation company. Prior to that, he was Vice President of Finance for Honda Aircraft Company, and earlier he spent more than 22 years at Dassault Aviation, most recently as CFO at Dassault Falcon Jet.
Cundiff said, “I am thrilled to join the team and look forward to continuing AVEX’s tradition of best-in-class customer service. I am also eager to expand the New State aviation platform at such a promising moment in private jets and services.”
Draillard added, “I am very happy to be part of a dynamic leadership team, and I look forward to the opportunities in growing the platform.”
