Three Indianapolis airport execs lose their jobs in cost-cutting move

May 25--Three top executives at the Indianapolis Airport Authority have lost their jobs in a cost-cutting move that will save about $300,000.

Gone are Mark Hedegard, senior director of business development; Mark Kratky, controller; and Patzetta Trice, chief communications officer.

Robert Duncan, interim executive director, said the positions have been eliminated and their duties will be absorbed by others.

"We have certainly been evaluating our organizational structure, and as part of that, I was looking to create (one) a bit more efficient while reducing some of our internal bureaucracies," Duncan said.

Staffers were notified by an internal memo Wednesday.

Duncan, who took over in March after a parting of ways with former Executive Director John D. Clark III, would not speculate whether there will be further cutbacks or staff reductions.

"Like any organization, you look at what your needs are, and sometimes you have to make adjustments," he said. "The real honest answer is you just keep looking."

The airport authority, which is charged with running the municipally owned airport system at a time when jet fuel is on the rise and airlines are cutting back, still employs 450 full-time workers and enough part-timers to push that number to 500-plus.

The search for a permanent director is continuing.

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