Eagle Copters Adds New Sales and Marketing Leader
Eagle Copters Ltd. announces Stephane Arsenault will join the organization as its VP Sales and Marketing, effective April 4, 2016. Arsenault is an experienced sales and commercial financing professional who has spent the past 16 years in commercial banking, focused on financing in the helicopter, aviation, transportation and manufacturing sectors.
“We are really enthused to have someone of Stephane’s caliber and background join our team,” says Barry Kohler, president and CEO of Eagle Copters. “Stephane has the skill set that aligns perfectly with our longer term strategy to expand our market presence in both the leasing and product/service areas of our business. His commercial banking experience will bring a fresh and new perspective to our business, particularly in the areas of financing, marketing, social media and branding.”
Arsenault joins and complements a well-respected sales team at Eagle Copters, as Kohler attests. “We have a great sales team already, well-known across the globe for our service level to customers. This will allow Spyke to focus on our customers and helicopter leasing and sales, which to say the least is really tough right now,” referring to industry and Eagle Copters veteran David “Spyke” Whiting. “Like everyone in this market, we need to focus on our customers and our immediate business, but we also have to pay attention to long-term positioning and things like branding, adjacent markets and social media.”
Arsenault began his career at GE Capital Canada, where he held various key sales positions during his 12-year tenure. Most recently he was vice president, Capital Markets, with Element Financial Corp of the Aviation Finance Group. He focused on business development and sell-side activities and helped build Element’s aviation portfolio to more than $1.4 billion CAD in assets through organic growth and acquisition. He is a CFA charterholder and has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from HEC in Montréal.
“I am very grateful for this opportunity,” says Arsenault. “I have known Mike O’Reilly (Eagle Copters' chairman) for many years and have a great respect for both him and the company’s vision and strategy. The fact that they are looking for varied experience and asked me to join them during this economically-challenged period shows their commitment to innovation and confidence in their long-term plans. I’m really excited to use my skill set in a smaller organization where we can move quickly and be creative within the industry.”