When airports across the country need executive leadership, local governments usually hire a search firm at taxpayer expense to find that new leader.

Twice over the past five years, Lee County commissioners have chosen not to use a search firm, going against the trend for elected officials. Now commissioners are learning Southwest Florida International Airport’s terminal expansion project is $135 million over budget and perhaps as many as three years behind schedule, according to a departing port authority staffer’s email.

During that same five-year span, five airports of similar size and traffic to RSW each hired a search firm to fill its executive director position.

Kansas City, Missouri; San Francisco Bay/Oakland, San Antonio, Cleveland and Indianapolis each used either ADK Consulting or Korn Ferry, the two leading search firms for municipalities to find airport executives. Those airports have major construction projects planned or recently completed, ranging from a $190 million runway reconstruction project in Indianapolis to a $2.5 billion planned terminal rebuild in Cleveland.

Lee County’s airport infrastructure improvements fall right in between. RSW has the $331 million terminal expansion, which has stalled construction. And it has the more than $1 billion Terminal E construction project in planning stages that will become the most expensive infrastructure project in county history.

The terminal expansion’s expected budget shortfalls have yet to be confirmed by port authority staff, Chief Communications and Marketing Officer Vicki Moreland said in an email.

“The design engineers are working with the construction manager on the best ways to accomplish changes for the Terminal Expansion Project Phase 1,” Moreland said. Manhattan Construction is managing the project. “Once that is completed, we will be going to the Board of Port Commissioners for their endorsement of any budget and schedule adjustments.”

The five Lee County commissioners double as the Board of Port Commissioners. Gulfshore Business sought comment from all five about this subject via email Aug. 26. Commissioner Kevin Ruane declined an interview request through his executive assistant, suggesting board Chair Mike Greenwell instead. Greenwell was unavailable, his executive assistant said.

Commissioner Ray Sandelli declined an interview request, saying through his executive assistant he was “not currently available.”

Commissioner Cecil Pendergrass declined an interview request through his executive assistant, who said he was out of town on county business.

Commissioner Brian Hamman did not respond to an email or text message seeking comment.

In November 2019, Sandelli, Pendergrass and Hamman voted to fire Jeff Mulder as airport director after he asked for a 13% pay raise to be in line with other airport directors in salary. He had been making $260,000 and sought $295,000.

Mulder since landed as the leader of Oklahoma City’s Will Rogers World Airport from an executive search process. He is making about $234,000 per year at a smaller airport.

“I want it on the record that today’s action taken by this board in terminating the executive director was the biggest mistake in government action that I have witnessed in the 40 years off and on that I have seen,” the late Frank Mann said during the public meeting in which he voted against Mulder being fired. “I am sickened by what happened.”

The commissioners voted to appoint Ben Siegel as Mulder’s replacement in January 2021. Siegel had worked at the port authority for three decades and had been interim director since Mulder’s firing. Lee County Port Authority does not have a resume for Siegel on file, it was determined as part of a public records request.

Steven Hennigan

Siegel retired in April, and commissioners again decided against using the executive search process, hiring Steve Hennigan, who was already on staff. Hennigan agreed to a contract paying $250,000 per year.

Lee County last used search firm ADK Consulting when it hired Mulder in 2017.

ADK Consulting typically charges $50,000 for a search. Korn Ferry typically charges about one-third the amount of the position’s annual salary—or $83,000 going by the current salary in Lee County. Both companies said the process typically lasts three to four months.

Doug Kuelpman co-founded ADK Consulting in 2003. Based in Jacksonville, the company specialized in airport executive searches across the country and around the world and since has branched out to filling other municipal jobs.

Governments can use their own human resource departments to fill airport executive positions, but they are not able to tap into ADK’s resources, Kuelpman said.

“Usually what that means for airports is they go place ads somewhere,” Kuelpman said. “There are a couple of places to place ads that are special to the industry. The problem with just placing ads is you have difficulty at times—many times—in really getting quality people, because they don’t know how to do sourcing. Fourteen percent of our placements in the airport industry are generated from ads that we have placed.

“That means 86% come from what we do is ‘call out and search.’ We have a database of close to 80,000 people who are affiliated with the airport industry. We have an applicant tracking system.”

Doug Kuelpman

Kuelpman can tailor the needs of the airport to the availability of the talent pool. A deputy director at a big market airport with construction project experience might make for a great fit at a mid-sized airport with approaching projects, Kuelpman said.

“Executive-level jobs typically come from a national pool and sometimes an international pool,” Kuelpman said. “We know hundreds of people in the airport industry. We know them personally. We’ve worked at 190-plus airports. People who are on our team are airport people. Six of them are former airport directors. So, we just have this wealth of a knowledge base.

“Sometimes you come up with people who are not so great candidates. There’s a screening process that’s very robust.”

Doing a search doesn’t mean the internal candidates are ignored, he said.

“If you have an internal candidate, they get measured up against the external candidate,” Kuelpman said.

While ADK focuses more on airport executives and has about 25 employees, Korn Ferry does all sorts of hiring searches and has about 4,400 employees.

Rishi Loungani of Korn Ferry is one of those employees, specializing in airport executive searches from West Palm Beach.

“If they’re looking at an internal candidate, we also factor that into their search as a third-party,” Loungani said. “We do a ton of searches across small, medium and large airports. We are giving an unbiased perspective of what’s on the market. This is who’s available, and these are the options.

“Some executives will bring the experience of having gone through a major airport transformation. Others will be up and coming. They’re being hired for their potential down the line as opposed to the been there, done that.

“The airport is a unique environment. It’s an economic driver for the region.”

When placing a port authority director, ADK has one eye on the present and another on the future, Kuelpman said.

“When we do a search, say for example, an executive director of an airport, we ask questions,” he said. “What’s coming down the pipe in the next five years? Because they all have plans. Almost always, you’re talking about infrastructure improvements. An airport is not just takeoffs and landings.

“(County) commissioners, they’re dealing with agendas other than the airport. People who are running an airport need to have a working knowledge of project development. If you don’t have the checks and balances in place, you’re having to rely on someone on the outside.”