Commercial Team

Claire Brugirard

Vice President & Regional Manager - Middle East, Africa & Asia Pacific

Ms. Brugirard joined the Milestone Commercial team in 2018. She is responsible for leading the commercial strategy for the region, managing customer relationships and customer service delivery as well as achieving growth targets, portfolio placement and commercial development within the Africa & Middle East and Asia-Pacific regions. She has over 19 years’ experience in the aviation industry. Prior to joining Milestone, Ms. Brugirard held the positions of Sales Manager at Royal Jet in Abu Dhabi and Vice President Sales at Fly Comlux in Bahrain. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Business from Hanze University of Applied Sciences, Groningen, The Netherlands, and speaks fluent English, French, Dutch and Spanish.

Akie Chhabra

Director, Leasing

Mr. Chhabra joined the Milestone Commercial team in 2024. He is responsible for managing customer relationships and business development in the Middle East and Africa. Prior to joining Milestone, he spent three years as Sales Director with Embraer Commercial Aviation, where he was responsible for sales & business development in Southern and Sub-Saharan Africa. Mr. Chhabra also spent eight years in the banking and financial services industry, working for Investec Plc where he gained significant expertise in customer acquisition and financing. He holds an MBA in Corporate Finance & Strategy from Lancaster University in the United Kingdom, as well an honours degree in Marketing & Finance from Monash University in Australia.

Nadjet Garmi

Vice President Commercial, Europe

Ms. Garmi joined the Milestone Commercial team in 2017. She is responsible for managing key customer accounts and OEM partnerships, identifying new opportunities, sales and acquisitions of helicopters. She has over 17 years’ experience in the helicopter industry. Ms. Garmi started her career in South-East Asia working for Airbus Helicopters in Malaysia as Customer Support Director where she was a key contributor to the creation and growth of the subsidiary. In 2011, she moved to Safran Helicopter Engines Malaysia where she was the Deputy Managing Director, responsible for ensuring the achievement of the organizational vision and strategy. Before joining Milestone, she was responsible for the management of all sales and marketing activities for Rotortrade, driving origination of sales opportunities and execution. She speaks fluent French, English, Spanish and Arabic.

Maxime Kleszcz

Senior Leasing Manager, Europe & Americas

Mr. Kleszcz joined the Milestone Commercial team in 2024. He is responsible for business development in Europe and the Americas as well as key account management, market analysis, and aircraft sales and acquisitions. He has over 12 years of experience in the rotorcraft industry. Mr. Kleszcz started his career working for Safran Helicopter Engines as a Customer Support Manager in Singapore where he managed MRO and SBH sales for 60 customers in seven countries across Southeast Asia. In 2016, he moved to Airbus Helicopters Southeast Asia as a Regional Sales Manager with responsibility for new helicopter sales in Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos. Prior to joining Milestone, he was worldwide Sales Director for A-NSE in France. He speaks fluent French, English and Spanish.

Leo Mansur

Vice President Commercial, Americas

Mr. Mansur joined the Milestone team in 2023. He is responsible for managing customer accounts and commercial development in the Americas. He has over 20 years’ experience in the helicopter industry. Prior to joining Milestone, he held various positions including General Commercial Manager at Lider Aviation and Director, Corporate at Bristow Helicopters. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Business from União de Negócios e Administração and an MBA in Finance from Instituto Brasileiro de Mercado de Capitais. He speaks fluent Portuguese, Spanish and English.

Simon Molony

Director Leasing

Mr. Molony joined the Milestone team in 2017. He is responsible for managing customer relationships and business development in the MEA & APAC regions. He has eight years’ experience in the helicopter industry. He previously held the role of Director, Pricing and Analysis & Leasing Support where he was responsible for deal structuring and pricing. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from University College Dublin and a Diploma in Aviation Leasing and Finance from the Law Society of Ireland.

Murugan Palaniappan

Vice President Commercial, Asia Pacific

Mr. Palaniappan joined Milestone in 2024. He has over a decade of experience in the aircraft leasing and finance industry. In his role, he is responsible for originating transactions and developing and maintaining relationships with key customers across the Asia Pacific region. Throughout his career, Mr. Palaniappan has been instrumental in originating and executing aircraft leasing deals, demonstrating his expertise in managing complex transactions and portfolios across multiple jurisdictions. Prior to joining Milestone, Mr. Palaniappan was Vice President at Zephyrus Aviation Capital, based in Dublin. His previous experience also includes commercial roles at Goshawk in Hong Kong, Avolon, and CIT Aerospace in Singapore.  He holds a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Purdue University, with a focus on spacecraft design.