Cooksey brings with her 35 years of experience and was notably featured in American Banker Magazine in 1996, as one of only a few women leaders in the aviation finance industry. Her career began in 1989 at the Central Trust Company in Canton, Ohio, where she focused on small piston aircraft financing.
In 1996, she joined forces with FirstMerit Bank in Akron, Ohio, where she helped start the first Aircraft Finance Department for the bank. In that role, she was instrumental in growing and managing the bank’s aircraft portfolio to more than $250 million. Cooksey worked at Scope Aircraft Finance in Columbus, Ohio, after leaving FirstMerit Bank, where she specialized in financing high-performance aircraft, turboprops, and light jets for owner pilots.
She also worked for AOPA Finance in Frederick, MD. Throughout her career, she has built an impressive network of dealers, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), and clients.Cooksey will work from her home in Louisville, Ohio, where she resides with her husband, Kim. They also have a son and two granddaughters.
