Interim director chosen to lead Little Rock's Clinton National Airport

Bryan Malinowski, executive director at Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport/Adams Field, is shown in this file photo.
Bryan Malinowski, executive director at Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport/Adams Field, is shown in this file photo.

The Little Rock Municipal Airport Commission on Tuesday named Bryan Malinowski to lead Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport/Adams Field.

Malinowski, 49, had been serving as executive director on an interim basis since the departure of his longtime boss, Ron Mathieu, in June.

"I'm humbled with the offer, very humbled," he said moments after the seven-member commission approved a motion Tuesday afternoon after a day spent interviewing Malinowski and two other candidates recommended by a search firm. "I truly look forward to it and I thank you for your time and your confidence, and I'll do my very best to make you all proud."

The other finalists for the job were Martha Hernandez, an assistant vice president at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, and Craig Williams, former director at Bishop Airport in Flint, Mich.

Kenneth Gwyn, senior project manager for ADK Consulting and Executive Search of Atlantic Beach, Fla., said all three were strong candidates. They were recommended after a screening process from a field of 43 applicants from across the United States, based on what commission members said they wanted in filling the post.

"They wanted a good leader, someone who had airport experience, strong financial acumen, and those are the qualities that we looked for when we screened the candidates we had," he said.

Commission Chairman Jesse Mason said Malinowski's experience at Clinton National was a help but not the deciding factor.

"The interviews went fine," Mason said. "We had three great candidates. Very qualified. But we felt that of the three, Bryan had not only been here for a while -- like 11 years -- but he has also proven that he is capable of taking us to the next level."

Commission member Meredith Catlett agreed.

"We are very pleased," she said. "We made a great decision, we're confident of it, and we look forward to working together in the years to come."

Malinowski has been at Clinton National since 2008, when Mathieu hired him as the properties, planning and development director. He became deputy executive director a year later.

He was Mathieu's top lieutenant as Mathieu engineered a turnaround of the airport's finances that left hefty balance sheets and no debt while pushing through a series of projects totaling $90 million to modernize the airport's passenger terminal.

Completion of a $26 million upgrade of the passenger concourse came in 2018. The project included replacing 806 seats with ones equipped with charging stations to allow passengers to charge cellphones and other electronic devices while they wait on their flights. The airport also renovated all 12 gates, replaced some of the jet bridges and made other improvements.

Work is ongoing on a $5.3 million renovation of the pre-security lobby area on the terminal's second floor, which includes new storefronts; ceiling, wall and floor finishes; lighting and fire-protection systems; video display walls; and public art. The project also involves renovating the River Bend restaurant; changes that would create some meeting rooms; and an additional space for people waiting for arrivals in the atrium, also called the lobby.

The project also will replace the escalators that carry passengers between the pre-security lobby area and the ticket lobby and baggage-claim area on the ground floor. Replacement of one elevator and the addition of a second is included.

Malinowski's selection comes as passenger traffic continues to rebound at Clinton National after years of falling numbers. The airport had 2.1 million passengers 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.

Malinowski, a Pennsylvania native, has more than 25 years of experience as an airport executive. He previously 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 is a pilot. He is a certified flight instructor and holds a commercial pilot certificate. He also has ratings to fly multiengine aircraft and on instruments only.

He and his wife, Maer, reside in Little Rock.

Hernandez has risen through the ranks at Dallas/Fort Worth International, 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. Her latest role, which she began in March 2018, is 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 recently was director of the 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 the 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's degree in public administration with a concentration in transportation policy, operations and logistics from George Mason University.

Malinowski's salary and other compensation remain to be negotiated. The negotiations will be led by Mason; the airport's personnel director, Mark Williams; and Carolyn Witherspoon, the airport's outside counsel.

When the commission named Malinowski as interim executive director on May 31, it boosted his annual salary 7%, to $216,215.65, while he served dual roles.

Mathieu was making an annual base salary of $235,994.65, a sum that ranked him among the highest-compensated city employees, when he resigned. His base annual salary as the top executive at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport in Alabama is $300,000.

A Section on 11/13/2019

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