Susan began her career with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PA) in January 1987 after working for the Bendix Corp., Merrill Lynch and PolyGram Records Inc. She began her PA career in the World Trade Department but in 1988 accepted a position in the Aviation Department at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK).
Susan began working with the airline community through the leasing of terminal and cargo space for airlines such as TWA, Tower, British and United. She was also responsible for negotiating the lease for the Air Traffic Control Tower and the Allied Fueling agreement at JFK.
In 1995, Susan accepted a six-month assignment in the Port Authority's London office where she began her study of the concessions programs at many of the major European airports including those in the United Kingdom, Netherlands, France, Germany, and Spain. She brought that knowledge back to the United States and in 2000 was promoted to Manager of Concessions Programs for JFK, Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and LaGuardia Airports (LGA).
Since that time, Susan and her team have worked diligently with the airlines, retail developers and tenant partners to bring award winning concession programs and customer care initiatives to the airport passengers. These programs now generate over $1 billion in sales per year and provide the highest level of customer services. The concessions programs at the various terminals have consistently won awards from both Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA) and Airport Revenue News (ARN), the premier concessions monitoring groups.
The introduction of branded restaurants at our airports such as The Palm, Bobby Van's, Todd English Bonfire and Gallagher's, have led the way in conjunction with branded retailers such as Coach, Brighton, Tumi, Juicy Couture, Papyrus and Swatch.
In 2008, Susan was awarded the "Concessions Person of the Year Award" from ACI-NA at their annual conference in Toronto.
Susan is delighted to accept this award today on behalf of her team and the many concessions tenants whom she has worked with over the years to bring the award winning concessions programs to fruition at JFK, EWR, LGA and SWF.
Susan holds a BBA and an MBA from Adelphi University as well as a CFA certification. She resides in St. James, New York with her mother, Fran, and newly acquired puppy, Abigayle.
Affiliations
