Airport Experience® News - Leadership Issue 2025

Above, Right: Like most airports, RIC is constantly evolving. The airport served just under 5 million passengers in 2024, making it the largest of Federal Aviation Administration-designated small hub airports. The Wheels Up 2030 capital project will bring improvements both inside and outside the terminal building.

like a full-circle moment, says Miller, who began his association with each agency during his undergraduate years. “I was the first president of the student chapter of the AAAE and 30-plus years later, I became the chairman of the board,” says Miller, “and in 1989 I was an intern at ACI, then known as Airport Operators Council International, and worked at their conference in Houston, and here I am, 30 years later, serving on the board.” Having been a part of AAAE., ACI-NA and the aviation industry at-large for the better part of his life, Miller has watched the evolution of the sector close-up. “When I was a student, ACI and AAAE’s focus was getting Congress to support the PFC (passenger facility charge),” says Miller. “What’s interesting is now, we can’t get any movement in terms of increasing it, but those two organizations have been very effective in helping to move Congress in a direction that’s supportive of airports.” He’s also seen the makeup of the airport industry evolve. “When I was young, I could probably count the number of women or people of color that attended those conferences or that were accredited on one hand – that’s changed significantly,” says Miller. “I think that was done with intent.

Those organizations wanted to benefit from diversity, not just racial diversity, but cognitive diversity; the kind of diversity that helps all organizations grow.” Miller also considers it his responsibility to help foster the next generation of airport leadership. “I mentor all the time because I really think that it’s critically important,” he says. “When you are blessed with an opportunity to lead, you have an obligation to help other people to achieve their goals. It is a leadership imperative to train the next group of leaders. If you are a leader and you are not doing that, then you have been derelict in your duty.” And when he’s not working to improve community, connectedness and camaraderie at RIC and throughout the industry, Miller spends time with his wife Tanya, four sons and new granddaughters – “the granddaughters are the cherry on top,” says Miller. He’s also doing unofficial market research. “I love travel and I love flying – my wife and I pick somewhere new to go every year,” says Miller. “Two of our favorite places to have visited were Greece and Egypt because of their spiritual and historical significance,” he adds. “I love to read, I love teaching, I love studying research and learning new things.”

and rental car facility improvements and restroom renovations to the consolidation of the security screening area into a 14-lane checkpoint that will “streamline the passenger experience, create space for new concessions and perhaps provide the room for an airport lounge,” said Miller. The push to continually futureproof and enhance RIC’s amenities is in service of its current rapid growth, says Miller. “We are designated the largest small hub airport by the FAA,” says Miller, noting RIC’s current annual traffic reaches nearly 5 million passengers a year. “We’ve experienced passenger traffic growth more than 11.5% from pre-pandemic 2019,” he adds. Industry Impact Outside of his leadership at RIC, Miller has made his mark as the chair of AAAE from June 2023 to June 2024 and currently serves on the board of directors for ACI-NA. Getting the opportunity to take on key roles at both organizations feels

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AX NEWS DECEMBER 2025 / JANUARY 2026