The Little Rock Municipal Airport Commission is scheduled today to interview three candidates for the top post at Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport/Adams Field.
The finalists include Bryan Malinowski, interim executive director at Clinton National, who has been serving in that role since Ron Mathieu departed in June to take the top job at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport in Alabama.
Also making the cut was Martha Hernandez, an assistant vice president at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, and Craig Williams, former director at Bishop Airport in Flint, Mich.
The three candidates were recommended by ADK Consulting and Executive Search of Atlantic Beach, Fla., from among 40 people who applied to be executive director at Arkansas' largest airport, said commission Chairman Jesse Mason.
From the applicants, the search firm selected 10 semifinalists to interview before recommending the three the commission will interview beginning at 10:30 a.m.
"We're very pleased," said Mason, who expressed confidence the commission will make a final selection after the candidates' interviews, which will be conducted in private.
Meredith Catlett, another commission member, said she was still reviewing the background information on the candidates and was uncertain of what would happen today.
But she added she was "confident that the team we hired" has vetted the best candidates.
Malinowski has nearly 25 years of experience as an airport executive. He has been at Clinton National for 11 years.
He joined the airport staff in March 2008 as its properties, planning and development director. He became deputy executive director a year later.
Malinowski also has served in executive positions at Fort Lauderdale International Airport in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; El Paso International Airport in El Paso, Texas; and Lehigh Valley International Airport in Allentown, Pa.
He holds a bachelor of science degree in aviation management and flight technology from the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Fla.
Malinowski also has experience in the cockpit. He is a certified flight instructor and holds a commercial pilot certificate. He also has ratings to fly multiengine aircraft and on instruments only.
Hernandez has been at Dallas/Fort Worth International for 17 years, according to her resume.
Dallas/Fort Worth International is the fourth busiest airport in the United States, according to Airports Council International, a trade organization. It handled 69.1 million passengers in 2018.
She joined the airport staff in 2002 as its financial reporting manager. She has gone on to hold six other posts at the airport. She has been in her latest role since March 2018, overseeing implementation of the airport's new integrated operations center, among other duties.
Hernandez's other jobs have included information technology audit supervisor and revenue accounting manager at American Airlines.
She holds a degree in business administration from the University of Texas-El Paso and a master's in business administration from Texas Christian University.
Williams' most recent post was director of Bishop International Airport Authority in Flint, Mich. He resigned in July after five years in the job, saying he had "other opportunities" to consider.
He joined Bishop after serving as operations and facilities director and administration and finance director at Fort Wayne-Allen County Airport Authority in Fort Wayne, Ind.
Williams previously was staff vice president for regulatory affairs and airport safety and security director at the American Association of Airport Executives in Alexandria, Va. He also served as heliports and technical program manager for Helicopter Association International, also in Alexandria.
He holds a bachelor of science degree in aviation administration from Indiana State University and a master of public administration with a concentration in transportation policy, operations and logistics from George Mason University.
Mathieu announced his departure less than two months after the commission gave him a favorable annual review and a 3% raise to boost his annual base salary to $235,994.65.
His base annual salary at the Birmingham airport is $300,000.
Clinton National saw 2.1 million passengers go through its gates in 2018, a 5.5% rise over the previous year. The airport has a $34.9 million annual operating budget and employs more than 150 people.
Metro on 11/12/2019