“We do deals by handshakes … our word is our bond”
Johnny Foster, OGARAJETS president & CEO
Spanning two generations of the Foster family, broker-dealer OGARAJETS celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2020. Now the company is laying down plans to continue making its mark over the next 40. Words: Yuvan Kumar
John Foster
Co-founder and executive vice president. John has taken on the role of monitoring the young team at OGARAJETS.
“We do deals by handshakes … our word is our bond”
Johnny Foster, OGARAJETS president & CEO
Spanning two generations of the Foster family, broker-dealer OGARAJETS celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2020. Now the company is laying down plans to continue making its mark over the next 40. Words: Yuvan Kumar
John Foster
Co-founder and executive vice president. John has taken on the role of monitoring the young team at OGARAJETS.
INTEGRITY IS CENTRAL to everything OGARAJETS does. That fact becomes apparent in the first few minutes over a transatlantic telephone call. It has always underpinned the company’s 1,000-plus aircraft transactions conducted in more than 60 countries around the globe.
“Do the right thing right, always” is the foundation upon which the Atlanta-based dealer/broker was established in 1980 by the company’s co-founder and executive vice president, John Foster. John was a US Navy pilot until 1973, and then worked with a Beechcraft distributor in Atlanta, until he and Naval squadron mate Ed O’Gara decided to enter the world of aircraft sales. And so, O’Gara Aviation Company was born.
The pair would buy and sell King Airs with additional refurbishments – engine overhauls or interiors – until the late 1980s, when they started trading larger jets, including a memorable purchased trio of Gulfstream GIIs in 1989, which charted the course for a new company focus. Doing business in the industry was aided by the relationships O’Gara and Foster made in the early years – based on their core tenet of integrity.
And 40 years later, it is still the cornerstone upon which the business continues to be run by his son, president and CEO, Johnny Foster.
“We connect to the idea of full transparency, honesty and integrity. We do deals by handshakes and our word is our bond,” says Johnny. “I do believe this is why we have an incredibly loyal clientele and virtually no client attrition.”
It is a matter of pride for the company that its client retention rate is greater than 95%, plus 75% of annual transactions involve a returning client or a referral from an existing one. Some have been coming back to buy and sell with OGARA for 20-plus years.
John said: “The equity you have in the business is that which you build with personal relationships. People learn to trust you, know you and like you, and often times that makes all the difference.”
OGARA has recently laid out its one-, three-, five- and 10-year strategic plans, with every intention of making a mark in aviation for another 40 years. One of the key aims of the people-centric business is to continue to develop, grow, and equip the present team – whom Johnny describes as “highly-energised young rock stars”. Another is to use technology to become more efficient in all transactional steps and processes.
In all its years in existence, the company has seen six events of major economic decline but never laid off a single member of staff as a result of a slowing economy. The team members are its most valuable resource.
“From a size standpoint, I don’t see the team becoming significantly larger. We don’t want to be the biggest, but rather we want to be the very best.”
This highlights a key strength of how the family business is run: collaboration. Over time, the family has learned to navigate situations better by communicating face-to-face to arrive at big decisions. And this spirit of collaboration found its way into the rest of the operation as well.
John explains: “The business grew geometrically once we got on the same page with everybody, talking about what’s going on and how to deal with people.”
Today, the company is a team of 12, across sales and acquisitions, database management and market research. Until 2017, Johnny’s younger brother, David Foster was also part of the family business. He spent 22 years in sales and acquisitions roles, before moving on to join QS Partners as MD, Aircraft Sales and Acquisitions. But he still joins the family together on deals sometimes, including a Learjet 75 transaction he and Johnny completed very recently.
One of the pivotal moments for the company, according to John, was when Johnny decided to join the company in 1990. It added a new dimension, he said. In 1991, John was one of the founders of the National Aircraft Resale Association – now International Aircraft Dealers’ Association. Then, in 1995, David joined O’Gara Aviation Company after graduating Colorado State University a few years after Johnny.
“We ended up developing a great relationship with other members about what they were doing and best practices. Johnny and David developed really long-time friendships with others who were taking over their families’ businesses – which helped them gather candid information to work better with clients,” said John.
Trust with other aviation companies became a dominant feature of the business thereafter. Simultaneously, there was more emphasis placed on market research, as additional resources for business and customer growth.
Johnny Foster
President & CEO of OGARAJETS. His decision to join the business in 1990 was one of the pivotal moments for the company, according to father John.
Johnny Foster
President & CEO of OGARAJETS. His decision to join the business in 1990 was one of the pivotal moments for the company, according to father John.
Christine Ison, former vice president, Project Management, who completed 30 years with the company in May last year, knew from the beginning that working at OGARA would be different from other aviation businesses. “We held ourselves to a different ethical standard to many of our competitors,” she said. “This was very apparent in the early years.”
She landed an interview with John after completing her MBA at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, “winning the lottery” of jobs on just her second call to a corporate aviation company in the Yellow Pages.
Ison reminisces about some early deals, when John (at the helm at the time) used to say: “You can write your contract on a napkin”. This is the reason she stayed with the company. “John is an ethical man. And following his lead, both Johnny and I developed that same work ethic and beliefs.”
“John asked if I wanted to be a salesman,” she says, “and I decided to be honest and say ‘I have no desire to be in sales, that’s not my expertise. I have expertise in market research and database management that I would like to use.’ And that was the right answer because he needed just that!”
As the years went by, she moved into marketing roles and eventually found her calling in project management. Ison has now left OGARA, although she intends to remain in the aviation industry by continuing her advocacy for aviation scholarships at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and the International Aviation Womens Association.
“She delivers what I believe is the most enjoyable and comprehensive closing experience in the industry,” said Johnny. Ison is equally appreciative of Johnny: “Johnny knows how to tap into the desires of a client, not just what airplane they want to buy but what they want that airplane to accomplish”.
Another defining moment for the company was when the ownership and leadership transferred from John to Johnny about 10 years ago. Though the two have different management styles and thoughts about how the company should be run, this move was transformational. It is also when the company rebranded as OGARAJETS.
“Johnny is a rainmaker. He has built an organisation with a lot more depth, to be able to focus on not just things which give you an immediate return but give a long-term return to the company and the clients.” said John.
“His personality and leadership have meant that he can do all this, and he can also sell a huge number of airplanes.”
Aviation, as many in the industry will tell you, can become all-consuming for families who work together.
“Admittedly, in a typical year, Johnny is away on business for some 200 days.
“Most people don’t realise the amount of emotional strain that can become affixed when you work in a family business. There are things said and done between family members that would not normally be said between business partners. When David was here, I know we were all challenging to each other – David, Dad and I, but we began to find a rhythm and set up guidelines around communication. And there will always be a level of forgiveness to challenging discussions.”
Aviation in the jeans. The much younger Johnny (L) with David, alongside John Foster, wife Linda and four-legged friend.
Got wheels will travel in 1985. The company’s first Gulfstream GI is flanked by cars from related firm O’Gara Coach Works.
John Foster flew Crusaders in the ‘70s, where he met business partner Ed O’Gara.
“I will never retire. I still like airplanes – a lot." John Foster.
Christine Ison
Christine served in many roles in her 30 years at OGARAJETS. She plans to continue her work with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and the International Aviation Womens Association.
The three of them almost did not work together, as neither Johnny nor David initially planned to join the aviation industry. Johnny had offers from New York advertising firms as a college graduate but chose instead to join OGARA in Atlanta.
“I wish I had pushed myself to accept the challenges of a low paying job in one of those firms. But I think I would have ultimately ended up where I am,” he said.
Ison said; “David’s personality is magnetic. He loves talking to people and helping them and he has a good eye for identifying opportunities in the market.”
Pride is certainly one of the emotions you notice when John talks about how his sons are faring today. “They are magnificent young men and I hoped they would be successful and have a good life doing whatever they did. It was a blessing that they joined the same business as me.
“We are a very close family; I don’t think we ever took a vacation without our kids till they were 20 years old. We have different perspectives and approaches on some things and that is okay. My kids are 50 now, but I still think they’re kids,” he said.
As for the next generation of Fosters, Johnny does not expect any of his three children to join the family business. The eldest Reese – who is studying real estate and finance – is most likely to, as he finished his pilot certifications seven years ago and recently completed an internship in data research with an aviation firm, he says.
“There will always be a spot for the kids if they ever decide to work for the family business, but not before they have spent three years under different leadership and preferably in a different industry,” says Johnny. “I want them to find a career that inspires them, gets them excited and one that they can do well in.”
John has no plans to stop working anytime soon. He does not take on too many transactions and his background as an engineer keeps him interested in the complexities of the business. And by his own admittance – he “will never retire; I still like airplanes – a lot”.
Johnny said: “I wouldn’t change a thing my Dad has done and working together with him and my brother was a gift. It is the ultimate gift to be part of something that has been around for 40 years and to have the vision to build something successful that I am going to pass on to this next generation – this amazing team – who have been supporting my efforts over the years.”
With plans to exceed a very aggressive budget plan and despite the widespread effects of Covid-19 on business aviation, Johnny is confident that OGARAJETS will enjoy its best financial year in its 40-year history.
