BRADENTON, Fla. - Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed plans to name a new manager of Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport in the next two weeks after announcing three finalists under consideration for the job April 21.
Five candidates were initially selected by a committee working with the international executive search firm Korn Ferry.
Reed met with the contenders and chose three finalists who he will interview a second time before naming the manager of the world's busiest airport. The Atlanta City Council must confirm the appointment.
The three finalists are Deborah Ale Flint, director of aviation at Oakland International Airport; Miguel Southwell, Atlanta's interim aviation general manager; and Paul Wiedefeld, executive director of the Maryland Aviation Administration.
"I'm pleased to see this process move ahead, and look forward to naming a dynamic executive to lead the city of Atlanta's most valuable asset," Reed said in a release. "The new GM will play a critical role in maintaining the airport's status as the world's busiest passenger airport, while growing our air cargo capacity."
Southwell was named to serve as interim manager late last year when Louis Miller announced he would retire Jan. 3. Southwell has 23 years of experience at Atlanta International serving as deputy director of business, interim assistant general manager for business and finance, among other positions.
Flint was appointed director of aviation at Oakland International Airport in April 2010. She is responsible for the operation, management, and business development. She previously worked as assistant aviation director, and her experience includes implementing Oakland's capital program and coordinating the design and bond financing of major airport projects.
Airport Revenue News, a monthly trade magazine, selected Flint as the 2013 Director of the Year in the small/medium airports category. Oakland is owned and operated by the Port of Oakland, an independent department of the city.
Wiedefeld, who has 30 years' experience in public and private sector transportation management, currently is chief executive officer at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. He held the CEO's job from 2002 through 2005, then left to be the administrator of the Maryland Transit Administration.
Wiedefeld was reappointed airport CEO after Baltimore's then-director Timothy Campbell retired at the end of 2009. In the private sector, he worked 10 years in business and project management with Parsons Brinckerhoff, including as director of the firm's Aviation Consulting practice.
Baltimore is overseen by the Maryland Aviation Commission, which was created by the state's General Assembly in 1994.
