Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) General Manager Balram “B” Bheodari announced Monday, April 25 the permanent appointment of Bryan Benefiel as chief financial officer and deputy general manager of finance and accounting at ATL. Benefiel had served in the position on interim basis since 2021. Bheodari also announced the appointment of Jai Ferrell as deputy general manager, chief commercial officer.
“These promotions speak volumes about our desire to cultivate a strong group of employees who are prepared to advance their careers at ATL,” said Bheodari. “Both Bryan and Jai have manifested professionalism, leadership, and conscientiousness in their work at the Airport. Their promotions are richly deserved and will serve the city of Atlanta well.”
Benefiel joined the airport in 2012 as the director of financial planning and analysis. He was promoted to assistant general manager of finance and accounting in early 2019, transitioned to assistant general manager of capital and financial planning in August of 2021, and was appointed as the interim deputy general manager and chief financial officer in December 2021. Prior to joining the airport, he served as director of general accounting for the city of Atlanta’s finance department. Prior to joining the city, Benefiel served in a number of finance and accounting roles with Grant Thornton, Accord Human Resources, and the American Cancer Society.
Benefiel is a Certified Public Accountant, Certified Management Accountant, and Certified Financial Manager. In the airport industry, he is a certified member of the American Association of Airport Executives and earned the International Airport Professional designation, a professional designation of Airports Council International and the International Civil Aviation Organization.
Benefiel earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Central Oklahoma.
Throughout her career at the Airport, Jai Ferrell has been a global leader and trailblazer, recognized nationally for her marketing and commercial development expertise. As a member of the airport’s executive team, Ferrell, who started with ATL in 2015 and was quickly promoted to the director of marketing, most recently served as the assistant general manager of commercial revenue development.
In her newly appointed role as the deputy general manager, chief commercial officer she will be responsible for the oversight of technology, innovation, commercial revenue, and commercial management. The airport’s commercial development division is also responsible for properties and airline affairs, concessions, parking, advertising, external real estate development, air service development and marketing & brand strategy. ATL’s commercial development division typically approaches $1billion in annual gross revenue.
Ferrell’s award-winning career spans 15 years, including work in entertainment television, consumer products and sports contributions to WarnerMedia (formerly Turner), CNN, Major League Baseball, Viacom and BET Networks. In 2019, Ferrell was named to the Atlanta Business Chronicle’s “40 under 40” class, in addition to earning recognition as a Woman of Excellence from the Atlanta Tribune Magazine. The Spelman alumna is an active Castleberry Hill resident and has a master’s degree in communications from Georgia State University. She is a 2017 Lead Atlanta alumna; 2017 Airport Business Magazine Top 40 Under 40 recipient; graduate of the KPMG Executive Women in Leadership program; member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.; and a life member of Phi Beta Kappa honor society.
