Airport Experience® News - Leadership Issue 2024

Sean Donohue, CEO, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport New England is calling for Sean Donohue. Donohue, who has served as CEO of Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) since 2013, will wrap up his 40-year aviation career sometime in 2025. The search for a successor is scheduled to begin in earnest in January and Donohue is hoping for quick results. “I jokingly tell people – although I’m kind of serious too – I’m not sure I can spend another summer in the DFW area with the heat,” he says. Once a transition is complete, Donohue is heading to New England, where he is from and where his five children currently reside. He’ll leave behind a legacy of growth and innovation at DFW. “When I arrived in 2013, I believe DFW was the 11th busiest airport in the world. Now we’re the third busiest,” Donohue says. He credits American Airlines for much of the growth, but says an aggressive air service development strategy brought global attention. “When I arrived, we were really not what you would consider a global airport in terms of international service,” he says. “In the last decade of all the large hubs, DFW has been the fastest growing hub in terms of international service. “Also, a lot of the work post-pandemic has been focused on reaching a new agreement with American and the other airlines that’s allowed us to put together a nearly $9 billion capital program that will allow the airport to continue to grow,” Donohue adds. To continue as a global leader among airports, Donohue says DFW has focused heavily on ensuring a robust and highly competent workforce. The succession program “is actually bottom-up from managers to assistant vice presidents to vice presidents to executive vice presidents,” he says. “It’s all about making sure we’re giving people the tools, the training, the support, the mentoring so that those who want to can continue to build their skills.” In a bit of a tongue-in-cheek way, Donohue laments the loss of Chad Makovsky, who served as executive vice

Dillon notes ongoing capital projects at BDL, and says the thought of leaving them behind is a bit bittersweet. “I wish I was staying around to complete a lot of these things, but they’re well underway and I feel very confident in the success of the airport going forward,” he says. Dillon will hand off power next year to Michael Shae, an internal hire who currently serves as deputy executive director for finance, business development, planning and engineering. Dillon says the fact that Shae rose to the top despite a national search is a testament to the organization’s comprehensive succession planning regimen. The national search served “only to prove that the best person was in-house,” Dillon says. “When I look across the entire organization, it’s not only for the executive level positions, but we try to have a succession plan in place for all of our key positions across the board,” he says. “We’re constantly evaluating our talent and trying to give people the tools for them to be able to move ahead.” Dillon anticipates a seamless transition. Come February, he’ll head down to Florida, where he still owns a house purchased during his time at MCO. “I’ll take a couple of months to think through the next chapter, but I do feel I’m the type of person who will never fully retire,” he says. “I’m already exploring some additional opportunities that have been presented to me.” But first, he plans a bit of a pause, saying “After almost 50 years, it’s going to be nice to take a step back and relax a little bit.”

Above: Sean Donohue, CEO, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport

president of operations at DFW before being named director of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) in 2021; and of John Ackerman, who was executive vice president of global strategy and development at DFW before becoming CEO of Los Angeles World Airports in 2023. “I’m a little frustrated that succession planning led to people going to other airports, but they were great opportunities,” Donohue says. “In all seriousness, I’m happy for them.” In fact, at DFW Donohue looks for experience diversity. “I’m a proponent that there’s a balance between external and internal [experience],” he says. “It’s always good to get some external thought into an organization.” As for Donohue, the future remains somewhat uncertain – other than plans for a healthy dose of relaxation – as he transitions out of airport leadership. “I’m on a corporate board in the Dallas area and I really enjoy that,” he says. “If I could join another board or two or maybe do some consulting or advisory work, I’d love to do that. I want to stay active and busy, but I also want to enjoy retirement too – I’m not sure I’ll know the answer until I get into retirement but I’ve got to find the right balance.

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AX NEWS DECEMBER 2024 / JANUARY 2025