Not a lot of people know that a Black woman, Deborah Flint, is the CEO of the Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), which owns and operates LAX and Van Nuys Airports - two of the largest and busiest airports in the country. As CEO since 2015, Flint has made significant transformations to help enhance the experience of passengers who travel to and from Los Angeles, California.
Deborah was appointed by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti in June 2015 to lead LAWA and make Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Van Nuys Airport (VNY) world-class airports. And in her more than 4 years of leadership, she accomplished exactly that!
"Deborah is an extraordinary leader whose ingenuity, patience, and uncommon commitment have helped bring LAX to the doorstep of transformational change," Mayor Garcetti said in a statement. "She has put in motion all the key pieces of LAX's modernization, from the contracts and groundbreakings for the Automated People Mover train and other state-of-the-art facilities to the team that will build the airport of the future to welcome the world in 2028."
Deborah spearheaded the $14 billion capital improvement program that includes an automated people mover train, a consolidated rent-a-car facility, the Intermodal Transportation Facility - West, a new facility for the Aiport Police, and the almost finished Midfield Satellite Concourse.
Most of the projects she focused on are those that would really improve the passengers' experience through innovation and technology as well as sustainability. She has also been praised for her good leadership that implemented a collaborative, disciplined, and accountable decision-making approach.
Bigger and better things
In April 2020, Deborah will leave her job in Los Angeles to serve as President and CEO of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority that operates Toronto Pearson Airport - the largest and busiest airport in Canada.
"It is bittersweet to be leaving LAWA, but, as a Canadian-born airport executive, I am looking forward to this homecoming and to leading Toronto Pearson, a rising and notable star on the international airport stage," Flint said in a statement.
She continued, "It has been my honor to sign the contracts, put shovels in the ground, and implement robust oversight programs for some of the most ambitious projects at any airport in the world and in Los Angeles history. I look forward to watching the amazing LAWA team bring these projects to fruition and truly achieve our vision of gold standard airports, delivered."