David Sims brings over 20 years of expertise in the aviation sector, specialising in raising private equity funds, issuing debt, and originating, analysing, and structuring both debt and equity investments. He joined ABL Aviation in 2024 as Senior Vice President of Credit and Investment Strategy, where he is responsible for managing the firm’s credit risk and developing and implementing investment strategies.

David began his career as an engineer at Boeing in Seattle, where he contributed to various commercial aircraft programs, including the 737NG, 757, 777-200LR/300ER, and 787. After earning his MBA, he worked as an Associate at Merrill Lynch in New York within their global structured finance and investment group, focusing on the transportation industry creating securitization models and co-managing equipment financings transactions. From 2010 to 2015, David served as a Director at RPK Capital, at the time a portfolio company of the Carlyle Group, where he led pricing and profitability analysis contributing to the deployment of c. $100 million of capital. In 2016, he took on a leadership role in Capital Markets at Gogo, an inflight connectivity firm, co-managing a $525 million senior secured note offering and advancing the company’s capital strategy. He was also responsible for overseeing debt compliance and the company-wide leasing strategy, as well as structuring third-party equipment financing.

Between 2017 and 2022, David was a Director at Cross Ocean Partners, where he successfully helped raise a c. $438 million first-time discretionary fund focused on mid-life aviation assets. He led underwriting, analytical initiatives, and investment research for the investment strategy while creating and maintaining comprehensive credit models and implementing effective risk mitigation strategies to enhance portfolio performance. From 2022 to 2023, David held the position of Executive Vice President and Treasurer at Access Alternative Investments, a FinTech company that connects accredited investors with various investment opportunities. In this role, he led the investment team and managed activities across aviation, maritime, infrastructure, real estate, and specialty finance asset classes.

David holds an MBA with a concentration in finance from Cornell University and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Iowa State University. He has also held Series 7, Series 63, and Series 65 certifications.