Steve Main joins Aero Ventures

Steve Main

Steve Main has joined Aero Ventures as senior vice president to grow its aircraft sales business. He joins from broker dealer Mente Group.

Bill Papariella launched Aero Ventures in June 2024. He sold Jet Edge to Vista Global in March 2022. Aero Ventures has been focused on global advisory services for retail clients and providing access to asset backed capital primarily thru qualified brokers worldwide

“I joined Aero Ventures to help continue to build the overall brokerage, with a focus on both the retail side of the business and also inventory deals,” says Main. “Our goal is to build the most robust boutique platform in the space.”

He says that Aero Ventures is targeting deals on super-mid-size aircraft like Challengers and ultra-long range aircraft. “But we will look at other opportunities,” he adds. “One of our key differentiators is that we have capital ready, and we can deploy it very quickly. We can execute on transactions in 24 to 48 hours. Last year was a tough one for inventory deals, but it looks like there are going to be a lot of opportunities this year.”

Main learnt to fly gliders at 14 before going on to be an airline pilot. It was when working as a Gulfstream demonstration pilot that he became interested in transactions and aircraft management. “After leaving Gulfstream I basically spent seven years working two jobs,” he says. 

Since then he has averaged around 30 aircraft transactions a year. “It’s rare to find talent like Steve with incredible technical expertise paired with an ability to service end users at the highest level. That combined with his ability to lead a team makes him a triple threat.” said Jonah Adler, partner and chief commercial officer of Aero Ventures. “His commitment to delivering a transparent advisory experience to his clients and proven ability to drive growth make him an outstanding addition to our executive team.”