Airport Experience® News - Leadership 2022

2022 DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR MEDIUM AIRPORTS

“I could single-handedly change a wall air conditioner by myself in about 30 minutes,” he says. “I’d size it, get a replacement unit out of a shed, wheel it over to the room, pull the old one out, put it on the cart, put the new one in and frame around it, insulate, put the molding back up and be done. It may not have been painted perfectly, but the room was cool again.” “You learn,” he adds, “these odd little skills that, for some reason, come into play in an airport.” He worked at SRQ until moving on to Des Moines International Airport (DSM) and then to Tucson International Airport (TUS) , where he was vice president of finance and administration. He arrived at MEM in 2003 and spent 10 years learning the ropes before replacing Larry Cox, who had worked at the airport for 41 years, as president and CEO in 2014. Everything Falls Apart Just as Cox was planning to retire and Brockman was preparing to take the helm, Delta Air Lines was minimizing its presence at MEM, which led ultimately to closing down its hub in late 2013. While it was scary for the region at the time, it also put Brockman face-to-face with leaders in the community early on in his tenure, a process that he nailed, says Beverly Robertson, president and CEO of the Greater Memphis Chamber.

“There were lots of people who were very concerned when we were de-hubbed,” she says. “He engaged them in dialogue and discussion about the next steps for the airport and strategically where will we go. What he did was pretty brilliant. He never gave up on trying to identify airlines who could be hubbed here. Approaching them, he was very proactive.” In the end, Brockman helped land a number of smaller airlines and got several existing providers to increase routes. It wasn’t easy, but he navigated the region and the airport through the challenges with positivity and hard work. “There were a couple of things we came out and said,” Brockman notes. “Here’s our mantra, here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to have a relentless pursuit of frequent and affordable air service. We’re going to hit the trail and we’re going to tell every airline that didn’t know about Memphis because it was dominated by a hub – that never really looked at Memphis – we’re going to tell them the story of why they need to think about Memphis.” The other was getting everyone in the airport on board with providing “a positive MEMorable travel experience,” a slogan he acknowledges was a bit corny, but was also memorable. “I said, ‘If we can get everyone to think in terms of ‘howdo Imake this experience better, how do I make it positively MEMorable,’ then we are going to deliver on a promise,”

he says. “And that is to transport people in an efficient, effective and comfortable way. And it’s all about the people.” All About The People For Brockman, it really has always been about the people. The modernized Concourse B opened in February 2022 and received numberous accolades. It’s spacious. It features local food, retail and art. “Every time I walk through that airport I am grinning from ear to ear,” says the Chamber’s Robertson. But of all of the concourse’s characteristics, what about the project makes Brockman the proudest? The facility’s spacious and convenient restrooms. During a recovery period from a recent health situation, Brockman learned firsthand of the challenges faced by people who struggle with mobility. After that, he called together the team planning the new concourse and told them to redraw the restrooms so anyone with such challenges could get around easily. “What I learned in that process is that we are all ADA compliant, but compliance does not mean we’re accessible or really comfortable for people that need mobility assistance, whether its walkers, wheelchairs or scooters,” he says. “I came back and said, ‘I want to sit down with y’all and go through the plans and I want to get the designers together and I want to talk about how these restrooms are going to flow, because we’re not going to do this.’” The result is bathrooms with wide openings, especially around turns, accessible sinks and soap, towels and blowers located conveniently near each sink. “You have no idea how difficult it is for people that are older and that need assistance,” he says. “I understand it’s a beautiful facility, lots of natural light, technology galore. … It took an entire thought process to make sure those bathrooms are right. And it took a lot of people getting on board with it and going ‘Yeah, we’re going to figure this out.’” So, yes, while Brockman is happy with how the entire project turned out, he’s happiest about having restrooms that can comfortably be used by passengers of at all levels of mobility.

Left: Under Scott Brockman’s leadership, MEM has navigated adding commercial airfare but also kept a strong partnership with cargo partner FedEx.

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