Airport Experience® News - Leadership & Culture Issue 2023

2023 LARGE AIRPORTS DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR

As president and CEO of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, Kim Becker is undertaking one of the most anticipated projects in the U.S. aviation industry - the expansion and renovation of Terminal 1 at San Diego International Airport (SAN). Post-pandemic growth at SAN has been solid, and the airport has long been in need of an upgrade for space-constrained Terminal 1. Becker’s approach to this project and all projects at SAN includes a commitment to environmental and sustainability initiatives that rival other leaders on that front, making it a model for the industry. Even with a huge project underway, Becker devotes signifiant time to industry organizations including Airports Council International - North America, the American Association of Airport Executives , Gateway Airports Council and California Airports Council . Becker’s vision for her airport and her commitment to the broader aviation industry were key factors in her being selected as AXN’s Director of the Year in the large airports division. Finding Direction When Becker was a teenager, she was unsure about her career path. That isn’t particularly unusual, but what is remarkable is that her mother decided to enroll her in flying lessons. That didn’t stick exactly - Becker found she enjoyed the airport more than the actual flights.

Becker attended Indiana University of Pennsylvania and earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration. As graduation approached, she still wasn’t certain what her career would entail. But she returned home, near Reading, Pennsylvania, and applied for an internship at Reading Regional Airport (RDG) where she met Kent George, then executive director, and asked for an internship. “He let me work summer and the Christmas holiday and, after I graduated, he kept throwing applications at me saying ‘apply here, apply here, apply here,’” Becker says. Six months later she was hired as operations coordinator at Teterboro Airport (TEB) in New Jersey, where she did everything from training as a firefighter to logging hourly weather observations. The view of the New York City skyline and the occasional brush with fame made TEB “a really cool airport to work” she says. “All the stars would land there.” She made a four-year career stop at what is now Hollywood Burbank Airport (BUR), where she helped create an operations group, transferring it away from the local police department, before returning to TEB as assistant manager for three more years. Becker then landed at Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC) , where she would spend the next 22 years. “I worked my way through just about every division of the airport, managing and learning and growing,” Becer says. She was

Above: Through high school and college, Kim Becker wasn’t sure how she wanted to make a living. Flying lessons and an airport internship directed her to the airport industry.

assistant director when the new Terminal B opened and ascended to the aviation director role in September 2013. SJC, located within Silicon Valley, had earned the reputation of being cutting edge and tech friendly. The new terminal lived up to this. “When we opened it, we had all the latest equipment and gadgets,” Becker says. “Things change and the difference then to now is pretty significant, but they continue to innovate and they do a lot of pilot programs. It’s a fun airport to work at, being right in the heart of the tech industry.” Pondering A Next Move After 22 years at SJC and with the new terminal project behind her, Becker began pondering what to do next. She wanted to try an authority-run airport in a city where she really wanted to live. San Diego made her short list of cities, and she knew that then director Thella Bowens was approaching retirement. So, she put her name in and got the call. She started in May 2017.

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AX NEWS LEADERSHIP ISSUE 2023