After years of corporate work, Ken Cage (’98) longed for a company of his own.
With longtime friend Bob Weeks, Ken considered beer distributorships, golf courses, and mortgage companies—until a company that repossessed planes, boats, and luxury automobiles caught their attention.
Ken’s experience in investigative banking and corporate ‘repo’ work coupled with Bob’s strong sales know-how made the company seem a perfect fit … but his wife Karen wasn’t immediately on board.
“Absolutely not … way too dangerous!” was the response Ken got from Karen regarding what would eventually make him famous as the calm-under-pressure star of Discovery Channel’s reality show “Airplane Repo.”
“Fortuitously, we saw a television clip of an airplane repossession. It looked ridiculously easy, taking just three minutes. I told Karen, ‘Honey, there’s no danger at all!’ and she agreed. We did lots of research and thought we knew what we were getting into ... but it was nothing like we envisioned.”
Ken and Bob learned by doing—and quickly. “We realized if we didn’t figure things out fast, we’d be out of business in three months.”
The year 2008 saw an unexpected windfall. “The economic collapse brought an extraordinary number of defaults on luxury items.
“With insider stories about how the rich were affected, we were featured on the cover of the Wall Street Journal, interviewed on NBC by Peter Alexander, by Fox and Friends, and CNN’s Carol Costello, leading to Discovery’s interest, where ‘Airplane Repo’ has played for two seasons.”
Ken understands the trauma that repossessions cause. “When I did recovery of automobiles for Chrysler, I’d ask working people to remove their kid’s car seat from the vehicle for me. I had children myself. It was heart-wrenching.”
The compassion Ken felt in those emotionally difficult jobs grounded him in respecting the dignity of those from whom he must take prized possessions.
“The items we repossess now are really just expensive toys, but they still represent a person’s self-esteem. We all make mistakes, and there’s no reason to denigrate someone.
“At the time of repossession, a person’s dignity is a very important thing, and we work hard to preserve it for them. If someone gets upset, I say, ‘You can call attention to what’s happening, or we can let everybody think you just sold your plane to me.’”
Ken’s professional approach keeps proceedings businesslike. “After treating people calmly and compassionately, they often tell me that it’s actually a relief, a load off their mind.”
IRG Group prepares carefully for each repossession, including detective work on where highly mobile items may be located. Each type of aircraft or boat requires a qualified pilot. Critical items such as airplane logbooks must be obtained, and IRG Group’s professional, empathetic approach has resulted in remarkable moments.
Ken recalls instances when an owner carefully went over a plane’s flight safety information with the repo pilot, or helped Ken hitch their boat trailer to IRG Group’s truck.
Once the item is in IRG Group’s control, they frequently serve as seller for it, with a website listing dozens of luxury boats, automobiles, planes, and even jets available for purchase.
The demanding schedule requires extensive travel across the U.S. and the Caribbean as well as Mexico and Europe. Filming the show adds complexity, with a crew embedded daily for eight weeks.
Discovery Channel’s producers gave most people in the show a nickname last season, but Ken, always referred to as ‘the CEO’ or ‘a family man,’ needed his own moniker.
That cool calm he always maintains provided inspiration: Ken Cage ’98 is now The Iceman ... but one with a genuinely warm heart.
This article was featured in Cabrini Magazine.