Tom Werner, the Executive Director of the Duluth Airport Authority, is the recipient of the Business Champion of the Year award at this year’s 156th Annual Meeting & Dinner Celebration. Not too shabby for a guy who started at the bottom of the whole enterprise plowing snow as a part-time job.
“I’ve been with the airport since ’99,” Werner said, “and started out, actually, at an entry-level position in our operations and maintenance department. Over the course of time, I was able to work my way up to different levels of management, and I’ve been the executive director since 2012.”
Werner started his post-college career in the construction field, working as a heavy-equipment operator, so he was well-suited to his snow-removal work at the airport, but it became clear after a while that he was management material.
“Eventually, a full-time position opened up,” he recalled. “The Airport Authority proved itself to be a good organization and a good fit for me, and ultimately I made the jump.”
Werner didn’t grow up in aviation or have any real connection to the field, but he became very fond of the environment very quickly. “There were always challenges and opportunities to learn,” he said. “And learning’s what I love to do.”
His time in the Army Reserve also contributed to his success, Werner said. “That’s really where I cut my teeth as a leader and was able to see a lot of success in that way. What I was able to do, I think, is translate those military skills – the leadership skills that I learned in the military – to make myself an attractive candidate for additional responsibility at the airport, and that seemed to work out.”
It certainly appears so, especially now that he’s being recognized as Duluth’s Business Champion of the Year by the Chamber.
“I was humbled to learn that I was going to be honored in that way,” Werner said. “It’s difficult for me to think of my role in any other way, other than it’s what I’m supposed to do, and I just want to be extremely good at it and be a champion for not only aviation but a champion for a business in this community. But I’d be remiss if I didn’t say that those types of recognitions, when you’re in a leadership role, don’t come without a tremendous team that works with you and for you and if not for their dedication, we probably wouldn’t be having this conversation.”
“My organization, I’m incredibly proud of the people that I’m privileged to lead, and part of that is providing them opportunities to continue to grow,” Werner said. “Organization is dynamic – it’s never static. We’re challenging our leaders and our employees to continue to learn to push the envelope so that we can provide the best airport possible for this region.”
“I think I have a responsibility to be an advocate, a champion, a promoter for this region,” Werner said. “I hope to create job opportunities and advocate with our elected officials at all levels. At the end of the day, Duluth International supports $1.4 billion in economic output annually. Advocating for the type of funding that keeps our infrastructure in the best shape it can be really is part of being a champion, too.”
