Former Director General (2002 – 2008) of Airports Council International (ACI), the association of the world’s airports based in Geneva, Switzerland.
Mr. Aaronson is a well known aviation executive who has had significant experience over the past thirty years dealing with the airport business from every perspective.
He has had direct responsibility for the management and development of six major US airports. These include the three airports operated by the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey (PANY&NJ) – John F. Kennedy International Airport, La Guardia Airport and Newark International Airport. His tenure as the Port Authority Director of Aviation from 1981 to 1989 was preceded by service in the US Government as the top official in the Federal Aviation Administration responsible for nationwide airport standards, safety and development (AIP). From 1989 to 1992, Mr. Aaronson was President and Chief Executive Officer of the Air Transport Association of America (ATA), the trade group of the major North American passenger and cargo airlines. In 1993, he became Executive Vice President and General Manager of Lockheed Air Terminal – which became Airport Group International (AGI) and was one of the first firms engaged in worldwide airport development and operations.
In 1997, Mr. Aaronson left the management of AGI to establish his own consulting firm, Strategies For Airports, Inc., which subsequently became part of the global Lufthansa Consulting organization and he was appointed its Executive Vice President – Americas.
In 1987/88, Mr. Aaronson was elected as Chairman of the Airport Operators Council International (one of the predecessor organizations of ACI). He also served as President of the (US) National Association of State Aviation Officials, and President of the Wings Club (in New York).
Currently, Mr. Aaronson serves as a Member of the Supervisory Board of ICTS Europe Holdings B.V., a leading global firm in the airport security sector based in the Netherlands; on the Editorial Board of the professional Journal of Airport Management, on the Board of Governors of the Flight Safety Foundation; on the Advisory Board of Airport Development Partners; and as a member of the World Tourism Organization Strategic Group. He holds degrees from Brown University (BA), Wharton Graduate Division University of Pennsylvania (MGA), and Vaughn College (PhD hon.).