Four days after interim airport director Ralph Hennessy said he was stepping down in May to take a private sector job, Pittsburg-based engineering and consulting firm Michael Baker International announced Hennessy will join the firm as head of its Louisiana aviation services group.
Hennessy, working out of Michael Baker’s Baton Rouge office, will partner with the firm’s Louisiana-based aviation clients and secure funding for capital projects, according to a news release. He’ll also be responsible for new business development, strategic planning and driving the firm’s growth in the Gulf Coast Region.
“As Michael Baker continues to grow our Aviation Services practice in Louisiana, bringing a talent like Ralph Hennessy onboard helps set us apart to provide our clients with innovative solutions for managing and funding their projects,” Chuck Duggar, vice president and office executive for Michael Baker International’s Baton Rouge office, says in a statement.
Michael Baker has a five-year contract to design and develop the Livingston Executive Airport in Livingston Parish.
Hennessy will bring more than two decades of aviation experience to the job. He’s been interim director of the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport for nearly 18 months, stepping into the role after long-time director Anthony Marino left to pursue other opportunities. He also worked at the New Orleans’ Louis Armstrong International Airport before coming to Baton Rouge.
News of Hennessy’s departure caught many by surprise Friday, as he was considered the front-runner—despite a lengthy and controversial search process—to land the permanent airport director job.
Metro Councilman and Airport Commissioner Trae Welch—one of Hennessy’s more vocal supporters—unsuccessfully tried to get him to the position permanently. The counci—at the urging of Councilwoman Barbara Freiberg—thwarted the move in February, opting instead to contract with a firm to lead a national search.
The process has since crawled along, though Hennessy told Daily Report Friday that he’s not leaving out frustration with the process. The airport director search committee has set a tentative hiring date of Aug. 8 for the new airport director, though the draft timeline for hiring is subject to change, Freiberg says.
