Airport Experience® News - Leadership Issue 2024

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DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR MEDIUM-HUB AIRPORTS

– whether that be on the development side, whether that be on the air service development side, or whether that be on the customer service side – we are making that airport better,” he adds. “It’s about giving back and ensuring that people who come in contact with us fundamentally understand that we’re here to help you, and we hope to make your day more pleasant.” Saenz has also focused on making sure that the municipal SSF’s offerings reflect the local community. There, the Trailblazer Café trains young San Antonio entrepreneurs how to manage fast-moving concessions operations systems. For those interested in aviation, SSF offers the Aviation Explorers initiative, which honors the airport’s history as a flight school by offering educational programming around careers in aviation. Aviation Explorers is one of the “fondest things that I have launched, with regards to going out and making certain the community knows who we are and what we’re about,” says Saenz. “Over the last 24 months, we’ve been able to build our own flight simulator,” he says. “That has led to over 2,000 kids being able to go the program and understand what it means to be a pilot and what it’s like to fly a plane, and [the program has created] an enormous

with a heavy emphasis on local flare.” He notes the local flavor SAT has already incorporated into its dining program. “I think of what we have in La Gloria and Super Bien by Chef Johnny [Hernandez] – [they are] really incredible offerings that give a sense of what San Antonio is all about.” Two additional pillars of SAT’s recent growth are its current breadth of service to Mexico and plans to expand transatlantic flight offerings, says Saenz. “Right now, we are now the largest medium hub in the United States with service into Mexico, and that didn’t happen just by happenstance, that’s through the relationships that we have built with the carriers,” he says. SAT also scored its first transatlantic flight to Europe, going into Frankfurt via Condor Airlines, during Saenz’ tenure. Saenz is also grateful for the economic impact SAT’s growth continues to make on the region. “We went from $5.2 billion economic impact in 2019, and we are now at $7.4 billion,” says Saenz, an effort that couldn’t be possible without his team. Building A Legacy Saenz says he is most proud of his team’s ability to continue improving offerings at SAT. “What we’ve been able to execute

Above: Saenz describes himself as a servant leader and embraces the idea of “giving back” and helping other people through his leadership.

network of young individuals that are getting excited about what aviation is all about.” The director also shares his enthusiasm for aviation with industry organizations like Airports Council International North America (ACI-NA), where he will serve as a board member after being on the U.S. Policy Council for the last three years; the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE), where he serves on the policy review committee; and the Texas Commercial Airports Association . And outside of his airport work, Saenz is a “proud father of two daughters,” an avid golfer, and a volunteer at First Tee, a program helping kids to develop life skills through the sport. Ever the helper, Saenz credits being named Director of the Year to his colleagues, present and former, citing the leadership style he learned way back at UPS. “When we were at the United Parcel Service, we watched a number of training efforts, and [I remember] this one from [former famed football coach] Lou Holtz. It was always embedded in, ‘Do your best, what’s right, and do unto others the way you would want others to do unto you.’ Those are some fundamental rules that I’ve always stayed focused on,” says Saenz, adding that he’s “a firm believer in servant leadership – the triangle is upside down, and I’m at the bottom, helping propel people to get where they want to be.” And in his tenure at San Antonio, “When people ask, ‘Jesus, why do you work so hard?’ It’s because I work for incredible people whose leadership is very similar to mine — [where] it’s really about the ‘giving back’ philosophy of helping other people.”

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AX NEWS DECEMBER 2024 / JANUARY 2025