AMAC ALC Fireside Chat: October 2023

Back by popular demand, the AMAC Airport Leadership Collective (ALC) presents the Fireside Chat speaker series. In 2022, we launched the series featuring dynamic women speakers, including former and previous Airport Directors, Deputy Directors, CEOs, Emerging Leaders and C-Suite leaders from the aviation industry. This series continues to support women in navigating their careers and providing recommendations for elevating their careers to senior-level opportunities within the aviation industry. Come prepared to hear from our speakers and participate in an interactive Q&A!

MODERATOR

Karen Ellis
At-Large Director, AMAC Board of Directors
Chair, AMAC Conference Planning Committee
Chief Customer Experience Officer, San Antonio Airport System

Karen W. Ellis serves as the Chief Customer Experience Officer for the San Antonio International Airport System (SAAS), which comprises the San Antonio International Airport and Stinson Municipal Airport. Karen has over 20 years of leadership and customer service experience in the aviation industry by serving with the following airports: Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Houston Airport System and now SAAS.

Karen holds a Master of Science in Human Resources Management from Troy University and a Bachelor of Science from Jacksonville State University. In conjunction with her educational background, Karen is a Certified Customer Care Manager by the Customer Service Institute and a certified Customer Service Manager by the Customer Service Institute of America. She is also a Certified Customer Experience Specialist by Airport Council International (ACI). Through Toastmasters International, Karen has achieved the status of Competent Toastmaster, Advanced Toastmaster Bronze and Competent Leader with Toastmasters International and served as President of the International Customer Service Association Georgia Chapter. She currently serves as the Co-Chair of the Customer Experience Working Group for ACI and is the past Chair of the Training Committee for the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE).

PANEL

Rosa M. Beckett
CEO, Jackson Municipal Airport Authority

Rosa M. Beckett, IAP, CM, MBA, MHRM, is the new CEO of the Jackson Municipal Airport Authority (JMAA). After a nationwide search, The Board unanimously chose Ms. Beckett. Beckett brings over 30 years of leadership experience to her new position, including over 22 years of executive experience in airports and transportation.

As an International Airport Professional (IAP) designated by ICAO-ACI and a Certified Member (CM) of the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE), Beckett has served as the Chief Administrative Officer at Fraport USA and the Chief Administrative Officer for the Jacksonville Aviation Authority (JAA). Fraport USA is a subsidiary of Fraport AG, a worldwide airport leader. Fraport serves over 300 million passengers in a year worldwide at 30 airports operating globally in 10 countries with $3.8 billion in revenues. Fraport USA delivers an innovative concessions program in the U.S., delivering unprecedented gross sales for its clients exceeding $500M. The JAA is the owner-operator of a diversified system of airports in Northeast Florida, including Jacksonville International, Cecil, Jacksonville Executive at Craig, and Herlong Recreational airports.

During her tenure at Fraport USA, Beckett played a pivotal role during the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring continued operations for the master developer of airport concessions, serving airport clients such as Baltimore, Cleveland, Nashville, Pittsburgh airports, and JetBlue JFK-T5 and Newark Terminal B.

Beckett served 18 years at the JAA. Ms. Beckett held several roles across various disciplines, including administration, marketing, and development. She had responsibilities for human resources, procurement, information technology, disadvantaged business enterprise, storeroom, marketing, air service development, real property, and facilities development.

Beckett has been a featured panelist in aviation on both the global and domestic stage, including with ACI-NA, AAAE, AMAC, ACC, COMTO, and ICAO. Her speaking engagements have taken her as far as ACI Asia-Pacific in Hong Kong and the ICAO Air Transport Meeting on Promoting Connectivity for Sustainable Air Transport Development in Georgetown, Guyana.

Beckett also held an executive role in public transportation at the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA). While at the JTA, Beckett refocused the organization’s recruitment process to fill critical operator positions and re-engaged public events and marketing campaigns as the organization emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic. Before her transportation career, Beckett worked in financial services at Merrill Lynch for over 11 years. Ms. Beckett was Vice President of Change Management for Merrill Lynch Credit Corporation. She has held several financial services roles and licenses, including licenses with the Securities Exchange Commission and the State of Florida.

Beckett is an active member of the community, having served on several boards, including the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce, Baptist Medical Center Jacksonville, Leadership Jacksonville, Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) of Jacksonville, the Children’s Home Society (CHS) of Northeast Florida, Airports Council-North America H.R. Committee, and U.S. Department of Commerce Malcolm Baldrige Award.

Committed to the community beyond just membership, Ms. Beckett has held several leadership roles on Boards, including Leadership Jacksonville Board President, CREWJax Chapter President, CHS of North Florida Board Chair, and ACI-NA HR Committee Chair.

Her contributions in the field of Aviation were acknowledged in 2018 by the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO), recognizing her as a Women Who Move the Nation Honoree in Aviation. She was also recognized as a Women of Influence Honoree by the Jacksonville Business Journal, Jacksonville Chamber Professional Women’s Council Corporate Supporter of Women in Business Honoree, and the Association of Fundraising Professionals National Philanthropy Day Honoree.

Beckett is a graduate of Leadership Florida and Leadership Jacksonville. Ms. Beckett earned her Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Master of Human Resources Management (MHRM) from the University of North Florida Coggin College of Business. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications. Ms. Beckett is an avid fan of football and enjoys traveling.

Nikki T. Harland
At-Large Director, AMAC Board of Directors
Chief Operating Officer, Paradies Lagardère

As the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Paradies Lagardere, Nikki oversees over $1B in sales that contribute to the organization’s continued success and standing in the Travel Retail industry. She is responsible for Retail Operations, Dining, Merchandising, Business Systems and Transformation and Human Resources. Nikki is also a founding member of the organization’s Diversity & Inclusion Council.

With over twenty-five years of business and specific HR experience, Harland has contributed to various change initiatives in her career that have propelled turnarounds and growth efforts within organizations. Her work experience includes responsibility in the dining, retail, entertainment, and professional sports industries. Prior to her role with Paradies Lagardère, Nikki was the Senior Director of Field Human Resources for Gap, Inc.’s Old Navy Stores. In this role, she provided people leadership for the Brand’s 1,000+ stores and 45,000 employees in North America. Additional leadership experiences included Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. and Toys “R” Us.

Joy Rohadfox
CEO, Rohadfox Construction

In a male-dominated construction and program management world, one name stands out as a beacon of powerful leadership – Joy Rohadfox, CEO of Rohadfox Construction. For over 20 years, Joy built a reputation as an international trailblazer, securing contracts for airports, transit systems, iconic parks, and global water solutions. Joy has shattered barriers and redefined the norms in her field. As CEO, her visionary approach positions her as the vanguard of change in a multi-billion-dollar sector. As a woman at the forefront, Joy’s accomplishments inspire other women and the entire industry to embrace diversity and inclusion. With Joy at the helm, the horizon of possibilities broadens, and the future becomes brighter for all.