Good Risks: Discovering the Secrets to ORIX's 50 Years of Success

Chapter 3 Dublin, the Flight Center

I knew that ORIX had created a major business in the leasing of ships—container cargo ships, oil tankers, and so on—and, as Nishitani had mentioned, the company began financing airplanes to U.S. airlines in 1982. But it never actively pursued that business in America. Instead, it started a new firm, ORIX Aviation Systems, in Dublin. I was interested to find out why.

There aren’t a lot of direct flights from Dallas to Dublin, so I flew back to New York for one night and then on to Ireland late the following day. Flights from New York generally arrive in Dublin early in the morning, too early to check into my hotel after a long flight.

Fortunately, David Power, the CEO of ORIX Aviation, either because he had psychic powers or because he had been in this same situation himself, had sent me a message to take a cab to the Hibernian Society, where I would be taken care of until our lunch meeting. Full of Irish cheer, the driver of the cab I took explained, “It’s the oldest gentleman’s club in Ireland. If your friend’s a member, he’s sure doin’ right by you.”

After a thoroughly refreshing shower and a quick nap, I made my way to the dining room to meet my host, who was deep in conversation with an attractive blonde woman when I arrived. I noted that David Power was in his forties, though he could have passed for a few years younger, not overly tall and probably fond of the local cuisine. He wore thin, wire-frame glasses under a mop of tangled brown ...