Airport Experience® News - Leadership 2022

2022 DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR LARGE AIRPORTS

says. “I said ‘we can fix that. Let’s do a buying plan. Let’s forecast. If we don’t know what we’re buying in a year, then we’ve got bigger problems’.” At first, “everybody went nuts.” But during her tenure, the city received national and international recognition for developing more than 20 programs and incentives to strengthen and streamline opportunities for small, minority- and women-owned businesses. “It made people think ‘If you’re telling me that it’s now going to be I’ve got a fair shot at this,’ then I will use my money, I will use my time and my resources and I will bid’,” she says. “We saw our numbers go from - especially in the African American space- from 2-3% to double-digits when I left. That was directly attributable to another 1,000 businesses being certified that actually got into the mix, that knew what the program was, how to bid, that there were resources available, that they had a fair shot.” Returning To Airports Rhee worked in procurement until 2018 when then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel hired her as commissioner of aviation. Emanuel had implemented O’Hare 21, calling for a bigger and more connected airport. The decade-long capital program will touch on most of the airport. Major projects include the expansion and modernization of Terminal 5, which started in 2019; the addition of two satellite concourses that will

help add gates that will accompany both narrow- and wide-body airplanes; and the new O’Hare Global Terminal, slated to be one of the largest and most cutting-edge terminals in the U.S. Ultimately, Rhee says, instead of having a terminal set aside solely for international travel - which led to periods of extreme activity and then long periods of inactivity - airlines will be paired with their domestic and international codeshare partners. Delta Air Lines recently moved from Terminal 2, which will be demolished, to Terminal 5. And ORD’s hub carriers, United Airlines and American Airlines , and their partners will be located in the Global Terminal. “You will have two ports of entry with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, one in Terminal 5 and one in the Global Terminal,” says Rhee, adding that the streamlined process will eliminate the need to take trains to other areas of the airport for connecting flights. “That means efficiency and money for these airlines. You go directly to your gate and never have to leave the secured area of the airport. Instead, you can spend your money on concessions.” Design is well underway on the new terminal, concourses and a pedestrian tunnel that will connect them. Ten gates and 350,000 square feet of space already have been added to Terminal 5. A five-story parking structure also is underway. Alderman Matt O’Shea, who chairs the city’s aviation committee, says the city has benefitted from having Rhee’s

leadership through all the work taking place at ORD. “There is nobody better to have led the Chicago Department of Aviation these past several years,” he says. “Jamie has a unique style of getting the most out of everybody and being a strong leader. She’s tough, but she’s fair. We’ve got an incredible investment going on at O’Hare. It’s a lot of moving parts and COVID did not make it any easier.” Across town, in recent years Rhee oversaw a major, half-billion upgrade at Midway International Airport (MDW) that is now largely complete. It was the biggest capital improvement program there since the current terminal opened in 2001, with security checkpoints, concessions options and parking expanded. The checkpoint expansion was especially impor tant given MDW’s struggles pre-COVID. The pandemic allowed for an acceleration of several of the projects. “They were having congressional hearings on what we were doing over at Midway because the TSA checkpoint was so backed up that everybody was missing flights,” Rhee says. Rhee’s tremendous work ethic, her bubbly personality and her leadership have really helped pull off these investments on behalf of the city, O’Shea says. “I say it all the time,” he says. “I hope people realize how lucky we are to have her as commissioner of the Department of Aviation.” Building A National Profile While all this work is taking place on Chicago’s two major airports, Rhee also is growing her profile nationally. She joined the Airports Council International – North America (ACI-NA) board of directors in 2021 and sits on several other boards, including the U.S. Travel Association Gateway Airports Council and World Travel & Tourism Council .

Left: Part of the overhaul at MDW included removing moving walkways and replacing them with restaurants, many of which have ties to iconic local venues.

8

A X N E W S L E A D E R S H I P I S S U E 2 0 2 2