SALT LAKE CITY, UT – Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA), the trade association representing commercial service airports in the United States and Canada, today announced the winners of the 2026 Human Resources Excellence Recognition Program Awards. San Francisco International Airport (SFO) received the “Overall Human Resources Program Award,” and Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) was the “Individual Topic Award” winner.
“Human resources departments at airports across North America are essential to building our industry’s thriving workforce,” said ACI-NA President and CEO Kevin M. Burke. “The work that both San Francisco International Airport and Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority have put into developing strong, beneficial programs that invest in talent is truly commendable. I applaud their admirable efforts and look forward to watching as they continue to shape the future leaders of aviation.”
Overall Human Resources Program Award Winner: San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
San Francisco International Airport (SFO)’s People, Performance, and Development (PPD) team leads a people-first, multifaceted program that has generated major strides for the airport’s workforce in the past year, resulting in a 95% retention rate and over 350 new hires. In 2025, SFO underwent a transformative reorganization to integrate all human resources teams into one unified function, ensuring stronger alignment between individual growth, workforce planning, and organizational objectives. The airport rebranded its annual professional development conference in 2025 to develop the SFO Learning Summit, which brought together all airport divisions and delivered more than 1,200 cumulative hours of professional development in a single week, demonstrating a wide commitment to growth and excellence. SFO’s continued focus on upward mobility, opening career pathways, community engagement, mentorship, professional development, continues to help build up the aviation leaders of the future.
“Our mission is to deliver an airport experience where people and planet come first,” said SFO Airport Director Mike Nakornkhet. “Every aspect of our human resource programs support this effort, including succession planning, performance and professional development, change management, wellness, equity, and inclusion. We are especially grateful to Airports Council International – North America for this honor and to our People, Performance, and Development team for their leadership and hard work in helping make this achievement possible.”
Individual Topic Award Winner: Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA)
The Individual Topic Award recognizes outstanding achievement within a specific area of Human Resources practice. The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) received the award for its succession planning and leadership development framework, which the authority developed after internal analysis found that more than 20 percent of critical leadership positions were eligible for retirement, raising concerns about operational continuity and institutional knowledge. In response, MWAA implemented the Succession Optimization and Advancement Readiness (SOAR) framework, integrating workforce analytics to build a clear leadership pipeline across all career stages. Today, succession coverage reaches 91 percent of key positions, with more than 100 employees in active development plans and increased reliance on internal promotions to support leadership transitions.
“This recognition reflects MWAA’s commitment to investing in our people and preparing the next generation of airport leaders. Through our SOAR framework, we have strengthened leadership readiness, expanded opportunities for deliberate development, and created a more sustainable approach to succession planning across the Authority,” said Anthony Vegliante, Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources and Administrative Services Officer. “We are honored that ACI-NA recognized these efforts and proud of the collaborative work of our leadership team, Employee Development staff, and employees who continue to build a strong future for our organization.”
“Over the past three years, MWAA has made significant strides in the evolution of our succession planning practice,” said Annika Adams, Senior Employee Development Specialist. “By expanding our approach to include an enterprise-wide perspective, we have created a framework that supports workforce continuity and remains flexible enough to grow alongside the organization’s evolving needs.”
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