Tory Richardson, CEO of the Gerald R. Ford Airport, joins us to discuss the growth in the Grand Rapids economy and how it has affected GRR as a hub of economic activity in West Michigan. (Hint – doubles!)

Listen today on Money, I’m Home!

 

 

Transcript:

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00:06 Lynne Jarman-Johnson: Money, I’m Home! Welcome on in, I’m Lynne Jarman-Johnson with Consumers Credit Union. From finance to fitness and today we are talking about a thriving Michigan and how do you get there? Well, I’ll tell you what, you have a thriving airport. And we are so excited today, our guest is CEO Tory Richardson. Tory, you’re new to the market in a little way, I mean, you’ve been here a little while.

 

00:28 Tory Richardson: Well, I am new to the market and thank you for sitting down and talking with me. But about five months now so far, and that first five months has been a whirlwind, but it’s been a great landing here in Grand Rapids in West Michigan, and we’ve got a lot of exciting things going on, very vibrant community and growing and those are all great things.

 

00:46 LJJ: I was really fascinated to read your story. You are a Midwesterner, so you get the whole Michigan weather.

 

[laughter]

 

00:53 TR: We get snow, we get clouds. Yeah, so my career has had me in several parts of the Midwest but always in the Midwest, so I’m very familiar with the seasons, the snow, the clouds, with the sun and the fun that comes with it, too.

 

01:06 LJJ: We are looking at the Gerald R. Ford International Airport. I’m in your office, it’s a beautiful sunny day today in Michigan, and I’ll tell you, the planes are all flying.

 

01:16 TR: We have a lot of airplanes flying in and out here everyday, and the growth has been absolutely wonderful. So, we finished last year up about 10% over the year before, which was 16% growth from the year prior to that. So, if you go back and look at the last several years, we’ve grown probably close to 100% which is pretty dramatic and for airports in Michigan, we are the fastest growing airport in Michigan and so that’s great. We always say, “We’re a reflection of the community, if the community is healthy and vibrant and growing so is the airport.” And this clearly demonstrate that’s what’s happening in West Michigan and so we’re pleased to be a part of that and help facilitate it.

 

01:55 LJJ: Well, and the unique part of your story and talking about growth is really seeing how you grew into your career. Tell us about your start, it’s amazing.

 

02:04 TR: So, I always had kind of an affinity, of fascination with airplanes. My father was in the Navy and he worked on airplanes, worked on the avionics, and so I just always kind of had an interest in flying, interest in airplanes, always looking up at them, going to air shows and really getting a peek at what they do, and was really impressed with that, thought, “Well, that’s really cool. I want to fly.” So I actually went to school, University of Dubuque, and majored in Aviation Management and a minor in Flight Operations, got my pilot’s license. I actually started flying when I was in high school, I got my pilot’s license, and then I really got opened up into the management side. And at that time, a lot of folks were getting their pilot certificates and their license, but they were not getting hired by the airlines because there were still a steady pipeline of pilots coming out of the military that were filling those slots.

 

02:55 TR: And so, today’s environment is much different than when I got my start. But really, I’m glad that the path that I got on with the aviation management track has been very rewarding. I really found that there are a lot of things to do in aviation not just flying an airplane or even just work at an airport, there are so many different opportunities that one can take, any particular path, whether it’s accounting or HR or administration, maintenance, you name it. There is something to do at the airport that is exciting and fun, and people just love to be at the airport.

 

03:26 LJJ: So, what was your actual first job, do you remember, like in an airport or was it outside of?

 

03:31 TR: So the very first job was intern for aviation management in Dubuque, Iowa, and then from there, I actually started working with a fixed-based operator, the company that works on airplanes, we towed airplanes in and out of the hangars, we washed them, maintenance crew worked on them, we fueled them, things like that. But I also worked for the airlines, so literally, I was the person at the gate checking people in, at the ticket counter, getting tickets ready, checking bags, out de-icing in the wintertime operations. And so, I really got my start with a very broad foundation of lots of different jobs in aviation, and that’s really kind of what got me honed into the management side and what was neat and interesting and new about aviation management and running airports because there are so many different things that you could do.

 

04:19 LJJ: Well, what a wonderful thought for anyone listening that says, “You know, I just don’t know where I want to start.” But there’s just so many opportunities in whatever career you choose, don’t shut that door.

 

04:31 TR: Yeah, I would say that’s always a… Keep the opportunities open. Probably the biggest hurdle is starting, right? I mean, like you said, they don’t know where to start, sometimes it’s just… You just need to start somewhere. I was fortunate to have kind of a mentor, a boss at that time that really helped get me under the wing a little bit to say, “What do you really want to do? What do you get enjoyment out of? What fascinates you, what interests you, what do you want to learn more about? And really kind of helped hone me in on what it is that I want to do. And initially, it was airport operations, but it actually, eventually grew into leadership, and I really liked that opportunity to lead others and to really help change the team and where we want to go as a team to help, in this case, run an airport, and have that be something that the community is proud of. But really having somebody to help get you started is a really big first key point and if you can do that and have a mentor or a coach, or somebody to just kind of help nudge you along, probably a very good word of advice.

 

05:29 LJJ: That’s how you take flight.

 

05:30 TR: Yeah, absolutely, absolutely.

 

05:32 LJJ: So, listen, tell me a little bit about, now that you’ve been here five months, I consider yourself… You know, you’re getting your… You’re touching your feet in the water. I have read that it takes a year to three years truly to… When you start a new position, especially in a new city or a new town, how many different people you meet and how it… Your eyes open up to different ways that people work. Gerald R. Ford International Airport is growing so fast.

 

06:00 TR: Yes.

 

06:05 LJJ: People are so excited, you must be, too.

 

06:08 TR: Oh, I’m absolutely wonderfully excited. And you brought up the question, how do you get acclimated in the community? And for me, I mean, when I came up here and I met with the board and I knew some of the staff that was up here and some of the folks that worked in the area so I had a little bit of a connection, but it was still very foreign. I hadn’t spent a lot of time in Michigan, clearly not in Grand Rapids or West Michigan, so it was all completely brand new. I mean, moving is a challenge, moving the family is a challenge.

 

06:34 LJJ: Well, and you have a family.

 

06:34 TR: Exactly. So, you’re looking for…

 

06:35 LJJ: Schools.

 

06:37 TR: Schools, doctors, orthodontists, dentists. You name it, you’ve got to start from scratch. And if you don’t know somebody to say, “Well, here’s a good doctor, here’s a recommendation on this, or a recommendation on that,” it’s a little bit of a challenge. But we’ve always looked at these moves as a family discussion and decision, that’s how we’ve treated every one of these. And so, we had that same type of conversation before we came here, and we’re all in it together and it’s been great. It’s been rewarding. The people up here are amazing, in terms of helpful, and friendly, and just casual, laid back, not worked up over stuff. As you mentioned, people love the airport, they love what’s going on. We love providing those services and the flights that we’re offering here with our partner airlines, it’s going to places that people want to go. In some cases, like today, they’re looking to get out and find some sun somewhere.

 

[chuckle]

 

07:27 LJJ: That’s right.

 

07:28 TR: So, this morning were a whole bunch of folks and a bunch of bags all going to Florida destinations, and other sun and fun places, but that’s what we like. That’s what’s rewarding about the job is getting people where they want to go and to do things that they want to do.

 

07:41 LJJ: The backend of trying to figure out when a new airline comes in, it’s been really exciting to see all of the non-stops that are here now and the new airlines that are here as well, as the traditional stalwart ones we know and love. How does that work? How does that discussion work, especially as you’re growing?

 

08:01 TR: It’s a great question, because what we have to try to do is find out as much as we can about our community, and the businesses, and the residents of the community to know where they want to go, where it makes sense for them to go. And then from there, we can start looking at, “Oh, this company needs a connection to.” For instance, we’d get Boston service later this year, “This company needs connection to Boston.” They have a business-to-business relationship that is such that they need to move people and packages back and forth between those markets. So, then we start working with airlines to see who’s the right partner fit for this based on their growth strategy, where they have airplanes, and crews, and things like that. So, it’s a constantly evolving effort around air service development. And it’s one where we work very closely with folks at the right place, and others that are very in tuned to what’s happening on the business side and where our businesses need to go to grow. We work with the airlines to help try to provide that service for that.

 

08:57 TR: But then we also like the sun and fun places. We know that folks in Michigan, and I’ll say it’s broader than just Grand Rapids and even broader than West Michigan, our catchment area has gotten a lot bigger. We’re getting folks further north, even to the center of the state and down to the south all coming in here, because we are able to provide enough service to some of those sun and fun places that they like to go, whether it’s Jacksonville or later this year we’re going to have Austin service and LA service starting.

 

09:23 LJJ: Yes, I saw that.

 

09:24 TR: Yeah, so these are really great.

 

09:25 LJJ: My daughter just moved to LA, so I thought you did that intentionally. Thank you.

 

[laughter]

 

09:28 TR: Yeah, that was just for you. So, we hope to see you every week, back and forth, helping to fill those seats for us. And really that’s what it’s all about is making sure that people know what we have to offer with the airlines, keeping those airlines healthy in terms of putting people on the airplane, so that the airline can remain profitable, and keep that service on our market.

 

09:47 LJJ: You mentioned packages. And I think we forget, you look at an airport, and you just think of my roller bag, getting on, and getting where I need to go. But that’s a really big part of strategy.

 

10:02 TR: It is. And so that’s one piece that we’re working on right now. So, when you talk about what are the different things that make up an airport? Obviously, you got passenger airlines, that’s the most traditional thought that people have around using the airport. But it’s funny, I’ll do speeches or something and I’ll say, “Well, how many of you use the airport?” You might get a few hands, or in this case, several hands because they’re all using the airport in the traditional sense. But those that don’t raise their hand, I say, “Well, do you shop online? Do you get mail? Do you get packages delivered at your door? Because a lot of that stuff is coming either on the airlines, in the bellies of the airplanes, either passenger service or through FedEx and UPS with cargo service.” So people don’t necessarily think of all ways that they’re using the airport, but they’re probably using a lot more than what they think.

 

10:51 LJJ: So, as you are growing and growing very fast with more airlines coming out, obviously, it has to be a scheduling focus of what airline goes when, when people want to get out, are there pain points that you felt that you’re looking at?

 

11:08 TR: There are. And right now, what we’re trying to do is just stay in front of the growth, because again, we’ve had such tremendous growth year over year. And we’re not seeing that really settle at all, which is a good thing. But the challenge there, the opportunity that comes with it is how do you stay in front of it? So, we are literally investing millions of dollars. Our board has really charged the staff with investing about $400 million over the next several years really to grow the facility not so much make a bigger footprint of the airport, but grow the terminal building, do more development on the land that we already own just to help, again, be that economic engine that we are for the region, putting over 2,000 people to work with a $3.1 billion economic output every year is incredible, and we pride ourselves in that but we’re looking to do more of it.

 

11:54 TR: And so, with new airline service comes the challenge of pushing a lot more planes through the existing gates, which we’re short of today. So Project Elevate has a Concourse A project that will spend around $90 million expanding one of our concourses and putting on eight additional gates, so that we can just take care of that traffic that we’re seeing today, and hopes that we are provisioning ourselves for future growth to expand in the future, because that’s what we see, the path is onward and upward from here.

 

12:03 LJJ: Are there times in the day that you see that there’s a need for someone, if I’m traveling out to think, “Hey, I need a little bit more time while the construction’s happening, while the growth is happening.”

 

12:03 TR: There are, there are times. So, we have peaks and valleys throughout the day. The busiest time for us right now on an outbound component is 5:00 in the morning till about 7:00. If you have a flight within that timeframe, we’re pushing about 23 flights during that window, and I would say be out here two hours in advance because it may take you that long, especially if you’ve got bags to check. And if you are not in the TSA Pre-Check Program, I would highly encourage you to do that. You’re going to shave off probably 45 minutes or more of a wait if you could do that. But we’re seeing that early morning push and then we’re seeing again around the lunchtime, and then the flip side of that, Lynne, is when people are coming back at night so it’s not people trying to get out, now it’s everybody’s coming home with all those bags so they’re all in the baggage claim area, they’re all trying to claim their luggage and get out to the parking garage and get ground transportation, so the place ebbs and flows throughout the day, busiest times are really kind of early morning, middle of the day, and then again later in the evening.

 

13:39 LJJ: Well, it’s a wonderful issue to have and I don’t even call that an issue, I just call it, I look at… It’s up to us individually to know look at how your airport’s growing and what used to be… You can close your eyes. I can close my eyes and remember, just driving into the older parking structure and you just get on in 15 minutes or so, it is not happening here again. And so that is a really great thing.

 

14:05 TR: So, we pride ourselves in trying to be easy and convenient and quick access, and so we’re going to continue to do things that will help us get there. But you’re right, it is growing. We are twice the size that we used to be. And for somebody that hasn’t been here in a while, they’re going to see that and they’re going to say, “Wow, things are changing, things are different,” and they’re good.

 

14:21 LJJ: Well, congratulations, and I’m so happy that here in our community I hope that maybe we can keep talking… Every once in a while I’ll check in and see how it’s going. But any time too that you have any news you’d like to share, please do so.

 

14:34 TR: That’d be great. I’d love to do that.

 

14:36 LJJ: And one last question that we love to ask all of our guest, Tory, is, do you have any financial tips that were given to you perhaps when you were young, or just recently that really kind of put an ‘aha’ moment into your own financial wellness?

 

14:48 TR: Yeah, I really think it’s probably a combination. So, my folks did a great job at bringing me up and kind of letting me know what I needed to do, so they were always keep your financial house in order. But I think that was also reinforced taking some MBA classes with a professor, a doctor at the time that said, really, you need to focus on your finances much like you do anything else with fitness, you need to exercise it, stress test it, get counseling, coaching advice, and do check-ups and try to make sure that you’re leaving the place better than the way you found it, so I try to do the same thing here. I try to, say if somebody’s entrusting me to manage public funds, they better expect that I’m doing that at home as well. And so, integrity, ethics are at the highest and just make sure you’re doing the right thing all the time.

 

15:36 LJJ: I absolutely love financial check-ups. Really look at the wellness internally, that’s great. Tory Richardson, he is the CEO of the Gerald R. Ford International Airport. So, pleased to talk with you today, thank you so much.

 

15:48 TR: Thank you.

 

15:49 LJJ: Money, I’m home! I’m Lynne Jarman-Johnson with Consumers Credit Union. Check in next week we’ll have another awesome leader talking to us about your financial wellness. Thank you so much, Aaron, for your production skills today. Join us next week.

 

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