International Airport Review
Holly Miles
25 September 2026
Holly Miles sat down with, John Ackerman, CEO of Los Angeles World Airports to discuss why people, not infrastructure, are the key to airport transformation, how culture drives customer experience, and LAX’s vision for delivering a world-class gateway ahead of the LA 2028 Olympic Games.
Q: Beyond physical development, what is your biggest priority as CEO?
People.
The airport industry spends enormous amounts of time talking about terminals, roads, airfield infrastructure and capital projects, but ultimately none of those investments matter unless people bring them to life.
Our people infrastructure needs as much attention as our physical infrastructure.
From the mayor and board level, through to executive leadership, a huge portion of our focus is on employee culture, engagement and empowerment...
