The Top 40 Under 40 is hands-down my favorite issue of the year.
I’m not alone. It’s one of the most read issues in the entire industry each year because we all want to see who’s driving North American aviation forward and making real change. I love watching the massive number of readers delve into the issue and the countless views that flood the website.
But I’m focused on one number this year: 27. That’s the age of our youngest winner in 2019.
This is the eighth installment of the Airport Business 40 Under 40 program and a lot of things have changed since it took flight nearly a decade ago. There are fewer airlines, more challenges and more technologies in place than ever before.
But the biggest change is coming in the workforce. That 27-year-old was just coming out of high school when the first 40 Under 40 were announced. It also means we’re on the precipice of a flood of young talent entering the industry that only know airports in the post-9/11 world.
Fresh eyes and young minds are entering the workforce and now impacting design and execution of the solutions to the many challenges airports face. Using their aptitude for aviation and technology coupled with a worldview of aviation unlike any veteran of the industry has ever known, they will soon bring leadership we never could anticipate before.
The industry is always changing and the challenges never go away. But this new change in the workforce is going to make waves in the next few years that are exciting and impactful.
— Joe
