Chad Leqve
Director of Environment
Metropolitan Airports Commission
Date of Birth: 2/27/1974
Years in Aviation: 20
Chad Leqve has worked in the aviation industry for 20 years and has been employed by the Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) since 1996. During his years at the MAC, he has taken on progressively increasing leadership roles, and currently serves as the MAC’s director of environment. He has amassed an impressive record of building and leading effective technical teams and successfully engaging stakeholders in a manner that has contributed in tangible ways to the aviation industry. Many of his accomplishments have contributed to the betterment of airport community engagement programs and the advancement of technical noise/environmental analysis utilities and process models.
Leqve has pioneered innovative synergies between environmental review and community communication programs. He served as one of the founding architects of the MSP Noise Oversight Committee (NOC) structure. He also authored an extensive Environmental Assessment that modified the assumptions and impact conclusions of the Final Environmental Impact Statement for a $3.2 billion airport expansion at MSP, which reduced opposition related to community impacts from a new runway. The effort included a comprehensive community public information program, for which he was awarded the FAA, Great Lakes Region, Outstanding Achievement Award for Community and Public Outreach in November 2008.
Leqve’s contributions to the industry in the area of technological advancements include leading the development of an Open Source aircraft flight tracking and noise monitoring system at MSP and supporting Performance-Based Navigation (PBN) procedure implementation at U.S. airports. Leqve was a contributing member of the RTCA, NextGen Advisory Commission–CatEx Taskforce, and led the development of an Airport Council International–North America NextGen policy paper, providing strategies for airports and the FAA to effectively engage stakeholders in the PBN design and implementation process.
Leqve has a Bachelor’s degree in Aviation Management from St. Cloud State University and is a certified multi-engine private pilot.
