Saint John Airport Appoints New CEO
SAINT JOHN – Saint John Airport has a new man in charge.
Derrick Stanford, 52, has been chosen as the airport’s new CEO after an extensive international search.
Mr. Stanford was previously senior vice president of Enterprise Sales at Intelex Technologies Inc. in Fredericton. A Montreal native, Mr. Stanford graduated from the University of New Brunswick in 1987 and has spent his entire career in increasingly senior sales and marketing roles across North America. He has lived and worked in New Brunswick for the past 12 years, primarily in the technology sector.
Norm McFarlane, chair of the Saint John Airport board of directors, said one of Sanford’s biggest tasks will be developing the local airport’s physical assets, such as vacant land holdings and selling the airport to the greater Saint John community.
“Competition from airports in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Maine is intense,” said McFarlane, in a release. “One of Mr. Stanford’s key tasks will be to ensure the Saint John Airport retains more than its fair share of southern New Brunswick’s air travellers.”
Sanford says he’s up for the challenge.
“I’m confident my marketing experience, combined with the air carrier expertise of our staff, will retain the Saint John Airport’s role as a vital transportation link for local business and leisure travellers,” he said in the release. “We need to take steps to improve passenger numbers and I intend to work with our airline partners and others to ensure this growth takes place.”