Airport Experience® News - Leadership Issue 2024

City leaders were taking a narrow view in thinking that Tampa isn’t large enough to support international traffic. “The way they were looking at it was not the correct way to look at it because Tampa is the gateway to the West Coast of Florida,” Lopano says. “When you look at the airport as a gateway to the region, the numbers start to change and the outlook starts to change,” Lopano continues. “We started to prove that we were correct when we got international flights, first to Zurich, then to Panama, then to Frankfurt. We gained momentum and the community became believers.” Lopano will retire from TPA in April 2025, and he expects incoming director Michael Stephens, who currently serves as executive vice president and general counsel, to stay the course and “take us in some way to the next level, maybe through his technology expertise.” Stephens is one of four senior executives at TPA who interviewed for the leadership role. Lopano says he took succession planning seriously. “The fact that we had all four executives as candidates, and all four interviewed for the job, tells you that we have a very strong bench,” he says. “I’ve been building this team for a long time.” All four were long-time executives at TPA, which allowed Lopano to hone his succession planning strategy. I wanted to give each of them more and more responsibility, so they had their fingers in various parts of the airport,” he says, noting that the cross-training isn’t limited to senior management. “My belief is that the job of the CEO, and of all executive members, is to enable greatness in others,” he continues. “In order to do that, you have to learn to delegate. You have to learn to lead, learn to mentor and learn to communicate properly. We have set up programs [to prepare individuals] for leadership roles within the airport.” Lopano anticipates an easy transition to Stephens, who has more than nine years with TPA. Lopano is undecided whether he will fully retire or remain active in some way in the aviation industry. First up, though, is relaxation. “I’m looking forward to not having a phone with calendars on it, not having text messages flying at me,” he says. “I’ll be spending more time with my family and with my grandchildren.”

Candace McGraw, CEO, Cincinnati/ Northern Kentucky International Airport Candace McGraw may have a difficult time leaving her day job behind. Earlier this year, McGraw announced that she will retire on June 30, 2025. Six months ahead of her departure date, McGraw says retirement is a “bittersweet decision.” “I love this industry. I love what I do and I enjoy my colleagues,” says McGraw, who is CEO of Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG). “I enjoy the broader aviation community. I love the intellectual challenge of what we do. It’s also time to pass the reins to somebody else and spend some time with my family.” Larry Krauter, currently CEO of Spokane International Airport (GEG) has been tapped to succeed McGraw, and the formal transition will begin in March. McGraw says one of her “gifts” to Krauter will be handing over a governance structure that works with a business-forward mentality. “We’ve been able to root out all the politics and make sure we have very strong governance and a very strong board,” she says. “These are all business leaders who have had business success over the course of their careers. [The board is] completely apolitical and is run solely on what is the best for this airport and what is best for this community. That is a thing of beauty, and it is unique.” Internally, McGraw has been working on succession planning and executive development for years. “We have a very strong team and I think we have a deep bench,” she says. CVG has faced a lot of turnover of long-term employees simply

Above, Below: Candace McGraw, CEO, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport

due to retirements. “Once somebody comes here, we usually keep employees a long time and my leadership team that’s around me has been with me the majority of my time here,” she says. “We’ve created a culture of people who care and want to do well and want to plug into the community – we try to paint a picture bigger than us.” The transition to Krauter’s leadership has already begun. After the November press conference announcing his appointment, McGraw held a meeting introducing him to airport leadership, then a dinner with local business leaders. She’s also sent him boxes of “light reading” containing everything from executive resumes to project status updates to financial control documents. “I want this transition to be seamless,” she says. Beyond June 2025, McGraw will still be active in the industry. She serves as chair the ACI-World Governing Board, a role that continues until the end of next year. As she plans the next phases of her life, McGraw is taking inspiration from a book called From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the

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AX NEWS DECEMBER 2024 / JANUARY 2025