Saturday, June 14, 2014

Donovan takes off from Pensacola International Airport (KPNS) job

It looks like Greg Donovan, director of Pensacola International Airport, is moving ahead with plans to assume the executive director job at Melbourne International Airport.

Donovan on Thursday announced his resignation from Pensacola International, where he had held that airport's top post since March 2013.

The Melbourne Airport Authority on Tuesday offered him the job here, contingent on contract negotiations. The authority meets Wednesday and will likely vote on approving Donovan's contract. The pay scale listed for the job is between $129,000 to $163,000 annually.

Donovan would replace Richard Ennis, who announced plans to retire next month after leading the airport since 2005.

According to FLORIDA TODAY's sister paper, the Pensacola News Journal, Pensacola Mayor Ashton Hayward issued a statement Thursday afternoon praising Donovan's accomplishments while working with the city.

"Greg has been an incredible asset both to my team and to our airport," Hayward said. "His expertise, passion and leadership have been invaluable, and with his help we have been able to make great progress at Pensacola International Airport. This is a great opportunity for Greg to advance his career, and I wish him the very best as he transitions into this new endeavor."

On Thursday, Donovan was quoted in the Pensacola News Journal saying he was excited to return to his Melbourne roots. Donovan is familiar with the area, as a graduate of Florida Institute of Technology.

"Serving as Pensacola's airport director has been a wonderful experience," he said, "and I am so proud of everything my staff and I have been able to accomplish. We have laid the groundwork for bringing new aerospace industries and jobs to our community, and I am confident that Pensacola International Airport is well-positioned for continued success.

"This is a very exciting career opportunity," he said of the Melbourne position, "and I am looking forward to working with the airport authority staff and board members who are focused on business development on Florida's Space Coast. I'm also excited about returning and collaborating with my alma mater to explore ways to advance aviation, engineering and economic development."

During Donovan's tenure at the Pensacola airport, the city added new service from Southwest Airlines and Silver Airways, increased seat capacity by 13 percent, welcomed the addition of the 127-room Hyatt Place hotel to the airport campus and secured more than $21 million in aviation-specific grants from the Federal Aviation Administration and Florida Department of Transportation, Hayward said.

Donovan also played a key role in the adoption of a strategic land-use plan for the airport and negotiations with Singapore-based ST Aerospace to locate a maintenance, repair and operations facility at the airport.


Story and photo:  http://www.floridatoday.com

No comments:

Post a Comment