Indy Airport Top Executive Recognized as Top 25 Newsmaker
Rodriguez honored for his contributions to aviation leadership, promoting diversity
INDIANAPOLIS (May 4, 2023) -- Indianapolis Airport Authority Executive Director Mario Rodriguez was nationally recognized recently as one of Engineering News-Record’s Top 25 Newsmakers. Rodriguez was honored for his contributions to aviation leadership that delivers top public asset management and fosters diversity, equity, and inclusion in getting there.
Since 1964, ENR has been recognizing the unsung heroes in the construction industry whose “passion, drive and courage to tackle the most difficult challenges” has been making the world a better place. As varied as their backstories and accomplishments are, these Top 25 Newsmakers are united in their efforts to make the industry—and their communities—better places to live and work.
And Rodriguez, a civil engineer by training and degree, has been leading the Indianapolis International Airport (IND) to be the best in North America for the past decade, and ensuring the Indianapolis terminal facility and the IAA’s regional airports are well maintained to enhance their value to the local community.
“Mario has an unwavering focus on innovation as a means to enhance sustainability and the customer experience,” J.J. Morton, principal with Kimley-Horn, a design and planning firm, told ENR. “He inspires his staff to innovate in every way imaginable throughout the Indianapolis Airport Authority’s system of airports.”
Most recently, the Indy airport was recognized with its first-ever Envision Platinum Award – the highest praise from the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure. The Envision Award recognizes construction projects for sustainability and resiliency. The award recognized the Indy airport’s approach to a multi-year, multi-phase $190 million construction project to enhance capacity by reconstructing Runway 5R-23L and Taxiway D. The IAA completed the project’s first phase in 2022 and is actively in phase two now. It is the first airfield project in the world to receive this prestigious recognition.
Built on Diversity
As for the runway project, the IAA plans to spend approximately $38.6 million with 34 diverse businesses for phase one and two. The construction project will create more than 3,200 jobs and the IAA anticipates more diverse business participation as the project proceeds with phase three in 2024.
“Mario’s leadership extends beyond the airports to the broader Indianapolis community, the state of Indiana and the aviation industry as a whole,” says Morton. “He is passionate about building a strong community of airport employees, consultants and contractors.”
Within Rodriguez’s leadership ranks in the IAA, 50 percent of the executive staff are made up of females or racial minorities. In addition, 52% of the entire IAA staff, comprised of nearly 500 employees, are women or racial minorities.
He adds, “Diversity and equity are imperative to good business, because if you get a bunch of people who look exactly the same with the same experiences, then you’ll get the same answer all the time. That stifles innovation and progress.”
Currently the Indy airport is hiring for a variety of positions, including project managers, engineers, architects, planners, construction managers and inspectors. Visit IND.com/Careers to learn more.
Learn more about the ENR award and Rodriguez’s recognition and the Top 25 Newsmakers.