John I. Harden
| John I. Harden Vice President and Chief Operating Officerjharden@avports.com Mr. Harden currently serves as Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Avports. He has a highly diverse credential in airport and aviation management as demonstrated by his 30 years of experience, 21 of which have been with Avports and its predecessor Companies. In his capacity as Vice President, he is responsible to the Chief Operating Officer for all business, operational and development matters pertaining to the contract management of 5, highly active, FAA-certificated airports assigned to the Airports Group. Additionally, he is responsible for the formulation and implementation of business plans designed to increase activity and economic development at current aviation facilities managed by Avports. He is also responsible for tracking market trends and pursuing business opportunities with the goal of expanding and diversifying Avports’ portfolio of airport management and fixed base operations (FBO) contracts. He also oversees all marketing and sales initiatives for the Company and serves as a principle liaison with current and prospective customers. Mr. Harden first began his career with the Company in 1982 when it operated as a division of Pan American World Airways, Inc. After serving his first year as Assistant Manager of Teterboro Airport, he was promoted in 1983 to become Manager of Marketing and Sales, a position he held until his appointment as Vice President of Business Development in 1997. Throughout his tenure with the Company, Mr. Harden has either overseen or has been instrumental in accomplishing a number of prominent business development objectives. His most notable achievements have included securing new contracts to operate and manage Atlantic City’s two (2) airports, Republic Airport, Capital City Airport, Teterboro Airport and the renewals of the Republic, Atlantic City and Westchester County Airport contracts. He was also responsible for developing the business plan for posturing the company’s successful entry into the fixed base operations arena in 1988. Subsequent to this, he served as the proposal managers for the Company’s competitive appointments and renewals of the FBO contracts at Pittsburgh and Louisville International Airports as well as the purchase of FBOs in Wilmington, Gulfport-Biloxi and Burlington. He authored the initial draft of the Company’s Strategic Plan, has organized annual Management Retreats and has represented the Group as both members and sponsors at industry and civic events. Mr. Harden began his Airport Management career in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania when, from 1979 until 1982, he served as the Manager of Allegheny County Airport, an active general aviation reliever for Pittsburgh International Airport. Previous to this he served for four years with the U.S. Air Force as an Air Traffic Control Operations Officer. EDUCATION |
