Stuart Hair, Director of Commercial & Community Engagement, CLT
“Big, hairy, audacious goals.” That’s what Stuart calls the things he sets in motion that deserve to be executed with greatness. This is also a man who loves interreacting with people, and revels in the part of his job where he can connect and respond to the community. So, it’s surprising that his idea of a day of pampering is sitting on the front porch of a cabin, deep in the woods and reading a book, while soaking in the quiet of nature.
He also loves Dungeons and Dragons.
Maybe it’s that juxtaposition of passions, obsessions, and talents that makes him so agile and so good at his job. We know it made him awfully fun to interview.
Stuart Hair, Director of Commercial and Community Engagement for the Charlotte Douglas International Airport, says he’s found his happy place in this position. Calling himself a Visionary Economic Developer, he spends his days making the most of his Masters in economic geography – with an emphasis on urban and regional land use and planning.
As he works to balance the fiscal interests of the airport’s economic footprint, especially with a growing city like Charlotte, he reminds us that remembering how to prioritize what is achievable with what is aspirational, keeps the strong financial model of CLT stable and growing.
The airport owns thousands of acres of land besides the runway, terminal, and the parking lots that passengers use. And Stuart has been tasked with developing and implementing a development strategy for how to use that land. In an article from the Observer, Stuart says that beyond the land the airport owns, Charlotte Douglas’ zone of influence covers more than 20 square miles, stretching roughly from the Catawba River to Billy Graham Parkway, and from Interstate 85 to Shopton Road.
We all see and feel the excitement of their expansion plans, whether entering the airport as a passenger or driving by it. New runways. Exciting new developments. So much on the horizon. And although Stuart answers to the Charlotte City Manager, he tells us that the airport functions like a private entity, which is very different than a city run department. This allows CLT to take advantage of new opportunities to embrace new infrastructure requests, reflecting the high demand for warehouse industries that bring in many, many new jobs and careers to the region.
His question to himself is, “How do we take this idea of putting transportation, logistics, distribution facilities together, and make it happen?” Somehow, we know Stuart, who is always evolving, will help our airport evolve as well.
Listen to this episode and learn everything you need to know and other great facts that you should know about our own Charlotte Douglas International Airport.
Additional Info:
He has worked in economic development since 2006 throughout the Charlotte region with local and state organizations, following a career in private sector administrative operations. Hair is a graduate of Oklahoma University Economic Development Institute (OUEDI) and a Certified Member (CM) of American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE)
He holds a BA from Queens University of Charlotte and a MA from UNC Charlotte. Along with his wife and child, Hair lives in Uptown Charlotte.
Affiliations:
North Carolina Airports Association (NCAA) – Board Member
American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE)
Charlotte Rotary Club – Past Board Member
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