Interviewee: Christina R.

Callahan, Executive Director

Syracuse Hancock International Airport

Interviewers: Alexander Schiffer, Elena Tiderencel, Roy Tin, Zach Plutchok

Date: 15th February 2017

Mode: In-Person Interview

Duration of Interview: 32 minutes 21 seconds

Questions & Answers

Where did you go to college?

OCC, Communications, PR, Business Law Classes

How does your education affect you?

Working at an airport, you can have any background, it is not necessary to have an aviation degree to
work in the aviation industry. Currently, I think that a retail degree is also useful, because we have many
tenants that we have to manage in our terminals. Our office is full of people from different backgrounds
with different degrees. We have accountants, lawyers, English majors. It really opens up to a wider
background, and brings in diversity and creativity, especially in an organization such as an airport, with
huge diversity.

Which do you value more: credentials or experience?

It depends. I value the actual work that they perform, how well they are at working with people,
collaborating and their aircraft coordination.

In your own words, can you define Management?

People have different backgrounds, it is not easy to be a manager, working with a number of
organizations, to ensure that our passengers have the best experience possible, working with the FAA,
TSA, airlines ensuring my every day passengers safety. That is my job description, but not my duty. My
duty as a manager is to ensure our facility can facilitate all our passengers need. I learn from my old
bosses, and I really learn from them, there are a lot of people in the work force, there can be 5
generations, millennials, gen X, gen Y. It can be challenging to get things done with people with such
diverse background.

How is your communication in the work place?

I always keep my doors open. We are in a very intense environment. Sometimes we need a manager to
make the call and make the decision, she just has to do it. There is too little time to collaborate, but the
bottom line is people need to feel valued. The organizations needs, all of the stakeholders, the publics
need are also important. A lot of it is really just trial and error.

Can the management techniques used in this industry be applicable to other industries?

Communication and having understanding of peoples opinions and background is very important in
every field. In some high intensity environments, you dont really have the luxury to collaborate, but my
friends in other fields keep telling me that the smaller the team is, the easier it is to brew a culture.

What personal values and ethics do you use in your management?

You must always hold yourself to the highest held standard. Integrity. I have dealt with different media for
a long time. People look up to you, and you really have to hold a very high standard and be open.

What other management positions have you held?

Ive worked in this airport since 1997. Ive been a manager since 2011.

Can you describe the most challenging experience that you have had so far?

The transformation of turning the Syracuse airport from a regional airport to an international airport and
working with the related authorities. The 3-year period, from 2011-2014, with the creation of the
Syracuse regional airport committee, I was the only employee. I had 14 people including myself to
basically build the whole structure from ground up. Policy making, hiring, interviewing, getting
construction workers, being responsible for everything in the airport. This was both the most challenging
and rewarding.

What kind of strategy do you employ?

I was working here when the airport was part of the city of Syracuse, those experience really helped me to
address our current strategies and build on our strengths.

How have you influenced the culture here since you became a manager in 2011?
I have a really laid back style when it comes to the way I manage. People have seen me rising up through
the ranks. This industry when I started, there were very few women in leadership roles. Now 1/3 of the
people that I meet are women. Typically, it is run by men with military background.

What do you think you are capable of doing in the future?

The hindsight is 20 20. I think that we can do things differently. Having gone through that makes me
realize that if I work really hard and set a specific goal, I can go out and accomplish it. It is always a
group effort; I think that it really allows me to know my capacity to accomplish any goals.

How does not having worked anywhere else in the past benefit you?

It is quite unusual, because I have spent two decades in this place, I stick around, and I havent really
worked elsewhere. The current dominating generation in the workforce, they dont like to stick around. I
love it here so much, I just dont really want to leave this place and I have had the honor to hold a number
of different positions that really allow me to think and learn.

What did you learn from the two managers that you previously had?

They were really good managers. The first manager, I learnt a lot from him and his style. He was a little
more authoritative. I was really happy with the way he managed because I was expecting someone to set
me a due date and an assignment and I would do it before it was due. His successor really inspired me to
allow me to apply what I learned.

Do you have any advice for people who want to join the aviation industry?

You have to understand that flexibility is always needed.

When hiring, do you look more at academic credentials or referrals?

Personally, I go through all the resumes and credentials and skill sets. If you make it to the interview
stage, I will be very interested in knowing you as a person, your personality, can you fit in? In our huge
facility and environment, the skillset that you need is very specific, with that in mind, we really need to
understand who you really are.

What motivates you and your team?

Time management and team management. We have 14 buildings, we really need to ask an expert, because
I always believe that we need to learn from them.

Besides working at the airport, do you have any social or professional groups outside of work?

Yes, we have a group specifically for women working in the aviation industry. Traditionally, this position
that I am holding is typically held by a male with a military background, but now, times have changed.
We align with each other. Women in airport industries, we always talk about our problems and help each
other and figure out how to solve our problems.

In a modern work environment, what do you think about diversity?

Diversity is always good. Having a workforce like that can only make you better and stronger. There are
more perspectives to deal with the same matter.

Could you talk a little bit about management now and management back when you first became a
manager, before the change in your company?

The same core values are present, we try to be a business, but in a lot of ways we really need to think.
Compliance and such. It is really interesting trying to melt the two. Sometimes people dont understand
why we do things in a certain way so, it is our job to educate people. Change can sometimes be difficult,
we need to understand what is causing the change and hopefully we can improve whatever it is we are
doing.

Do you have any advice for managers who are trying to increase their effectiveness?
Internships. Spending time with different managers from all sorts of industries. It is very important to
learn from all people. Nothing gives you the experience like sitting down with a manager and
understanding how they deal with their situations and how they manage their people.