Sarah Cody: Takes Airport Food and Beverage to New Heights
Senior Director, Communications & Public Relations
HMSHost Corporation
Age: 38
Years in Aviation: 3.5 years
Memberships: ACI-NA, AAAE, AMAC
Did you know?
Cody loves to travel internationally and tries to visit at least three countries every year.
Sarah Cody is senior director of Communications & Public Relations for global restaurateur HMSHost Corporation, the world’s leader in travel dining with operations in more than 100 airports globally. She leads the Communications department in managing communications strategy, media relations, crisis/issues management, marketing communications, internal communications and community relations. Cody collaborates directly with airport concessions and public relations teams to promote awareness of those airports’ food and beverage programs, and works with restaurant brand partners on cross-promotional activities as they enter into and operate in the airport environment. Dining in airports has changed significantly over the last several years and Cody and her team lead efforts to engage with and inform the traveling public on new and innovative restaurants and culinary experiences travelers can now find at many airports. She develops outreach strategies and oversees media relations activities such as grand opening events, media tours, and industry events, to introduce media to airport food and beverage offerings. She also promotes airport-related initiatives such as the first-of-its-kind Airport Restaurant Month and Channel Your Inner Chef culinary competition, and leads participation in community efforts such as the 100,000 Opportunities Initiative Partnership with Starbucks, to hire youth between the ages of 18 and 24 who are out of school and not working.
Cody also coordinates HMSHost’s community relations initiatives, and spearheaded the recent creation of HMSHost Foundation, whose mission is to fight poverty in the local community with food, shelter, education, and occupation. Cody contributes insight and content to many airport industry associations and publications, and provides company representation at airport-related conferences. She has an MBA in International Management with a focus on Marketing from Thunderbird School of Global Management, and Bachelor’s degrees in Marketing and Accounting from the R.H. Smith School of Business.
