Airport Experience® News - Leadership Issue 2025

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DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR SMALL-HUB AIRPORTS

for you [to be COO] here – it’s always sunny and never rains, it doesn’t get cold and the people are lovely’,” says Miller, who adds: “None of that was true, except for the people! And of course I knew that. Carl was a good friend and mentor.” But weather aside, Miller made the jump to JAN in 2015, serving as the airport’s COO and eventually becoming its interim CEO in 2019. “It was a very easy transition,” says Miller of the leap to JAN, “because Carl allowed me to effectively run the organization. I had an opportunity to really hone the skill of running a small hub airport,” he adds, noting that the skills required to operate a medium hub airport were just as applicable to the needs of a small one. “It’s a small city versus a larger city – all of the disciplines required to manage a city are required, for the most part, to manage an airport – so it’s just a matter of scale,” says Miller. At JAN, Newman and Miller created the airport’s first-ever strategic capital development plan, leading to jet bridge and support equipment improvements;

runway rehabilitation as well as energy and emergency system improvements. He also made an impact on its people, says former JAN executive assistant Kimberly Farmer, noting that Miller brought with him “a wealth of industry knowledge, a heart for people, and a clear vision for growth. His leadership style was rooted in intentional communication and empowerment. He believed in building up people so they could build the industry,” she adds. “Our weekly one-on-one meetings were more than status updates; they were lessons in leadership, goal setting, and purpose,” says Farmer, noting that together with Miller, they created opportunities for young people interested in aerospace careers, “many of whom are now thriving in roles they love and, in turn, are investing in others. Having formed “deep and meaningful relationships” with the airport and Jackson community at large, moving to RIC in 2019, “was a difficult decision,” says Miller, but “I think what drew me ultimately to the Capital Regional Airport Commission was the opportunity for me to make a positive impact on another community through aviation,” he says. “I’m originally from Chicago, Illinois, and I spent most of my years in Houston, Texas. When I looked at Chicago, which is the third-largest city in America, and Houston, which is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and compared that infrastructure to the infrastructure in the city of Richmond, these cities are very, very similar – the difference here is scale,” says Miller. “Each of those cities – Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York – have railways, highways, waterways, pipelines, and airways. Not all cities have a confluence of all five modes of transportation – Richmond does,” he adds. “The possibility that I saw, is that [of a] blank canvas that can become a painted reality.” Joining RIC in 2019, Miller made it his mission to foster growth at the team level first. “I am a servant-leader by heart, because

I believe in the importance of prioritizing the growth and well-being of teamwork,” says Miller, “but I operate using the mechanics of the transformational leader because I believe that as a leader, you must serve as a role model. You have to inspire motivation through a compelling strategic plan. You need to challenge team members to think creatively and innovatively, and you have to support the professional growth of every single member of your team.” “If you take care of people, engagement and productivity will cease to be the metrics that require constant monitoring,” he continues. “You won’t have to do it, because [employees] will be so focused on enjoying the environment in which they work that you won’t have to spend 80% of your time managing 20% of the people. More importantly, you help people realize their potential, and that’s personally very gratifying.” “Having worked alongside him as his executive assistant for six years, I’ve seen firsthand how Dr. Miller inspires those around him to grow, both personally and professionally,” adds RIC coworker Susan Linn. “He has a remarkable ability to help people see the bigger picture, think creatively, and approach challenges with an open mind. His leadership doesn’t just guide; it elevates.” Miller also prioritized an ethos of preparedness – which came in handy when Covid-19 hobbled airports across the world shortly after his arrival. “The biggest challenge of my career was the first pandemic of the 21st century [the SARS pandemic of 2003],” says Miller. “Although the impact of that coronavirus was not as devastating as Covid-19, the notion of a pandemic was very new to me,” he adds, noting that the airport response systems created in reaction to SARS helped him and other airport leaders “overcome the fear of the unknown” during the 2020 shutdowns. “That preparation instilled in me the concept of resilience – being prepared for anything that tomorrow may bring.” Miller’s resilience and preparation have paved the way for him to lead RIC through several in-progress and upcoming capital development projects as part of its strategic plan Wheels Up 2030, a multiphase initiative with projects ranging from airfield, efficiency upgrades, parking

Left: Miller says he is a “servant leader by heart.” He focuses on teamwork and being a role model to those he leads.

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AX NEWS DECEMBER 2025 / JANUARY 2026