Firm to Help Hire Air Security Chiefs
The U.S. Department of Transportation has retained Korn/Ferry International, the largest executive search firm, to help hire security chiefs for the nation’s 81 busiest airports, the Los Angeles-based firm said Monday.
The security directors will oversee all aspects of airport safety, including passenger, baggage and cargo screening, and will report to the Transportation Security Administration, an agency created in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Korn/Ferry would not disclose the value of the contract, and a DOT official declined to comment, saying details were still being worked out.
The first phase of the assignment is culling candidates for the nation’s top airports. Later this year, Korn/Ferry will help recruit security directors for the balance of the nation’s 429 airports. The new administration is expected to employ more than 30,000 people, most of them at the airports.
Airport security, which had been contracted to private vendors, was sharply criticized after terrorists managed to board airliners and crash them into the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon.
Korn/Ferry shares rose 16 cents to $11.16 on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday.
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