Business Advocacy Speaker Series: John Wayne Airport, Airport Director, Charlene Reynolds

Charlene Reynolds currently serves as the Airport Director of John Wayne Airport, a dynamic medium hub commercial airport. Ms. Reynolds manages all activities related to the airport’s operation and is directly responsible for six airport divisions, including Business Development, Finance, Maintenance, Operations, and Public Affairs. Charlene Reynolds formerly held the position of Chief Commercial Officer for the Houston Airport System. Ms. Reynolds managed the airport system’s revenue-generating entities, including the In-Terminal Sales, Parking and Ground Transportation and Real Estate Development & Leasing business units.
Charlene also led the negotiation team for the Southwest Airlines seven-gate expansion at William P. Hobby Airport (HOU). She worked with Spirit Airlines to bring their newest Maintenance Hub to George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH). In collaboration with the Director of Parking and Ground Transportation (GT), she deployed strategies to increase revenues for HAS parking assets. Charlene successfully negotiated the request for proposals (RFP) for the IAH Terminal Redevelopment Program (ITRP) and HOU food, beverage and retail, as well as the development of future everyday use lounges in IAH and HOU. She brought new concepts to the HAS concessions program (gaming, automated retail, etc.) and developed the strategy for mobile ordering in our airports.
Before HAS, Charlene served as the Assistant Aviation Director – Business Planning for Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport for four years. She was responsible for the Contracts and Services, Business and Properties, Fiscal Management, and Air Service Development Divisions. During her tenure as the Assistant Director, Charlene created award winning programs that provided more opportunities for small and local businesses at the airport.
Ms. Reynolds also led Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport as the Interim Aviation Services Director during the pandemic from October 2020 through March 2021. During this time Charlene led efforts to provide a safe working environment for employees and passengers, provided rent relief to the airport’s business partners, while maintaining a strong financial strategy to ensure the airport could continue its major capital improvement projects such as the extension of the SkyTrain and the new eight (8) gate expansion at Terminal 4.
She also served as the Chairwoman for the City of Phoenix Employee Retirement System (COPERS) and President-Elect for the local chapter of National Forum for Black Public Administrators. She is an active member of Airport Council International (ACI), Airport Minority Advisory Council (AMAC), and the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE). She holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University.
Date and Time
Thursday Jun 6, 2024
9:00 AM - 10:30 AM PDT
Thursday, June 6, 2024
9 AM - 10:30 AM
Location
Greater Irvine Chamber of Commerce
36 Executive Park, Suite 100
Irvine, CA 92614
Fees/Admission
Open to Greater Irvine Chamber members only.
Registration required.
Contact Information
Marcella Avilez
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