Haley Gentry made history in June becoming CLT’s first female aviation director. She is just one of five women at the helm of the nation's largest hubs.
It’s no small feat in the predominantly male-dominated field of aviation. Gentry, however, is one to shy away from the attention surrounding her new title. She’d prefer her work do the talking.
Her career success has been 30 years in the making. She began as an intern with the Aviation Department in 1991, one day after walking across the stage at Appalachian State University. Gentry was allowed to participate in commencement ceremonies early but just needed to successfully complete her internship at CLT before officially graduating. After that, as she puts it, “when the summer was over, I was out of there.” She had plans to pursue a job in cybersecurity.
There was only one problem. She fell in love with CLT. “After I started at the Airport, it came quickly to me that I really wanted to stay,” she said. “Being able to be a very small part of something that made such a big difference in our community really resonated with me.”
In many ways, it was returning home for Gentry. Both sets of her grandparents lived less than two miles off the end of CLT’s runways, where she often waved to the planes flying over.
Gentry chose to make the best of her newfound opportunity within the Aviation Department. Over the next three decades, she took on the philosophy of ‘yes.’ “There was never a clear path for me on how I was going to go or do things,” she said. “I took that approach of yes, I will volunteer to do all sorts of special projects because I wanted to learn as much as I could. In doing that, it really helped me as I traversed the organization.”
Gentry wasn’t afraid to take her seat at the table and encouraged other women to do the same. “I think having women in leadership roles in our airports actually makes for a better product because of who we are serving,” she said. We are not serving just a male customer. We are serving men, women and families. It helps us to be more relatable, and we have a more realistic outlook.”
She viewed her roles in Airport Operations, Public Affairs, the Aviation Director’s Office and Business & Revenue as an avenue for expanding her knowledge of the aviation industry. Being a woman never deterred her from moving up in her career, it fueled her drive. “I can tell you I have been treated differently in some environments, but I didn’t experience that with people I work with on a daily basis,” she said. “They were always extremely encouraging of me. The bottom line is you have to be able to prove that you know what you think you know and be able to contribute. That rings true whether you’re male or female.”
Along the way, Gentry racked up several achievements, including leading airline lease negotiations, serving as the Aviation Department’s spokesperson, launching CLT’s first website, helping to create various customer service initiatives (the Volunteer Program is one of many), establishing a Foreign Trade Zone on Airport property, forming the Innovation & Experience team and managing the department’s interest in large-scale events, such as the Democratic National Convention (DNC).
But she’s also weathered difficult times at CLT – two airplane crashes (USAir Flight 1016 and Air Midwest Flight 5481), the Sept. 11 terror attacks, the 2008 recession and, now, the COVID-19 pandemic. “We will always have our challenges,” Gentry said. “I think the difference is how do we react. How do we handle those challenges as we move forward?”
Most recently Gentry served as acting aviation director while former Aviation Director Brent Cagle was on special assignment with the City Manager’s Office. Cagle is now an assistant city manager for Charlotte.
All those roles, Gentry says, helped groom her for her current position. “Throughout my tenure, I’ve had the opportunity to really work with some outstanding people,” she said. “Many of them were subject-matter experts in whatever area they were working in and by being able to work in the different divisions it allowed me that exposure. When you get that exposure to people who have so much expertise and experience it’s like a master class. You just have to soak it up. I was afforded those opportunities where I sought them out and for that, I will always be grateful.”
Those subject-matter experts included former Aviation Director Jerry Orr. “It was a master class in how to get things accomplished,” Gentry said. “He did things and brought people together that others would say, ‘Oh, that will never work,’ and he often proved them wrong.”
Growing up her first master class came from her father, who ran the family business. By age 12, Gentry spent weekends, holidays and summers working for her dad. “I learned so much during that experience,” she said. “Not only about the way business works, but I also learned from my dad how to treat people in business.”
Then there were the women who helped guide her personally and professionally. Terri Pope, former American Airlines’ vice president of Charlotte hub operations, exemplified to Gentry an authentic, true professional and servant leadership. Gentry also credits both her grandmothers for providing strong role models of women working outside the home.
Gentry is honored to be the first woman to hold the aviation director role, but noted, “I am confident I will not be the last female director. Women in leadership roles in aviation is growing, and I’m really excited to see the great opportunities that await them in the industry.”
She’s helping lay the groundwork for her prediction to come true. Two years ago, Gentry began a local chapter of Women in Aviation at CLT. The organization meets bi-monthly and provides networking, education, mentoring and scholarship opportunities for women and men in aviation careers. “I feel it’s important to give not only that mentoring opportunity but also to give that additional support where we can,” Gentry said. “It also allows women in our department to show off their leadership skills.”
As aviation director, Gentry oversees a staff of over 700, an $187 million budget for fiscal year 2022, a 1.8 million-square-foot terminal that welcomes more than 100,000 daily passengers daily and an airport that generated $24.6 billion yearly in economic impact pre-COVID-19.
Her to-do list is longer than CLT’s 43-gate Concourse E. Currently, her focus is continuing to provide a safe terminal that allows passengers to feel confident in their flying experience, creating an Airport plan post-COVID-19, ensuring the success and completion of CLT’s capital improvement program Destination CLT, increasing CLT’s non-aeronautical development and building on CLT’s brand. “The industry knows CLT is an organization of integrity,” Gentry said. “It’s important that my leadership style focus on maintaining and protecting that because as they say, ‘You’re only as good as your name.’”
As for the legacy she wants to leave behind, “Well, I think like everyone, if I can leave it just a little bit better than I found it, I would be satisfied.”
