b'74 INDUSTRY INSIDERNever Waste a Crisis For the past two years, we haveairport industry and is proven to work. been managing a perpetualAirports in Europe, Asia, Canada andMario Rodriguez, crisis with little to no time toSouth America have already turned tochief executive think about the incredible amount ofa private model. It means freedom fromofficer of the change that has occurred and continuesan archaic system that inhibits common- Indianapolis Airport to happen around us. No matter howsense solutions. It is important to noteAuthority, served you define its turning point, the COVIDthat todays top airports are locatedon the Presidential pandemic is one of the most significantoutside the United States.Transition Team and was appointed by defining events in world history. It hasWorld-class cities and regionsthree presidents affected all aspects of human society andhave world-class transportation hubs,to serve on the U.S. Transportation shaken the pillars of complacency, andnamely airports. Federal regulatorsDepartments Aviation Consumer now is the time to question our statusand some governance structures haveProtection Advisory Committee.He quo. As we reflect, one thing becomesplaced rigid boundaries on the ability ofhas been awarded the highest honor apparent. Over the years, the U.S. hasthese incredible assets to improve ourin the state of Indiana and by his lost our standing as the preeminent worldcommunities and reach world-classpeers at Airports Council International.leader in aviation, possibly through pastRodriguez is an engineering graduate status. In other words, these frameworksof the University of Miami, attended complacency. That space is happilystifle rather than allow the U.S. airport filled by countries that are rivals or atthe Harvard Kennedy School, and is industry to flourish; they limit creativityan accomplished author and speaker one time looked at us for leadership. It isand adaptability, as with regulated publicon issues impacting the transportation unimportant to dissect how we got here,utilities. A privatization model allowsindustry. For more than 30 years, he but we must design a better future andfor more access to capital markets forhas held leadership positions from Hong regain our rightful position in the world.development, reduces reliance on federalKong to Indianapolis.Let us begin by breaking the perpetualfunds, and creates more efficient and cycle that sets our Question Zerocost-effective organizations. Throughviewing pricing not just as revenue but (What are we trying to accomplish?) atincreased privatization, commercialas customer service. The difficulty is odds with our industrys approach torelationships can evolve into a morenot delivering public value, but instead running our organizations business. logical relationship governed by the rulesmeasuring public value. Simply put: How Everyone will agree that our Questionof rational business sense rather thando you measure the impact of, say, local Zero centers on somehow makingrestrained by regulations. Again, todaysart in the gateway to your community? our communities better, whether thetop airports are located outside of theAnd how do you do this in a regulated community is defined in geographicallyUnited States. environment that stifles out-of-the-box narrow terms such as a city or broaderAlternately, let us explore an equallycreativity? terms such as the nation as a whole.powerful but more esoteric way of Making our community better can takebettering our communities by increasingIn our case, it is a Sisyphean many forms, but for this exercise, letour organizations public value. It isstruggle to continue improving our us concentrate on the transference ofevident that all airports have an intrinsiclegacy of success despite archaic value back to the shareholders of ourpublic value by virtue of their mereregulations and practices. It truly can organizations. In broad terms, we canexistence. The focus is on increasingfeel like rolling a boulder up a mountain monetize our communitys investment public value beyond mere existencewhen trying to balance excellence in in these organizations by privatization by aligning business practices withcustomer service, meaningful economic or monetization through increasingQuestion Zero. The doorway to ourdevelopment, community engagement Public Value. communities is a powerful tool that weand sustainability in an industry that is The most direct and visible waycan wield to provide an opportunitynot very well understood by stakeholders shareholders, such as communities,where opportunity does not exist,and regulators alike. can benefit from their investment inshowcase local services and goods,I guess when it comes to publicairports is via privatization. In that way,tap into underserved communitiesvalue and excellence, the colloquial the monetizations can be reinvestedand provide jobs with livable wagesexpression, I know it when I see it,in infrastructure and services for theand benefits. Or it may be as simplefits perfectly. community. A move toward privatizationas analyzing our choices based on presents an essential opportunity for theeconomic impact determinants or March | April 2022AirportImprovement.com'