Airport Experience® News - Post-Conference Issue 2026

Left: Cynthia Guidry, director of Long Beach Airport urged attendees to “welcome various ideas and commonalities” to enhance operational agility. “We’re not in sprints anymore, it’s a marathon,” she said. Above: Laura E. FitzRandolph, chief people and culture officer at Avolta, says change is constant, and that fact requires a mindset shift.

“Resilience today has a slightly different meaning for me,” added Avolta’s chief people and culture officer Laura E. FitzRandolph. “I used to think of it as bouncing back – you went through something, and then you could bounce back from whatever the change was that you were going through,” she added. “Now, change is just constant, and so we have to think about it differently. We’re not in sprints anymore, it’s a marathon. How we support ourselves and our teams through something – this is the way of life. It’s change, and it is constant.” Cynthia Guidry, director of Long Beach Airport (LBG), agreed, emphasizing that she prioritizes communication across her teams when responding to a constantly changing industry. “How can we effectively communicate through that change?” said Guidry. “Go through your first-line staff or the entire organization, talk about [what’s needed] to pivot. It’s also about practicing those different scenarios: ‘Well, if this happens, what do we do? Let’s talk about it.’” “I’m a millennial. When I was in college, we were going through the Great Recession, and it was a really challenging time,”

added Alea LaRocque, vice president of business development at WHSmith North America . “My understanding of resilience really started then. I feel like my entire career has been about resilience.” “I had this college professor at the time who said that you have to be like a willow tree – [you have] to be really grounded,” she continued. “You also have to be willing to bend and move. I think the way that applies to our partnerships and airports is that you’ve got to think long term. You must have have grounded thoughts but also be willing to bend and be flexible, and be willing to adapt and pivot.” Developing resilience has become even more crucial in times of political and economic turmoil, said the panelists. “There’s a lot going on in Minneapolis right now,” said Rhawie, “and it’s been really tough [over the last five years]. One thing I’ve learned in the past five years is that our community is so resilient, and we back each other up. Neighbors are showing up for each other. Airport operators, TSA, we’re all the same. And when your neighbor is going through something, you show up,” she added.

“We need to practice empathy, not only for the people around us, but for ourselves.” —Isabella Rhawie, vp, commercial revenue officer, Metropolitan Airports Commission

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AX NEWS APRIL/MAY 2026