Mitzi Chamakala Chollampel
Senior Manager, International Marketing & P.R., Dallas Fort Worth International Airport
AGE 39
- Alma Mater: The University of Texas at Austin (Hook ‘Em!), and the University of Texas at Dallas
- What is your dream job? I’m not interested in having just one dream job over my career – as long as I’m having fun every day and learning new things, I’m holding a dream job.
- Who has impacted your career the most? My parents – they taught me the value of resilience and being resourceful when there seems to be no apparent solution to problems.
- If I could go anywhere, it would be: Back to Kerala, India. It’s been several years since I have visited my relatives and I’d like to take all three of our young kids to meet them.
- Favorite airport restaurant/eatery: The Italian Kitchen by Wolfgang Puck at DFW Airport, Terminal D, Gate D34
Mitzi Chollampel didn’t have a focus on aviation when she was going to school, but since entering the field she has adapted quickly
Chollampel got married and moved from Texas to California and was looking to move back when a job opportunity in aviation appeared. While she wasn’t too clear on what it would entail and didn’t even realize airports had marketing people who recruit airlines to their geographic region.
“As a traveler, it didn’t occur to me that that’s what happens,” she said. “I thought that was the neatest thing to say it’s a B2B sales and marketing and how do you entice not just the audience of a traveler that you might think of as an airport, but the audience of an airline to think about this region when they’re deciding where to put their next flight.”
Chollampel is the head of the international marketing and public relations department within the global strategy and development division at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW). Her role includes managing a multi-million dollar budget, multiple international agencies around the world and providing leadership and strategic direction to a team of six individuals and 17 external staff.
In addition to supporting efforts to recruit both cargo and passenger airlines, Chollampel oversees all communications to increase inbound traffic to DFW. She has developed and implemented the overall IMPR strategic communications plan that promotes DFW in the global marketplace.
Chollampel led the airport mission to Tokyo and Hong Kong with a delegation of 28 including the mayors of Dallas and Fort Worth, and 15 North Texas businesses. Results included 26 meetings with senior government officials, business leaders, and media delivering 20 articles worldwide with a total circulation of more than 28 million.
Communications included the first ever DFW trade mission social media plan that garnered 98,149 impressions.
DFW also partnered with American Airlines on a successful sales incentive promotion which reported 67 percent year-over-year increase in agent bookings and 8 percent market share shift to DFW for China-LATAM.
Social media was also a big focus with the launch of DFW’s Weibo page. Followers were increased from 3000 to 401,000 via a collaborative social campaign with AA. A key strategic objective within DFW’s strategic plan is the implementation of all airport missions conducted around the globe.
Chollampel work has resulted in top honors at Regional and World Routes Marketing Awards and has supported DFW’s strategic growth by attracting 30 new international routes.
Chollampel is also a board member of Fort Worth Sister Cities International and involved in the US-India Chamber of Commerce (DFW). She is also a national founder of Kappa Phi Gamma Sorority Inc, the first ever South Asian focused Greek-letter organization that is over 700 members across 17 universities.
