After six years at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International (MSY), Iftikhar Ahmad has joined the Rhode Island Airport Corp. as its president and CEO.
Ahmad will oversee six airports, including T.F. Green (PVD).
He replaces Kelly Fredericks, who left to become CEO of Ontario International (ONT). Ahmad’s appointment was approved in late September, and he starts Wednesday.
“We are extremely pleased to announce Iftikhar Ahmad will lead T.F. Green moving forward,” says Jonathan Savage, chairman of the airport corporation. “His experience and record of success in growing passenger traffic in New Orleans and his ability to secure new routes and airlines were particularly appealing to the board. He also has a strong history of building community support, which is integral to the success and growth of any airport.”
Spencer Stuart, a national executive search consulting firm, assisted the Rhode Island Airport Corp. with the search.
Ahmad has been involved in aviation management for 19 years at MSY, the city of Houston’s Department of Aviation, the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority and the city of Dayton’s Department of Aviation. As CEO of the New Orleans Aviation Board, he has helped lead passenger growth of 36 percent, from 7.8 million passengers in 2009 to 10.7 million in 2015.
The airport has recruited 10 new airlines since 2010, and its schedule of nonstop flights increased from 28 to 57. Ahmad also has been involved in coordinating about $5 billion in capital projects throughout his career, including overseeing the construction of a new terminal currently being built at MSY.
His goals for T.F. Green are similar.
“Working in concert with elected officials, community leaders and RIAC’s Board of Directors, we will implement a plan to increase airlines, increase passenger traffic and increase nonstop routes,” Ahmad says. “It will not happen overnight, but together we can accomplish this goal. Achieving these worthy goals will help to fuel Rhode Island’s economy, and in turn, an invigorated economy will support the growth of T.F. Green.”
