Insight From the C-Suite: Suzette Noble, CEO, LaGuardia Gateway Partners
Photo Caption: Suzette Noble New York, New York, USA. 15 August 2023 LaGuardia Airport, Terminal B in New York City, Wednesday August 15, 2023. Credit: Jennifer Graylock-Graylock.com
As part of a new, members-only series, Women Leading Travel & Hospitality is asking industry executives about their professional journeys, mentorship, how they stay up-to-date on the latest technology and trends, how they take care of themselves, and so much more. This week, insight comes from Suzette Noble, CEO, LaGuardia Gateway Partners.
How do you define and communicate your long-term vision for both your personal leadership journey and the success of your organization?
The core elements to my role in leading what’s next for the brand new, state-of-the-art Terminal B at LaGuardia boils down to creating and delivering the most stellar experiences, continuing to innovate, and cultivating partnerships to achieve a common goal. It’s my role to challenge our team to think big yet practical, and creative yet intuitive in shaping meaningful and seamless experiences at every point along the airport journey — which includes everything from check-in and security to relaxation, shopping, and dining and hospitality. Keeping up with the latest offerings and trends redefining transportation and consumerism, as well as tying back to the paramount mission of service experiences, is how we will endlessly commit ourselves to being a leader in this capacity for our industry.
Describe a situation where you encouraged innovation or took a calculated risk in your leadership role. How do you foster a culture that embraces creativity and risk within your team or organization?
After 21 years at Walt Disney World leading hospitality and entertainment businesses, I took a risk by changing industries. While I was a bit nervous, everything I learned about leading dynamic teams and businesses and creating premium experiences easily translated into aviation and the redevelopment of LaGuardia’s Terminal B. Safety and efficient operations are cornerstones of every business, especially in aviation. Our approach to then weave in experiential surprises and hospitality raises the bar to reimagine and deliver a better airport experience.
Share an example of a successful cross-functional collaboration you led. How do you build and sustain effective relationships with peers and stakeholders across the organization?
Many are super impressed with the brand new Terminal B at LaGuardia Airport, but most don’t realize that this amazing renovation was the product of what’s now one of the largest public-private partnerships in American aviation history. This incredible project began with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey entrusting our organization, LaGuardia Gateway Partners, with the massive redevelopment of this Queens gateway to New York City. We worked with several cross-functional partners pertinent across construction, design and management specialties to execute the completion of the $5.1 billion project during my time as chief operations officer. Now with this initial feat in the rearview mirror it’s my role as LGP’s new CEO to keep the question of how we continue delivering exceptional experiences to both our guests and stakeholders top of mind in all affairs with our amazing partners with whom we rely on their collaborations to be the best.
What steps do you take to champion diversity and inclusion within your organization, and how do you ensure that your leadership team reflects a broad range of perspectives and backgrounds? How do you measure those efforts?
The redevelopment of LaGuardia Terminal B quite literally paved the way for the future of aviation in New York City and offers a window into what transit innovation will look like going forward. Knowing this, LaGuardia Gateway Partners placed significant emphasis on inclusivity in the Terminal B redevelopment. More than 300 extraordinarily talented individuals across minority- and women-owned business enterprises participated in the project, with contracts valued at more than $910 million. Our commitment to diversity and inclusivity is also underscored by our now majority women-led executive leadership team, most recently flanked by the hire of new COO Klaudia FitzGerald and Chief Financial Officer Mercedes Rendon. In serving one of the most diverse cities in the world, welcoming perspectives from all walks of life will always be an integral component of our organization’s growth.
Are you a C-suite woman executive in travel and hospitality? We’d love to feature you! Reach us at wlt@skift.com.