Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport’s outgoing general manager, Balram Bheodari, stepped into the role in 2021 in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic when air travel was still in recovery mode.
He’s leaving as the airport grapples with rapid growth in passenger traffic coming out of the pandemic that drove complaints in the last year about long security lines and shuttle waits at the world’s busiest airport.
The Atlanta airport is also in the midst of a more than $11 billion expansion and modernization, with massive construction projects and detours causing both disruptions for travelers and promise for more capacity in the future.
The role of airport GM is one of the most important roles at the city of Atlanta, which owns and operates Hartsfield-Jackson, and one of the most high-profile jobs in Georgia. The airport is an economic engine for the state, playing a huge role in attracting and retaining business and connecting Atlanta to the world.
Credit: Natrice Miller / Natrice.Miller@ajc.com
Credit: Natrice Miller / Natrice.Miller@ajc.com
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens’ Thursday announcement that Bheodari would depart the airport also comes just weeks after the resignation of the airport’s chief commercial officer Jai Ferrell, who Bheodari had defended last year after an investigation into inappropriate expenses.
Among Ferrell’s responsibilities was overseeing airport concessions, including a massive round of concessions contracting that is still underway. The airport has not announced a replacement for Ferrell.
Hartsfield-Jackson issued a statement from Bheodari, in which he touted accomplishments in his years as general manager or prior roles as an airport executive, including the fifth runway, the rental car center and international terminal.
“I wish the best for my colleagues in Atlanta, and I have faith that Mayor Andre Dickens will achieve his vision of building Atlanta for the future and changing lives,” he said.
Less than a year ago, Bheodari said he expected to stay in his post for the next three to five years, according to a June 2023 SaportaReport article that said Bheodari’s decision to stay put was unlike the past “revolving door” at the helm of the Atlanta airport.
Credit: Steve Schaefer
Credit: Steve Schaefer
But over the last year, criticism of Ferrell, airport contracting and other issues has grown louder at City Council meetings and in conversations between airport businesspeople and others.
Still, just days ago, Dickens and Bheodari were all smiles at an event with U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg celebrating a milestone in the expansion of the Hartsfield-Jackson’s Concourse D, one of the biggest parts of the airport’s long-term modernization program.
Along with Bheodari, Dickens announced several departures of key members of his cabinet, including the heads of the Department of Watershed Management and the city’s chief operating officer.
After Dickens announced Bheodari’s departure, Bheodari, 66, posted on LinkedIn that he “will be retiring from my position” and would “move forward to explore new opportunities.” Dickens did not specify that Bheodari is retiring from his position, but said he “played a critical role leading the airport’s successful recovery from numerous challenging events over the years,” according to a written statement.
The mayor announced that Bheodari will be replaced by Jan Lennon, who is deputy general manager of operations at Hartsfield-Jackson and will become interim general manager of the airport. She manages the airport’s operations, public safety and security, along with traffic enforcement and facilities and asset management.
Dickens said Bheodari will help with the transition through June 30, and the city will name a search committee and hire an executive search firm to find a new permanent airport general manager.
The airport under Bheodari’s tenure has added a number of new people to its leadership roster. Hartsfield-Jackson’s website lists a dozen assistant general managers and several deputy or senior deputy general managers.
Bheodari had only been in the general manager position for about three years, but his tenure at the airport stretches much further back.
He started at Hartsfield-Jackson in 1999 after retiring from the U.S. Army when he was in his early 40s. Born and raised in Guyana, Bheodari served in the U.S. military as a helicopter pilot flying nuclear and chemical weapons in Europe and he led a team that wrote military doctrines and regulations.
At Hartsfield-Jackson, Bheodari was a deputy general manager, but left in 2015 to become the general manager of George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. He returned to Hartsfield-Jackson in 2016 and served as interim general manager of the airport in 2018 and again in 2021, before being officially named to the top spot that year with a salary of $310,000.
Credit: Tyson Horne
Credit: Tyson Horne
Bheodari’s background at the airport is in operations — he managed everything from maintenance and emergency response to the opening of the international terminal in 2012.
Bheodari, also known as “B,” was also responsible for preparing the airport’s operational playbook for the COVID-19 pandemic, and has helped guide major construction projects at the airport including the extension of the Plane Train tracks, cargo expansion and plans for a new airport administrative center.
His successor, Lennon, is currently deputy general manager of operations and was previously the assistant general manager for public safety and security, managing airport law enforcement, emergency preparedness and response and regulatory compliance. Before joining the airport in 2002, she worked in corrections, including as a deputy warden at a jail in Virginia.
Lennon also serves on the U.S. Transportation Security Administration’s Aviation Security Advisory subcommittee.
Hartsfield-Jackson’s general managers over the years
Balram Bheodari, 2021-2024
John Selden, 2018-2021
Roosevelt Council, 2016-2018
Miguel Southwell, 2014-2016
Louis Miller, 2010-2013
Ben DeCosta, 1998-2010
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