2018 Airport Business Top 40 Under 40: Denis Verdier, C.M.

Oct. 1, 2018

Denis Verdier, C.M.
Senior Project Manager - Airside/Terminal, JFK Redevelopment Program, Port Authority of New York & New Jersey
DY Consultants
Age: 31

  • Alma Mater: Florida Institute of Technology and French Civil Aviation University
  • Favorite Aircraft: 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft
  • Favorite Book: "Devenez Sorciers, Devenez Savants", George Charpak (in english: "Become Wizards , Become Savants")
  • Favorite TV Show: Bloodline
  • Favorite Movie: The Prestige
  • Favorite Hobbies: Get-away road trips with friends, Playing soccer and basketball

An employee of DY Consultants, Denis Verdier is senior project manager – terminal/airside, part of the JFK Redevelopment Program Management team recently formed by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

From 2015 to 2018, Verdier played an important role for the port authority in building a thorough understanding of aviation activity and infrastructure performances at JFK, by analyzing the key variables and factors that drive air passengers’ demand and aircraft operations patterns and characteristics.

“I really want to get back to where flying becomes something really exiting again for the people,” he said.

He successfully led complex planning projects for the agency including the preparation of aviation forecasts for JFK and the development of new airport planning standards to support the redevelopment of the PANYNJ’s airports into world-class facilities.

While occupying a full-time position at port authority as an extension of staff, Verdier was fulfilling his other responsibilities and duties at DY Consultants as the manager of aviation planning. He was leading the technical and research efforts involved in the planning department, managing master plan projects for general aviation airports in the region, mentoring and training staff and leading DY’s presence in various research projects for the TRB-ACRP program.

"Every day in the office, I'm striving to find innovative ways to improve collaboration between all aviation stakeholders, including airports and airlines and create the highest passenger-centered experience,” he said.

In 2017, he was selected as the principal investigator of the ACRP Synthesis S03-15: How Airports Plan for Changing Aircraft Capacity: The Effects of Upgauging and continues to lead this project since its inception.

Verdier has been instrumental in the development of DY’s aviation planning department. His contribution to the company’s marketing effort grew its list of planning services and list of clients, on both a national and international level.

Prior to joining DY Consultants, Verdier was an airport planning consultant at Aeroports de Paris Ingenierie – Groupe ADP from 2009 to 2011 and aviation business analyst at Amadeus in London in 2012.

He holds a dual master’s degree in Aviation Management from Florida Institute of Technology and Aeronautical Engineering from the ENAC University, France. Denis is a Certified Member of the AAAE since 2015.