Vern Kakoschke

Vern is the founder of Gothic Strategic Solutions Inc.  In 2019, he retired as President of KF Capital Ltd., the holding company that owns and controls KF Aerospace (a major Canadian aerospace group that includes a cargo carrier, maintenance and repair facility, aircraft leasing, and a military pilot training business). During his long tenure as wealth manager at KF Capital, Vern built a diversified portfolio of aviation-related assets and established a significant family office for KF’s owner. In that regard, Vern originated various private equity investments, private debt as well as structured and tax-advantaged investments in international aviation ventures, including aircraft leasing platforms in Ireland and Switzerland.

Vern also acted as General Counsel for the KF Aerospace group and managed the legal affairs of the group for many years, including several major procurements and aircraft transactions. He was heavily involved in the establishment of SkyAlyne, a joint venture between CAE and KF (www.skyalyne.ca). Previously, he practised corporate law in Toronto for over thirty years, including ten years as a partner of McMillan LLP. While at McMillan, he designed and executed numerous large cross border financings involving aviation, petrochemical and rail assets. He also completed various project financings and government procurements in the P3 infrastructure space and in defense/aerospace, including the primary pilot training contract that was awarded to KF in 2005. He was repeatedly recognized in the peer-reviewed Best Lawyers in Canada in the area of structured finance. Prior to entering public practice, Vern spent ten years as in-house counsel at Canadian Pacific where he completed numerous air and rail transactions, including the sale of CP Air.

After leaving private practice, Vern pursued a career as an investment banker with Newcourt Capital where he worked in the aircraft finance group and then became Managing Director of the tax finance group. He subsequently founded the Canadian office of Allco Finance which specialized in arranging large cross border leasing transactions and tax-advantaged financing transactions. Since 2019, Vern has continued his specialized advisory practice outside of the practice of law.

Vern holds an LLB degree from Osgoode Hall as well as MBA and BBA degrees in finance and accounting.