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Key people at Ishka: Aviation Finance.
Ishka: Aviation Finance, based in London, UK, provides data, analytics, advice, and events to the global aviation finance community, specializing in credit risk, pricing intelligence, and market insights. It assists aviation finance professionals, including airlines, lessors, and investors, with portfolio strategy, risk management, and deal origination through independent, data-driven analysis. Operating on a subscription-based model for its intelligence services and data analytics, Ishka also hosts international events. The firm recently merged with Airfinance Global, a transaction backed by Foundation Investment Partners, to enhance its global coverage. Co-founder and Executive Chairman Gehan Haniffa brings extensive industry experience, including from Ascend (now Cirium). Ishka was founded in 2016 by five friends, drawing on their collective background from Ascend. Its business model centers on subscription-based intelligence services, data analytics, advisory, and international events for aviation finance professionals.
Key people at Ishka: Aviation Finance.
Ishka is a leading provider of aviation finance intelligence, delivering data, analytics, workflow solutions, advisory services, and events to stakeholders in the $200 billion aviation finance sector.[3][7] Founded to address a lack of market transparency, it offers proprietary tools like airline credit profiles, aircraft pricing and transaction data (Transaction Economics), sustainability analytics, and strategic advisory, serving airlines, asset managers, banks, investors, lessors, OEMs, law firms, and service providers.[3][6][7] In July 2025, Ishka merged with Airfinance Global (AFG), combining AFG's 45-year legacy in comprehensive aviation databases with Ishka's agile credit risk, pricing analytics, and global events to create a powerhouse for data-driven decision-making in investment planning, risk management, and deal execution.[1][2][3]
This merger enhances Ishka's role as an independent voice, embedding insights directly into client workflows for aircraft sourcing, portfolio strategy, and market navigation, with leadership from Chris Keene (Managing Director) and Ann Kathrin Kotte (leading integration).[1][2]
Ishka was founded in 2016 by five friends with deep experience from building the aviation finance business Ascend (now part of Cirium) during the 2000s.[3] Recognizing opacity in aviation asset pricing and market intelligence, they launched Ishka to deliver clarity through data-driven products and expert analysis.[3][7] Key figures include co-founder and Executive Chairman Gehan, an entrepreneur specializing in data analytics transformations and exits in media and intelligence firms.[8]
The company rapidly grew its international team of aviation experts and portfolio, establishing itself as a pioneer.[3] A pivotal moment came in July 2025 with the merger backed by Foundation Investment Partners, uniting Ishka's entrepreneurial approach with AFG's established data legacy to accelerate innovation.[1][2][3]
Ishka rides the wave of digitization in aviation finance, where data analytics and AI-driven insights address traditional opacity in a sector disrupted by post-pandemic recovery, sustainability demands, and volatile fuel/geopolitical risks.[3][7] Timing is ideal amid rising aircraft demand and leasing growth, with market forces like institutional investor entry favoring transparent tools for risk-managed investments.[5][7] By powering strategic decisions for lessors and banks—key to financing 50%+ of global fleets—Ishka influences ecosystem efficiency, from deal origination to sustainability compliance, positioning it as a neutral intelligence hub amid consolidation trends exemplified by its AFG merger.[1][2]
Post-merger, Ishka will prioritize product innovation, global expansion, and deeper analytics like enhanced sustainability and forecasting to capture more of the aviation finance intelligence market.[1][2] Trends such as electrification, supply chain strains, and ESG mandates will shape its growth, amplifying demand for its workflow-embedded tools. Its influence may evolve into a dominant platform, fostering transparency that unlocks capital flows and stabilizes the sector—ultimately empowering dealmakers to thrive in complexity, as it has since challenging the status quo in 2016.[3][7]
