Our Team
C. J. Lorio
As President of Petrus Aviation, C.J. Is responsible for guiding the strategic and transactional development of this partner-oriented aviation financing business which he has grown from its initial investment in a single partout engine into a leasing portfolio encompassing dozens of aircraft across multiple segments and aircraft types. Working in the Perot family office dating to 2000, C.J.’s experience includes private equity and debt and restructuring, in addition to his transportation finance business.
For seventeen years, CJ has sourced and closed on private equity, debt, and asset investments in the Perot family office under Petrus Aviation. C.J. has built an aviation portfolio consisting of aircraft operating leases and engine/aircraft part-out- and trading-oriented investments, along with a shipping portfolio currently focused on dry bulk and container ships.
Prior to joining the Perot organization in August 2000, C.J. was a principal, Corporate Recovery Services for PricewaterhouseCoopers, providing financial advisory services to creditors and debtors for in-court and out-of-court workouts and turnarounds. He was also a manager for SCIENTECH, providing nuclear safety consulting services for commercial nuclear and government clients.
C.J. began his career as a submarine officer in the US Navy, serving on the USS Narwhal (SSN-671), a fast attack, nuclear-powered submarine based out of Charleston, SC. He received a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Tulane University and a Master in Business Administration from George Washington University.


Phillip Raymond
Phil’s responsibilities include portfolio management, financial reporting, and new deal analysis and evaluation. Prior to joining the Perot organization in August 2015, Phil spent eight years as a director of Aircraft Sales & Leasing with AAR Corp., where he was responsible for sourcing, evaluating, and consummating aircraft transactions and directing finance activities such as debt raising and financial budgeting. In 2004, he joined AirLiance Materials as a financial analyst for three years after starting his career with Bally Total Fitness as a corporate tax accountant.
Phil holds a Master’s in Business Administration from Loyola University, Chicago IL and a Bachelor of Music from DePaul University.
Hoainam (Nam) Duong
Hoainam (Nam) Duong’s responsibilities include portfolio management, market research, and new deal analysis. Nam brings over 15 years of aircraft related experience with extensive roles in sales, marketing, finance, and engineering.
Prior to joining the Perot organization in September 2019, Nam was a portfolio analyst with WNG Capital. Nam has also held positions as senior sales & marketing analyst at Bombardier Flexjet, mechanical engineer at Bombardier Learjet, technology commercialization intern at Los Alamos National Laboratory, mechanical engineer at Textron, and aerospace engineer at Raytheon.
Nam holds an MBA as well as a BS in Aerospace Engineering with a minor in mathematics from Wichita State University.


Joe Miller
Joe has been involved in the commercial aviation sector for 37 years with special focus in FAR Part 121 operations, having held FAR Part 119 positions in various US based airlines as well as having worked for aircraft leasing companies Air Tara/Guinness Peat Aviation, GECAS and ORIX Aviation Systems Ltd. in both Technical and Commercial departments.
Joe began his career in 1984 working for Braniff Inc. at Dallas Love Field (DAL) as a utility mechanic before obtaining his FAA Airframe & Powerplant license where he then moved to the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport (DFW) as a line service mechanic. During his tenure at Braniff, Joe transitioned from Line Maintenance at DFW to Line Supervisor at Kansas City International Airport (MCI), to a Maintenance Controller at Braniff’s 24/7 Operations Control Center at DAL and finished with Braniff as the Airbus A320 Factory Representative for Braniff, based and living in Toulouse France.
Since Braniff, Joe has worked for several other US 121 Air Carriers including America West Airlines, Ryan International Airlines, USA 3000 Airlines, Spirit Airlines and Shuttle America Airlines.
Elizabeth Ewart
Elizabeth Ewart serves as the Contracts Administrator for the Aviation team at the firm.
Prior to joining Perot, Elizabeth spent two years as a Lease Administrator for Swearingen Realty Group, a leading Dallas commercial real estate firm.
Elizabeth holds an MBA with a Specialization in Accounting from Endicott College and a BM from New England Conservatory of Music.
In her spare time, Elizabeth is an avid fan of Formula 1 racing and enjoys cross-stitching, hitting the gym and spending time with friends and family.
