ST. LOUIS - St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay announced today that he is appointing Kevin C. Dolliole as the director of Lambert-St. Louis International Airport. Dolliole is currently the Aviation Director for the City of San Antonio. He has more than 28 years experience in management, operations, team building, diversity programs, and organizational leadership.
"Kevin is a strong leader with experience managing every aspect of airport operations," Slay said. "He understands that airports are regional economic assets and he involves the community in decisions. I was also impressed with his commitment to customer service. The improvements in the facilities in San Antonio have been recognized nationally."
"I am looking forward to the challenges and opportunities at Lambert Airport," Dolliole said. "A region's airport is vitally important to its economy. It is also the city's front door. So, we will focus on air service development and improving the customer experience at Lambert."
Before Dolliole took over, San Antonio's airport facilities were considered sub par. But, earlier this month, Airport Revenue News announced that a panel of experts picked San Antonio's Airport as having the best stores and restaurants for a small airport. In 2004, it tied the Calgary Airport for first place in the J.D. Power & Associates Global Airport Satisfaction Study.
As Aviation Director in San Antonio for the last five years, Dolliole has been responsible for all aspects of operations at San Antonio International Airport and Stinson Field, a general aviation reliever airport. Before that, he worked for ten years at New Orleans International Airport, where he managed every aspect of the airport's operations. He was Deputy Director of Aviation, then was promoted to Assistant Director, then Acting Director.
The search process was headed by retired business executive Barry Beracha, who worked with Boyden Global Executive Search. "Of the more than forty professionals from around the country who applied for the position of Lambert-St. Louis International Airport Director, Kevin Dolliole's background, experience and demeanor placed him at the top of the list of candidates," Beracha said. "We are pleased to have Kevin coming to work in St. Louis in this important position."
The San Antonio airport has 420 employees, seven million passengers, and 223,000 operations per year. Its major carriers are Southwest Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Airlines and Continental Airlines. Just last week, Frontier Airlines announced it was adding new service to San Antonio.
Dolliole, who is African American, also significantly increased women and minority business participation in the San Antonio terminal concessions program.
Dolliole has a B.S. in Business Administration from Xavier University of New Orleans and an M.B.A. from the University of New Orleans. Dolliole will be in St. Louis on March 30th to meet the airport staff, community and business leaders, and the news media. He will start his new job on May 2nd.
