Airport Experience® News - Leadership Issue 2025

HIGH IMPACT, HIGH ENERGY A Leadership Q&A with AXN’s Publisher, Melissa K. Montes

AXN: As you round out your sixth year leading the AX Team, what are some key milestones you’ve experienced thus far on your leadership journey? MONTES: Leading the AX Team, one of the most defining milestones of my leadership journey has been guiding the organization through COVID. Coming off what was, at the time, one of our most successful conferences in Denver in 2020, we were suddenly forced to recalibrate in real time as the industry rapidly changed. We shifted to digital, created smaller but deeply meaningful in person gatherings when it was safe to do so, and leaned into non traditional media in ways we never had before. From Zoom airport interviews to podcasts and Instagram Lives, my focus was clear: keep the industry we all love connected during a time of uncertainty. That commitment became my North Star and continues to guide me as we navigate what comes next. More recently, sweeping shifts in airport investment, changes in how airports contract with small businesses, and continued consolidation across the concessions industry have made the landscape both more dynamic and more challenging. In response, I continue to pivot alongside the market, ensuring our team remains intentional, focused, and receptive to change so we can serve as the industry’s neutral voice and trusted gathering space.

Left: Six years in, Melissa K. Montes, VP and Publisher of Airport Experience News , continues to lead AXN with a clear vision and a steady focus.

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AX NEWS DECEMBER 2025 / JANUARY 2026