Interviewed on January 21, January 22, and January 29, 2021
The interview describes the life and career of Angela Gittens, who was the Deputy Director at San Francisco International Airport (SFO), CEO at Atlanta Hartsfield and Miami International Airport, and was the Director General of ACI [Airports Council International] World from 2008 until her retirement in 2020; her early life and education in New York City; her college education in sociology and medical administration in New Jersey and Michigan; her work in the hospital field in New York and San Francisco; recruitment to SFO; her hiring by Airport Director Louis Turpen; general changes in airport management; various projects she led; shift in management at SFO during deregulation, including relations with airlines and vendors; relationship between SFO and the City and County of San Francisco; different connections between Atlanta and Miami and their airports; decision to work for Atlanta-Hartsfield in 1993; recruiting and hiring process; opening the international terminal; preparing the airport for the 1996 Olympics; general improvements she led; challenges; her management style; decision to work for Miami International Airport in 2001; capital improvements she led; challenges she faced; experiences on 9-11, the changes that event brought to the airport industry, and the challenges; managing a transition for London-Luton Airport from public to private ownership; contrast between the two types of ownership; differences in the relationships between airports and their regulatory bodies in the United States and abroad; decision to work for ACI World in 2008; ACI’s role in the airport ecosystem; projects she led; improvements she and her staff implemented; changes in airport management over the years; new challenges to airports; need for and implementation of increased diversity in airport hiring practices; changes that COVID-19 will make on the industry; experiences with prejudice and her thoughts on how to overcome those biases.
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