Gary Lew

Gary Lew has served as an adjunct lecturer in finance, investments, management and accounting at the University of California, Davis, Graduate School of Management; St. Mary’s College; and Holy Names University. He has more than 25 years of experience advising and consulting in the aviation finance industry, including as founder of Capitola Partners. Currently, Lew is the chief financial officer of Aquila Air Capital, a leading full-service aircraft leasing and financing platform backed by funds managed by New York-based global alternative asset manager Wafra.

Previously a principal and executive vice president of finance and capital markets at Vx Capital Partners from 2002 to 2020, Lew was part of the founding team at Vx Capital Partners as its first employee and has more than 20 years of experience in asset finance and investment management. He led corporate finance, capital markets and administration, and was primarily responsible for sourcing and structuring equity and debt capital to support the VXF investment fund and portfolio transactions. Vx Capital invested more than $1.5 billion in aviation-focused assets, and Lew led Vx efforts to raise its first institutional equity fund and executed an evolutionary asset-backed securitization.

Lew’s prior experience includes business development and investment analysis as a director at GATX Capital, fixed income research at the California Public Employees Retirement System, investment management at Merrill Lynch, and appointments in both the Governor’s Office and U.S. Senate. He holds a B.A. from UCLA and an MBA from the University of California, Davis. He currently serves on the UC Davis Graduate School of Management’s Dean’s Advisory Council and has served on the Graduate School of Management’s Alumni Association Board of Directors (GSMAA). He is a recipient of the GSMAA’s 2021–22 Outstanding Service Award.