Airport Experience® News - Leadership 2022

MEM

Right: Scott Brockman, president and CEO at MEM, has been active in the broader industry. Service Award from AAAE, the highest the organization gives. He received a Distinguished

When Scott Brockman got to college his aspirations had nothing to do with airports. The six-foot-five, built-like-a-rock athlete with a live armwanted to pitch in the major leagues. “I had no intention of working for a living,” says the long-time president and CEO of the Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority that overseas Memphis International Airport , with a laugh. “I wanted to play for a living. And that didn’t turn out very well.” Brockman tore up his shoulder at a college that didn’t have the budget to surgically repair and rehab him. So, he shifted gears, got an accounting degree and headed into the working world. That turned out better, though it still took a few twists and turns before he discovered airports. But once he got there, he was hooked. And as he approaches retirement, Brockman can look back at having helped the city of Memphis rebuild its air service after being de-hubbed by Delta Air Lines ; at unveiling earlier this year the airport’s newly modernized Concourse B, which was renovated to downsize the airport to meet its new origin and destination status; and at a career of mentorship and helping others. For his efforts Brockman was named Director of the Year for theMediumAirport Category. How It All Began While it has worked out well, Brockman’s road to success was not a straight one. After his baseball prospects fizzled and he earned his degree, he went to work as an accountant. It wasn’t initially a fit. “I didn’t like working for a CPA firm,” he says. “This will tell you a lot about me. It was far too regimented. There were far

too many boundaries and people that were low on the totem pole had nothing to say of value. Even if you did, that’s what they told you. ‘You’re too young in your career to add anything to this conversation, so please don’t add anything.’ And I didn’t like that.” He worked for a smaller firm that went through a merger with a larger company that did not go well. The companies ultimately decided to split, and Brockman left shortly thereafter. He’d seen an advertisement in the Bradenton Herald for an accounting job at Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport (SRQ). He applied in October, didn’t hear back until February. When they did call, Brockman was hired to help manage the financial side of a new terminal project that opened in 1989. “It was fabulous, I loved it,” he says. “It was like a challenge junkie’s dream. It was fast moving and it was an airport that allowed me to do what I wanted to do.” Learning The Ropes The beauty of his situation, Brockman says, is that if he got his work done, his boss would let him go hang out with properties, maintenance, operations and other departments so he could learn the ropes. “He’d say ‘where are we on this and this?’” Brockman says. “I’d say ‘It’s all done, it’s in your inbox.’ He’d say ‘okay, go hang out with somebody.’ And that’s how I got addicted to airport management.” He likened his early days there to his early years growing up the son of entrepreneurial parents who ran a hotel in Bradenton Beach, FL. He learned a lot at a young age while removing dead fish from the beach, chasing down beach furniture in a storm and performing some light maintenance.

Above: Brockman unveils the newly renovated Concourse B, a spacious facility with technology galore, natural lighting and lots of local food and art.

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