Jacksonville airport chief to become CEO of Indianapolis Airport Authority
INDIANAPOLIS—Indianapolis Airport Authority President Randall L. Tobias today announced the selection of John D. Clark, III as the new Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Authority.
Clark, now the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Jacksonville (Florida) Aviation Authority, will join the Indianapolis authority on April 13. His selection by the Indianapolis board’s search committee will be presented for formal approval at the March 20 meeting of the authority board.
“Our search committee found in John Clark someone with a lifelong passion for aviation, a remarkable record of success and a set of experiences particularly suited to the needs of Indianapolis,” Ambassador Tobias said.
Since 1996, Clark has been the chief executive for the Jacksonville airports, and has been Executive Director and CEO of the Jacksonville authority since its creation in 2001. The authority operates Jacksonville International Airport (JIA) and three general aviation airports. Jacksonville International, which handles 6 million passengers a year, won the #1 ranking in customer service among North American airports for the fourth quarter of 2008 in a survey commissioned by the Airports Council International-North America.
“John Clark has distinguished himself through a 25-year career in aviation,” Tobias said. “Among other indicators of his strong leadership is the high regard in which he is held by his peers in the aviation industry.” Clark currently serves as the Chairman of the Board of Airports Council International–North America (ACI-NA), whose member airports enplane more than 95 percent of the domestic and virtually all of the international airline passenger and cargo traffic in North America. He is also a member of the World Governing Board for ACI- World, whose members operate over 1,679 airports in 177 countries and territories.
“We were particularly impressed with his record of growth in revenue and air services for the Jacksonville authority, goals that are important to us here in Indianapolis,” Tobias said.
Clark called his selection “a tremendous opportunity.”
“I look forward to working with Ambassador Tobias and the IAA Board of Directors, Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard, community leaders and employees of the IAA in helping to ensure that Indianapolis and Central Indiana has the best airport system possible and that the Indianapolis Airport Authority plays an aggressive role in addressing the tremendous opportunity it has to serve as a key catalyst to the region’s long term economic growth and development,” Clark said.
Clark also said that he was particularly excited to begin working to plan and integrate the airport’s role in helping host the 2012 Super Bowl in Indianapolis. Clark was previously recognized for his leadership in successfully hosting air travel for the 2005 NFL Super Bowl held in Jacksonville.
The Indianapolis Airport Authority operates Indianapolis International Airport, which serves 8 million passengers a year, and five general aviation airports in the Indianapolis metropolitan area.
Clark will succeed John J. Kish as Executive Director. Kish, who also directed the $1.1 billion New Indianapolis Airport Project, is taking over direction of a project to build a new arena in Evansville.
Clark’s aviation career includes posts as Airport Director for the City of Detroit, Michigan; Airport Manager for Chandler Airport in Fresno, California; and business development director for the Sacramento County, California airports.
Prior to the creation of the Jacksonville Aviation Authority, Clark was Vice President–Aviation for the Jacksonville Port Authority, which operated both the seaport and the airports.
He has served as the chair of the Jacksonville Urban League and the Jacksonville Convention & Visitors Bureau and as a director of several organizations, including Wolfson Children’s Hospital, United Way of Northeast Florida, First Tee of North Florida and Guardian Catholic Schools.
He holds a master’s degree in public administration from Golden Gate University and is married with two children.