Veteran director lands at Hollywood Burbank Airport
With 33 years of leading several airports around the United States, Frank R. Miller said he thinks he has what it takes to usher Hollywood Burbank Airport into a new era.
Starting Sept. 6, Miller will be become the new executive director of the local airfield, replacing longtime airport employee Dan Feger.
Miller, 61, spent the past six years as the aviation director for the San Antonio Airport Systems, overseeing the day-to-day operations of San Antonio International Airport and Stinson Municipal Airport.
Before his time in Texas, Miller spent 22 years in Florida as the airport director for the Pensacola Regional Airport.
With the leadership time he has racked up, Miller said he is confident and excited about making Hollywood Burbank Airport better for the community and travelers.
“What I bring is a real good understanding and knowledge of airports and how they operate,” he said. “I’ve been very involved, on a daily level, at the smaller airports, but because of my work at the larger airports and [Airports Council International-North America], I’ve had an opportunity to view firsthand how airports around the world operate. I’ve brought back some good ideas to the airports I’ve managed and led. I think I have a very well-rounded background that allows me to help lead [Hollywood Burbank Airport].”
Miller said that he has been keeping up with the operations at Hollywood Burbank, including the airport’s quest to build a 14-gate replacement terminal.
During his stint in San Antonio, Miller oversaw the completion of a 250,000-square-foot replacement terminal. Miller said that he has little concern about the proposed 355,000-square-foot terminal the local authority wants to build on the northeast section of the airfield on a site known as the B-6 parcel.
“What’s very important is the engagement with the community and to really let them know the importance of the airport and what impact economically the airport brings to the community,” he said. “We’re sensitive to the community and how we move forward ... but it all comes down to being transparent, being very collaborative, wanting the residents to know what is going on at the airport.”
Along with making sure that the community understands the benefits the airport will bring them, Miller said the wants to create a positive environment for the employees.
“I want to position the airport to be a leader in the industry,” he said. “I want people to say, ‘Look what they’re doing in Burbank.’”
Feger, who announced his retirement in April, has been at the helm of the airport since 2008, and has been an airport employee since 1988 when he was hired as an airport engineer.
He will take on the role of executive director of development services until May, 1, 2018, when he will be turning 65 years old and capping off a 30-year career at Hollywood Burbank Airport.
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Anthony Clark Carpio, anthonyclark.carpio@latimes.com
Twitter: @acocarpio
