Gehan Talwatte

CEO

With almost 20 years experience of the business information industry in the US and Europe, Gehan joined Ascend in 2005 to direct the company’s international growth. Gehan was previously Managing Director of Hoover's Online Europe, a subsidiary of the US business information company [NASDAQ:HOOV]. In 2001, he led a buyout of the European business and later sold it to D&B in 2004.

In the late 1990s, Gehan was founding partner at eccelerate.com, a Silicon Valley start-up specialising in real-time decision support solutions for e-business. He was also a director of D&B UK [NYSE: DNB], where he ran several global and European business divisions. Earlier in his career, Gehan was instrumental in setting up D&B’s software business in India, now Cognizant Technology Solutions [NASDAQ:CTS].

Gehan holds an MBA and a Masters of International Affairs from Columbia University, New York, and a BA (Honours) from Swarthmore College, Pennsylvania.

Steve Fleming

Finance Director

Steve joined Ascend in 2008 as Finance Director to lead the financial strategy and operations of the business. Steve qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Deloitte in London and then managed a number of corporate finance transactions at Deloitte before moving into industry in 2001.

He has held Finance Director roles in a number of both listed and private business services companies with global operations, and led both acquisitions and disposals as well as financial improvement programmes over that period.

Rob Taylor

Global Sales Director

Rob joined Ascend in 2005 and has a rich and varied background in the financial services sector. He began his career in stock broking with Scrimgeour Vickers before moving into dealing room sales with Knight-Ridder Financial. After selling banking services with Citigroup and Société Générale he moved into the online market place.  Rob ran the sales teams at Alacra and OneSource where he performed a central role in developing global customer relationships and client-focused product development. 

Fiona Benharoosh

Marketing and Communications Director

Fiona is responsible for all aspects of Ascend’s international corporate marketing and communications, including the re-branding of the company in 2006. Fiona joined Ascend from the Marketing and Commercial Services division of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), where she developed and marketed a range of B2B publications and international events. She has significant experience in traditional and new media, and was a staff writer at Industry & European magazine. Fiona holds a BA (Hons.) in Transport & Tourism Management.

Phil Davies

Director of Operations

With over 20 years senior-level experience in project and programme management, Phil joined Ascend in 2007 to realise best practice across Ascend’s consultancy solutions. Phil’s expertise spans strategic business planning and development, quality assurance and operational improvement. Phil was previously Managing Consultant at Serco Consulting and held senior posts with IBM Business Consulting Services, PwC Consulting and British Airways.

Eddy Pieniazek

Director of Consultancy

Eddy brings over 27 years’ experience in the aviation sector to his role as Director of Ascend’s global consultancy services.  Eddy is a trusted advisor to Ascend worldwide clients and his most recent engagements have involved supporting both leading and new start-up airframe and engine manufacturers, operating lessors and financial institutions.

Eddy is a regular conference speaker and a visiting lecturer at the Air Business Academy in Toulouse, specialising in aircraft values, market dynamics, and asset management.

Les Weal

Director and Head of Valuations and Appraisals

Les' primary responsibility is the development of Ascend’s Future Values databases, covering commercial aircraft, engines, simulators and spares.  Les is also responsible for the valuation and appraisal of aircraft of all types and provides support and analysis on all industry matters relating to values and market dynamics.

Peter Morris

Chief Economist

Peter is a veteran of over 25 years’ in the air transport industry.  His expertise spans strategic and economic studies, industry forecasts and a range of traffic, capacity, revenue and cost analyses.

Before joining Ascend in 2003, Peter was Chief Economist for the International Air Transport Association (IATA), where he developed IATA’s Aviation Information & Research (AIR) department into a leading global commercial supplier of air transport information and research.

Peter is a regular media commentator on the aviation industry and the impact of new market developments. He holds a BSc in Economics and a MSc in Energy Economics.

Paul Hayes

Director of Air Safety

Few people in aviation can match Paul’s 35 years’ experience in air safety and his achievements as a trusted advisor to governments, regulators, insurance markets and airlines worldwide. Paul joined Ascend in 1974, having previously worked for National Air Traffic Services at London Heathrow Airport.

With his extensive international consultancy experience, Paul has led the development of several of Ascend’s key aviation and space offerings.

Paul’s unique achievements include assisting Russia to present the former USSRs’ full airline safety record to the international aviation insurance market – work that led to close co-operation between Russia and the CIS and the release of data on some 600 airline accidents not previously recorded in the West.  Paul has also been instrumental in managing the research and production of the CP479, the World Aircraft Accident Summary in collaboration with UK’s Civil Aviation Authority.

Vipul Nakum

Product Development Director

Vipul brings extensive global experience from the business information industry to lead product innovation and development at Ascend. Most recently, he was Vice President, Product Management at Dun & Bradstreet (NYSE:DNB) where he led the product management team overseeing the risk management services in the USA.

Vipul was previously with Morningstar and S&P (Standard & Poors, a division of McGraw Hill) where he specialised in developing and marketing analytics and workflow solutions. Throughout his career, he has championed a customer-focused product development process. Vipul is a regular contributor within the product development community, such as the PDMA.

Jacques René

Chief Technology Officer

Jacques has over 20 years experience of senior IT management in the City, the US and Europe. He started his IT career in France for UK computer manufacturer ICL, and prior to joining Ascend in 2004, worked in blue chip financial institutions, Insurance and management consultancy. Jacques is a regular contributor to industry publications such as Silicon.com and CIO Jury, and is frequently published in the press.

Diane Tan van Zwanenberg

Head of Asia

Diane joined Ascend in 2007 to establish and manage Ascend's Asia operations, based in Hong Kong. Diane has experience in a variety of sales and marketing roles in Australia, Singapore, China and Hong Kong. 

Prior to Ascend, Diane worked in Hong Kong for a number of high profile financial information service companies, including Interactive Data and FTSE International - where she held senior sales management roles. Diane is fluent in Cantonese and Mandarin, and holds a Bachelor of Business from Curtin University and an MBA from Murdoch University - both in Perth, Western Australia.

Sandeep Saujani

Head of the Americas

Sandeep joined Ascend in 2005, and was responsible for managing and growing Ascend's global financial client portfolio, overseeing the Ascend Online Values delivery team and leading the launch of the Ascend Online Values Market Commentaries module. In 2007, he led the opening of the Ascend New York office and is now responsible for Ascend's Americas operations. Prior to joining Ascend, Sandeep has worked in a number of locations across Europe and Asia. Predominately in Risk and Advisory roles, Sandeep has worked for companies including British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Marsh Aviation and Marsh Risk Consulting.

Sandeep holds a BEng and BCom in Manufacturing Engineering and Commerce with French from the University of Birmingham, UK and INSA de Lyon, France. Sandeep is an Associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute, and is currently studying for his MBA from Columbia University and the London Business School.