Airport Experience® News - Conference Issue 2024

Airport Succession Planning Kicks Into High Gear As Retirement Rate Accelerates

BY SARAH BELING

As an increasing number of Baby Boomers approach retirement, the airport industry faces a significant wave of C-suite and executive level vacancies and must work quickly to fill them. Airport strategies vary but all understand the crucial nature of ensuring a smooth transition to new leadership. Now, with retirements coming fast and furious, airports are getting creative in planning for a new generation of leadership. “One of my directors who’s probably within two or three years of retiring himself refers to it as ‘the silver tsunami’,” says Bill Wyatt, executive director of Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) of the current uptick in C-suite retirements. For many airports, “I have a feeling historically that the military was in many cases kind of a hiring ground,” he adds, noting that many Vietnam War vets employed in the airport space are now in the process of retiring. “I think airports are probably a little more under the gun than most businesses or industry sectors,” says Wyatt. Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) is facing a executive talent squeeze. “Right now, more than 20% of the current department of aviation staff are eligible to retire immediately,” says Kevin Russell, deputy chief of talent. While

the pandemic accelerated retirement turnover across AUS, he adds, “we recently implemented a retention program that focuses on retaining existing staff — including our potential retirees — who we want to stay in the organization to pass on their knowledge and help train the new generation of AUS leaders.” To combat staffing gaps, the AUS team has implemented a multi-pronged strategy that includes new senior leadership positions and a deputy C-Suite, a leadership development program available to all department of aviation employees to hone executive skills, a “Mentoring on the Fly” program that connects professionals for career guidance and advancement, as well as ample technical and soft-skills courses for interested staffers to bulk up their qualifications. At Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX), Aviation Director Chad Makovsky notes that the combination of Baby Boomer retirements and pandemic turnover “is not an isolated incident within our sector,” but he says the airport has “seized this challenge as a chance to devise innovative recruitment strategies that will hopefully succeed in attracting and retaining fresh new talent.” In addition to amping up recruitment

Above: Executives at Salt Lake City International Airport undergo an “informal but pretty intentional” cross training regimen to ensure they are well rounded in their experience, says executive director Bill Wyatt.

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AX NEWS MARCH 2024