Invercargill Airport General Manager takes on new challenge

Invercargill Airport Ltd Chairman Joe O’Connell announced today the resignation of the General Manager Chloe Surridge. Ms Surridge will continue with the company until March when she will take on a senior role with Air New Zealand as their Airport Manager for Wellington.

Chairman Joe O’Connell said that Ms Surridge had made a valuable contribution to the airport during her tenure and that the Board were very pleased with the progress that had been made. “During her time with the Company, she has been pivotal in developing the Airport Company into a strong New Zealand regional airport that has required the construction of a new terminal and has addressed the long term sustainability of the Company. We appreciate the dedication and professionalism that Chloe has shown and wish her well for the future.”

Ms Surridge said that she had worked closely with the Board of Directors over the past five years. “It has been an extremely busy and rewarding period for the Company and myself,” Ms Surridge said. “We have not only worked on a very large project which can be seen physically in the new building and surrounding carpark, roads and airside surfaces, but behind the scenes we have been running a modern airport operation with all the demands that this entails.”

Ms Surridge said that regional airports were challenging businesses to run and that whilst you needed strategic vision, management also need to have very strong practical operational experience and had to be prepared to be extremely hands on in all aspects of the business. “The airport now has strong foundations and is in a great place for new management to build off those foundations.”

Ms Surridge said that it had been a privilege to come back to Southland and be able to work on a project that was strategically important to the region. “The airport redevelopment has been received very positively,” Ms Surridge said. “I hear passengers every day commenting on how they are enjoying the modern terminal and there is also a sense that we now have a gateway to the city and region that the community can be proud of.”

The Invercargill Airport Board will be advertising for Ms Surridge’s replacement early in 2016.

ENDS

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