Airport commission using executive search firm

The Cedar Rapids Airport Commission on Monday is expected to approve a contract with a Florida firm to help find a new airport director.

ADK Consulting Inc. of Atlantic Beach, Fla., was one of four firms responding to the commission's request for proposals.

Dan Mann, who has been director of The Eastern Iowa Airport since 2005, will become executive director of the Columbia Metropolitan Airport in Columbia, S.C., on Feb. 1. The commission will formally accept his resignation Monday and his last day will be Jan. 29.

ADK Consulting, which also does business as ADK Executive Search, assisted the Richland-Lexington Airport Commission with the hiring of Mann. The firm specializes in airport management searches.

ADK Consulting also assisted with airport executive searches in Little Rock, Ark.; Augusta, Ga.; Fort Wayne, Ind.; Grand Forks, N.D.; North Bend, Ore., and Newport News, Va.

Dan Thies, chairman of the Cedar Rapids Airport Commission, said ADK Consulting has a strong reputation in aviation executive placement.

“That clearly stood out as something we saw as an advantage,” Thies said. “We see this as a very critical and important process, ideally putting us in the position

to find someone with the talent, energy and skills that Dan brought to the table.”

Thies said the airport, which serves about 990,000 passengers each year, has the advantage of being a well-managed, efficient operation. He noted that it achieved increases in traffic count for three consecutive years under Mann's guidance, despite weathering changes in the airline

industry and the impact of a sluggish economy.

“We have been able

to stay ahead of the curve,” Thies said. “It's amazing what we get out of the talent we have on staff.

“Somebody walking into this isn't going to find a snarled up, operational or financial mess. They're going to find a situation that's pretty strong, but that doesn't mean it can't be better.”

Alliance Source Consulting of Long Beach, Calif., which also submitted a proposal, was hired by the commission in late 2004 to assist with the search that led to Mann's selection as airport director. Mann was hired with a starting annual salary of $100,656.

The airport director supervises staff and a facility with an annual budget of about $13 million. Although the City of Cedar Rapids owns the airport, it operates as a stand-alone entity that does not receive property tax revenue.