Denver International Airport CEO Kim Day will step down this summer after 13 years presiding over large-scale expansion projects, rapid passenger growth and frequent flashes of controversy.
Day, 66, will retire July 16, DIA announced Friday, cementing a decision that Day said she had delayed during the pandemic. Her tenure — she’s overseen DIA for half of its history since it opened in 1995 — has been dominated by a drive to expand and remake major portions of the airport, seeking to elevate its international profile.
She took over during the Great Recession, but soon enough she was able to harness the growth and increasing revenue that came from the Front Range’s sustained population boom. Prior to the pandemic, DIA ranked as the nation’s fifth-busiest airport in terms of passenger traffic.
Her advocacy for costly projects at the airport — and occasional missteps — made Day a frequent lightning rod as one of the city’s highest-profile appointed officials.
But in the aviation industry, DIA’s success has attracted admiration.
“This current rebuild … has been disruptive. But in my opinion, the way they’ve handled the disruption has been pretty classy,” said Mike Boyd, an Evergreen-based aviation consultant, adding that hiccups are inevitable on big airport projects. “They’re working to get the airport rebuilt for the next generation of air transportation, and I think it’s going to be in good shape. And it’s happened while Kim Day was in charge.”
In a statement, Day attributed the decision to step down in part to surviving cancer in recent years. She said she also felt confident about the stability of several expansion projects underway as part of a $3.5 billion capital program.
Those projects include a $770 million terminal renovation that hit major turbulence in 2019 with city leaders’ decision to terminate the original contracting team. The project was revamped and resumed with a new set of contractors and a reduced scope.
“Experiencing breast cancer made me think about reducing stress and retiring last year, but then COVID-19 hit,” Day said. “I felt the responsibility to lead the airport through the pandemic and leave it in a strong and financially healthy place with major capital projects on target to meet their budget and schedule goals. I will miss so much about DEN and its talented and capable people. We have accomplished so much together, but I’m ready to discover the next phase of my life.”
Mayor Michael Hancock called Day “the dynamic leader we needed at a pivotal time.” Now in his third and final term, Hancock will appoint a successor to the city’s highest-paid job in coming months. The aviation manager’s salary is set by ordinance at $266,143 a year — also far more than any elected city official makes.
His nominee will face a need for consent from a majority of the City Council, a hurdle created for major appointees by voters last November.
Joe Amon, Denver Post file
The Denver Airport Westin, visible behind DIA’s iconic tented-roof terminal, is pictured from the FAA control tower at Denver International Airport on Feb. 20, 2015.The new CEO will inherit the major projects, which include the addition of 39 gates to DIA’s three concourses, as well as planning that recently began for a long-discussed seventh runway.
“We have a lot of ground to make up in a very short time,” said Councilman Kevin Flynn, referring to the terminal project setbacks. He chairs the council committee that handles airport-related proposals. “So the next person needs to have experience in getting things done quickly and efficiently and within budget.”
Day was appointed DIA manager by then-Mayor John Hickenlooper in early 2008. After Hancock’s first election in 2011, he retained Day. Before Denver, Day, who once worked as an architect, was an executive at Los Angeles World Airports.
DIA says annual passenger traffic has increased from 51 million when Day took over to 69 million in 2019, and the number of international destinations served by DIA increased from 170 to 214. Airport revenue grew from $842 million to $1.2 billion.
Last year, traffic hit a near-record low at all airports amid the pandemic, including DIA. But its diminished numbers came out ahead of many large airports, ranking it as seventh-busiest in the world for 2020.
Day’s controversial episodes stemmed in large part from her handling of costly expansion projects: She dreamed big, but the execution sometimes faltered — whether it was a glitchy $11.5 million airport entrance sign or a major project blow-up.
A decade ago, Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava exited a project to build a hotel and transit center on the south side of DIA’s tented-roof terminal, citing inadequate funding and an unrealistic schedule. The project was built for more than $700 million — and was the subject of city audits over its overruns — but Day has said the hotel was successful before the pandemic. The lower level of the facility is the platform where the A-Line commuter rail line from Union Station connects to DIA.
Hyoung Chang, Denver Post file
Construction inside the terminal at Denver International Airport, shown on Oct. 9, 2019, stopped as Great Hall Partners exited the project. Hensel Phelps Construction and other companies restarted work in early 2020.More recently, Day won Denver City Council’s support for a $1.8 billion public-private partnership deal with a Spanish-led consortium that included the Great Hall terminal renovation as well as three decades of private oversight over new airport concessions. That arrangement devolved into acrimony over cost overruns, design disputes and accusations of micromanaging by Day and other DIA executives, a charge Day disputed.
In August 2019, Day announced the city’s termination of that deal. The revamped renovation, underway since mid-2018, is now projected to be finished in early 2024 — more than two years behind schedule. Last month, DIA officials said they are weighing options to revive part of a security relocation that had been cut, which could prolong the work.
Susan Barnes-Gelt, a former city councilwoman who’s a frequent critic of Hancock, praised Day for bringing smarts and grit to the job — and prevailing through those setbacks.
“I give huge kudos to Kim Day,” she said, “and I think Denver will be hard-pressed to find an aviation director as visionary and professionally competent.”
Day survived all the controversies in part because DIA’s economic success and growth were undeniable.
“Kim Day’s impact on Denver International Airport, and subsequently on our regional economy, is indelible,” Hancock said in DIA’s news release. “Kim has been the dynamic leader we needed at a pivotal time of growth and opportunity for our city and state. … Kim’s dedication to our shared vision of creating a world-class airport is a crowning achievement of her professional career and a lasting legacy for my administration.”
"day" - Google News
May 15, 2021 at 12:19AM
https://ift.tt/3hEqFSH
Denver airport CEO Kim Day to retire, ending 13-year tenure - The Denver Post
"day" - Google News
https://ift.tt/3f7h3fo
https://ift.tt/2VYSiKW
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Denver airport CEO Kim Day to retire, ending 13-year tenure - The Denver Post"
Post a Comment