Editor’s Note: The December/January issue of Airport Experience News spotlights eight prominent airport directors who have announced their retirements. From most challenging moments and biggest achievements to plans post-airport leadership, the eight directors shared their thoughts with AXN Editor Carol Ward. Below is an abridged version of the article. For full access to the article, please log in, subscribe, or check your printed edition of the December/January issue.
Retirement is a natural part of the career cycle. If we’re lucky, most of us will reach a time when we can cast aside the day-to-day duties of our jobs and jump into a “what’s next” phase of our lives.
Thus, retirements aren’t unusual, but the number of high-profile airport directors who have announced retirement in the past year or so – and who plan to depart the industry (at least from a full-time basis) in the next 12 months – is remarkable. AXN’s Carol Ward spoke with eight of those directors about their impacts on their respective organizations, their succession planning efforts and their plans for life post-airports.
Kevin Dillon, Executive Director, Connecticut Airport Authority
Kevin Dillon has what most would call a comprehensive aviation resume. Dillon, now executive director of the Connecticut Airport Authority, overseeing Bradley International Airport (BDL), will retire on February 6 after nearly 50 years in aviation. He’s worked at multiple airports of various sizes, with roles ranging from skycap supervisor to director of aviation operations to leading the creation of a new airport authority.
After more than two decades at PANYNJ, Dillon cycled through a few other airports, starting with Boston Logan International Airport (BOS), then to Manchester- Boston Regional Airport (MHT), Orlando International Airport (MCO) and Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport (PVD) before joining BDL.
In 2012, Dillon was tapped to lead the creation of the Connecticut Airport Authority, transitioning from Connecticut Department of Transportation management of BDL. “The first year was simply setting up the organization and getting the FAA approvals to transfer the sponsorship,” he recalls. “But since that time, we’ve enjoyed great success principally on the route development side. We were able to restore transatlantic service as well as transcontinental service.”
Dillon notes ongoing capital projects at BDL and says the thought of leaving them behind is a bit bittersweet. “I wish I was staying around to complete a lot of these things, but they’re well underway and I feel very confident in the success of the airport going forward,” he says.
Dillon will hand off power next year to Michael Shae, an internal hire who currently serves as deputy executive director for finance, business development, planning and engineering. Dillon says the fact that Shae rose to the top despite a national search is a testament to the organization’s comprehensive succession planning regimen.
Dillon anticipates a seamless transition. Come February, he’ll head down to Florida, where he still owns a house purchased during his time at MCO. “I’ll take a couple of months to think through the next chapter, but I do feel I’m the type of person who will never fully retire,” he says. “I’m already exploring some additional opportunities that have been presented to me.”
Sean Donohue, CEO, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport
New England is calling for Sean Donohue.
Donohue, who has served as CEO of Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) since 2013, will wrap up his 40-year aviation career sometime in 2025. The search for a successor is scheduled to begin in earnest in January and Donohue is hoping for quick results. “I jokingly tell people – although I’m kind of serious too – I’m not sure I can spend another summer in the DFW area with the heat,” he says. Once a transition is complete, Donohue is heading to New England, where he is from and where his five children currently reside.
He’ll leave behind a legacy of growth and innovation at DFW. “When I arrived in 2013, I believe DFW was the 11th busiest airport in the world. Now we’re the third busiest,” Donohue says.
To continue as a global leader among airports, Donohue says DFW has focused heavily on ensuring a robust and highly competent workforce. “It’s all about making sure we’re giving people the tools, the training, the support, the mentoring so that those who want to can continue to build their skills,” he says.
In a bit of a tongue-in-cheek way, Donohue laments the loss of Chad Makovsky, who served as executive vice president of operations at DFW before being named director of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) in 2021; and of John Ackerman, who was executive vice president of global strategy and development at DFW before becoming CEO of Los Angeles World Airports in 2023. “I’m a little frustrated that succession planning led to people going to other airports, but they were great opportunities,” Donohue says. “In all seriousness, I’m happy for them.”
As for Donohue, the future remains somewhat uncertain – other than plans for a healthy dose of relaxation – as he transitions out of airport leadership. “I’m on a corporate board in the Dallas area and I really enjoy that,” he says. “If I could join another board or two or maybe do some consulting or advisory work, I’d love to do that. I want to stay active and busy, but I also want to enjoy retirement too – I’m not sure I’ll know the answer until I get into retirement but I’ve got to find the right balance.
Kevin Foley, Executive Director, Des Moines Airport Authority
For the past decade, Kevin Foley has been laying the groundwork for a new terminal at Des Moines International Airport (DSM). Just over a year ago, the airport finally broke ground.
Foley, who has led DSM since 2014, says his key challenge – and ultimately his key achievement – has been about funding.
“The high point of my time here [at DSM] is clearly the new terminal and funding that has become available for new terminals, not just in Des Moines but throughout the entire industry,” he says.
Foley won’t be leading DSM when the project comes to fruition. He will retire on April 4, 2025 and Brian Mulcahy, who has been with the authority since 2011 and currently serves as assistant executive director, will step up to lead the transition to the new terminal.
“I’ve just always known that I wouldn’t move into the new facility,” Foley says. With construction projected to be ongoing through late 2028, “I would have been at an age where probably should have left a few years earlier.”
Foley’s retirement plans are loose but he’s looking forward to a bit of travel, more time with family and the simple pleasure of not having a heavy workload every day.
Joe Lopano, CEO, Tampa International Airport
Joe Lopano, who has served as CEO of Tampa International Airport (TPA) since 2011, convinced his board and his community to believe in the power of TPA’s connectivity.
“We used to be the city of ‘no we can’t’, and now we’re the city of ‘watch this’,” Lopano says. “Maybe that was because Tom Brady came and we won a Super Bowl, or maybe it’s because our Stanley Cup championship, but a lot of things changed for the positive in our community.”
In terms of TPA, maybe it’s because Lopano wouldn’t give up, instead bringing that “watch this” approach to a skeptical audience. One of the defining achievements of his 14-years at the helm of TPA was to “convince the whole community, convince the city, that we could do things that they never believed we could, and number one in that regard was getting international flights to come to Tampa,” Lopano says.
City leaders were taking a narrow view in thinking that Tampa isn’t large enough to support international traffic. “The way they were looking at it was not the correct way to look at it because Tampa is the gateway to the West Coast of Florida,” Lopano says.
“When you look at the airport as a gateway to the region, the numbers start to change and the outlook starts to change,” Lopano continues. “We started to prove that we were correct when we got international flights, first to Zurich, then to Panama, then to Frankfurt. We gained momentum and the community became believers.”
Lopano will retire from TPA in April 2025, and he expects incoming director Michael Stephens, who currently serves as executive vice president and general counsel, to stay the course and “take us in some way to the next level, maybe through his technology expertise.”
Lopano anticipates an easy transition to Stephens, who has more than nine years with TPA. Lopano is undecided whether he will fully retire or remain active in some way in the aviation industry. First up, though, is relaxation. “I’m looking forward to not having a phone with calendars on it, not having text messages flying at me,” he says. “I’ll be spending more time with my family and with my grandchildren.”
Candace McGraw, CEO, Cincinnati/ Northern Kentucky International Airport
Candace McGraw may have a difficult time leaving her day job behind. Earlier this year, McGraw announced that she will retire on June 30, 2025. Six months ahead of her departure date, McGraw says retirement is a “bittersweet decision.”
“I love this industry. I love what I do and I enjoy my colleagues,” says McGraw, who is CEO of Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG). “I enjoy the broader aviation community. I love the intellectual challenge of what we do. It’s also time to pass the reins to somebody else and spend some time with my family.”
Larry Krauter, currently CEO of Spokane International Airport (GEG) has been tapped to succeed McGraw, and the formal transition will begin in March.
McGraw says one of her “gifts” to Krauter will be handing over a governance structure that works with a business-forward mentality. “We’ve been able to root out all the politics and make sure we have very strong governance and a very strong board,” she says. “These are all business leaders who have had business success over the course of their careers. [The board is] completely apolitical and is run solely on what is the best for this airport and what is best for this community. That is a thing of beauty, and it is unique.”
Beyond June 2025, McGraw will still be active in the industry. She serves as chair the ACI-World Governing Board, a role that continues until the end of next year. As she plans the next phases of her life, McGraw is taking inspiration from a book called From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life by Arthur C. Brooks. The insights contained in the book “gave me a lot of peace” as she questions what’s next, either in the industry or outside of it.
“It’s a little bit scary but very rewarding to be the complete master of your universe in terms of how and where you’re going to spend your time,” McGraw say. “I’m figuring out how to spend it in a way that fills my soul, and in ways that I can be helpful. I’m just starting to sort through that now.”
Frank Miller, Executive Director, Hollywood Burbank Airport (BUR)
Frank Miller has had a 42-year career in airports. That’s not particularly unusual, but what is astonishing is that all of those years were spent at the helm of each airport.
Miller’s first airport gig was at Juneau International Airport (JNU), followed by a short stint at Grand Junction Regional Airport (GJT) in Colorado. Pensacola International Airport (PNS) held Miller the longest – he was airport director there for 21 years before jumping to San Antonio International Airport (SAT) and serving for six-plus years. Miller joined Hollywood Burbank Airport in 2016. After eight years at the TBI Airport Management-run airport, Miller will retire on January 17, 2025.
I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to work at all these different airports,” Miller says, noting that his leadership style of “a collaborative approach where I find the right people, put them on my staff and let them do what they do well.” Miller learned the ins-and- outs of airports at his first two airport jobs, where staffing was thin and he pitched in on just about every aspect of operating the airport. Now, he strives to give others the same opportunities. “It’s the difference of the definition between being a leader and being a manager,” he says. “I like to think I’m more of the leader and then have all these people doing what they do well.”
At press time, Miller’s successor had not been named, but Miller says TBI and the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority, which owns the airport, are collaborating to identify the next director. And after 42 years in the industry, Miller is “looking forward to some respite” from the day-to-day, but isn’t sure he wants to just walk away. “I’m having some discussions with different people,” he says. “If there’s an opportunity for me to continue in some way within the industry, I’d be very amenable to that.”
Fredrick “Rick” Piccolo, President and CEO, Sarasota Bradenton International Airport
Rick Piccolo is a one airport kind of guy.
In an industry where jumping from airport to airport as a career builds is commonplace, Piccolo has stayed put. He’s now entering his 30th year at the helm of Sarasota Bradenton International Airport (SRQ) and will retire from the organization on June 30. He will continue in an advisory role for a further six months.
Despite the long tenure, Piccolo didn’t begin his aviation career at SRQ. After a stint in the military, his first introduction to the field was at Buffalo-Niagara International (BUF). “When I went to work at Buffalo Airport as a janitor, it was the first time I ever saw an airport,” he recalls. “I never expected that I would be in this as a career.
SRQ is a small hub airport, but Piccolo has had an outsized impact on the industry. He is past chairman of Airports Council International – North America and also a past chairman of Airports Council International’s world governing board; in total, he served on the world governing board for 16 years. “One of the highlights in my career was the ability to go all over the world, meet with people from all different cultures and learn from other places and other regions of the world,” Piccolo says.
The global position was exciting, but so too was overseeing the growth of SRQ, particularly in recent years, Piccolo says. It’s also been a bit daunting. “We went from 1.3 million passengers to about 4.5 million passengers in a very short period of time, which creates a lot of challenges from a facility standpoint,” he says. “It’s been quite a ride the past five years.”
As for life after SRQ, Piccolo says he has formed an LLC “as a preparation for if I want to do any consulting work. I’m not sure I will,” he says. “I’ll spend more time with my grandchildren, hopefully improve my golf game, and we’ll see from there.”
Ivar Satero, Airport Director, San Francisco International Airport
As the work days wind down for Ivar Satero as director of San Francisco International Airport (SFO), he occasionally finds himself thinking he’s leaving too soon. “It’s hard to leave because of all the exciting things we’re doing,” he says, noting the ongoing capital programs, a new use-and-lease agreement, the return of traffic in the post-pandemic years and other recent achievements.
“On the other hand, I think the organization is in a great place to continue to do really wonderful things,” Satero says. “30 years (in his airport career) – that’s plenty of time.
Satero’s 30 years in aviation have all been at SFO; prior to being named director in 2015, his roles included chief operating officer, deputy airport director for design and construction, project manager and others. He’s seen the airport weather numerous ups and downs during his tenure, and he’s honed the culture of the organization to better handle upheavals.
“Our culture journey started some 15 years ago under our previous director, John Martin,” he says. “Over the last eight years, my focus has really been about the full engagement of staff in the culture at all levels of the organization, and really focusing on job quality and workers’ experience as well as the passenger experience. The two new values I brought during my tenure have been around care – care for our employees, care for our passengers; and equity, recognizing that the strength of our organization is built on the diversity of our organization.”
Satero says that culture extends to employees and employee development, noting that “we give people opportunities, deliberate opportunities, for leadership.”
The new SFO director is a product of that culture. In early December, Mike Nakornkhet was tapped to lead SFO. He’ll return to SFO by way of Denver International Airport (DEN), where he currently serves as chief financial officer and executive vice president. But prior to his four-year stint at DEN, Nakornkhet spent 13 years at SFO.
And while Satero will be retired, he’s not walking away completely. In between travel and “all sorts of hobbies,” Satero will be weighing in on SFO development in an advisory role. In addition, he plans to pick and choose certain things in the industry if opportunities arise,” Satero says. “But I’m just ready to move on and let my wife decide how we spend our time traveling and where we go.”
