2019 Airport Business Top 40 Under 40: Kristen M. Clonan

Kristen M. Clonan’s career didn’t start in aviation, but her path to the industry has led her through some special events.

Clonan aspired to be a journalist at a time when news was going through a major seismic shift. After a few months in the newsroom, she yearned for a career behind the camera but and ended up shifting her focus to public relations and marketing, with a focus on event and experience building.

“I'd love for airports to become an epicenter for collaboration,” she said.  “I was so impressed recently when Pittsburgh International Airport developed a sensory-friendly airport suite, as I have a passion for supporting those with sensory, disability, mental health and accessibility needs."

Clonan is a senior consultant with KRW Consulting and is the former vice president of corporate communications for Hudson Group.

Clonan constantly goes above and beyond team boundaries to make things better. Her passion for philanthropy, community engagement and dedication to help those around her succeed

In 2018, Hudson Group’s Corporate Communications team, led by Clonan, was tasked with tackling an IPO. The team led the charge, becoming the lead communication, speech and presentation architects throughout the company's transaction period and thereafter, developing a unified messaging narrative and brand communications effort that incorporated four distinct company cultures 220 concessions contracts and 120 brands.

Under Clonan's leadership, Hudson's corporate communications team launched the company's first vendor mobile application and first employee mobile application. As they built out the corporate communications plan, the team’s vision for a new, more robust and interactive messaging strategy came to life with the company’s first foray into mobile applications at the annual vendor show, bringing more than 1,500 stakeholders together.

She also helped launch the company's first employer brand campaign, #TogetherWeAreTravel, and a reinvented employee newsletter reaching all 10,000 employees. 

“It would be great to see more and more airports taking an "airport urbanism" approach to design,” Clonan said. “I really love the concept of developing neighborhoods within airport hubs to create a little something for everyone.”