Airport Experience® News - Leadership & Culture Issue 2023

2023 SMALL AIRPORTS DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR

Aviation has always been in Tory Richardson’s blood, although initially he thought he’d be flying the planes. Like many airport directors, Richardson’s love of aviation came early. “I’ve always had a fascination for airplanes and aviation dating back to when I was a child,” he says. “It probably came a little bit from my father, who was in the Navy and worked on airplanes.” Richardson started pursuing a private pilot license in high school, figuring that would be a good way to figure out if he wanted to fly or not. He loved it. He earned his pilot license and instrument rating and was close to getting a commercial license. But when the U.S. military downsized, he shifted gears and instead pursued aviation management. “A lot of the folks that were graduating were not finding jobs flying airplanes,” says Richardson, now president and CEO of the Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRR) in Grand Rapids, MI. “There was a downsizing of the military. All those military pilots were coming over and flooding the market and taking those civilian jobs.” That decision led to a career in airports that has spanned more than 25 years and taken him to multiple airports throughout the Midwest. He joined GRR in 2019 and has made his mark on the airport with updated facilities and growing passenger numbers. Richardson’s impact on GRR, his commitment to the industry through his involvement in trade organizations and his efforts helping educate the next generation of aviation students have earned him the honor of being named Airport Experience News’ Director of the Year in the small airports division.

Finding The Right Fit While Richardson is a popular and well respected airport director now, it took a few roles in industry-adjacent fields before he settled on building a career as an airport executive. “I kind of focused and hunkered down on getting a lot of work and a lot of experience,” he says. Richardson worked in various roles with American Airlines, with the National Weather Service doing aviation weather reporting, and with a fixed-base operator. Ultimately, the variety of tasks and associations with people led him to the airport side of aviation. “I think for me it was just the variety of people, the variety of experiences, just the day-to-day variety that I had in my job,” he says. “I wasn’t doing the same thing over and over. Every day is something different. You come into the office with one set of plans, you might get partway through it if you’re lucky and things change.” He served in several airport roles starting at Dubuque Regional Airport (DBQ), then took on the head role as executive director at Rapid City Regional Airport (RAP), where he learned about air cargo operations while working with Kitty Hawk Aircargo as a partner. Richardson then moved on to the Fort Wayne-Allen County Airport Authority in Indiana, which oversees Fort Wayne International Airport (FWA) and Smith Field Airport (SMD), gaining experience in a two-airport system run under a different governance structure. “It was a great opportunity to get a lot more experience under my belt,” he says.

Left: Gerald R. Ford International Airport, Michigan’s second largest airport, is undergoing a five-phase, $500 million overhaul to address capacity issues related to passenger conveniences, parking and baggage movement.

Above: Tory Richardson joined GRR in August 2019 as its president and CEO. He’s made several career stops at small and medium-sized airports in the Midwest since choosing airport management rather than becoming a commercial pilot.

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AX NEWS LEADERSHIP ISSUE 2023