Title: Director of Finance
Firm: Lee County Port Authority
Age: 37
David Amdor has been fascinated with aviation for as long as he can remember, something he attributes to his pilot father and the short jaunts they'd take together every now and then when David was a child.
It's no surprise to the 37-year-old that he works in the field as the director of finance for Lee County Port Authority where he oversees a team responsible for the financing of Southwest Florida International Airport's capital improvement program and operating budget.
David said he jumped at the opportunity to work in the airline industry in 2011, joining the Omaha Airport Authority as an assistant controller after receiving an MBA from Eastern Illinois State University.
"There's been no looking back since; I love the industry," he said.
After nine years with the OAA, achieving the position of finance manager, David left to work for the LCPA in 2020, just months before COVID forced global lockdown orders that would turn the airline industry and its bottom-line upside down.
David was baptized by crisis early in his new role, facing difficult decisions whether to cancel or delay projects that "all of the airport's future plans" depended upon, he said.
However, with a team of dedicated professionals working diligently to modify finance options, he was able to develop a schedule to ramp up funding in tandem with a return of airport traffic for most of LCPA's larger projects.
"I'm proud of how well we adapted as an organization and set ourselves up to hit the ground running on large projects," he said.
The fruits of that labor can be seen today, as Lee County carries out the second largest public works project in its history with a $331 million municipally financed terminal expansion that's set to finish in 2023.
David said surrounding himself with "high performing" teammates who communicate clearly and are flexible and intelligent has been key to his success. A healthy appetite for networking and a desire to forge lasting relationships with counterparts and peers doesn't hurt either.
"You need to have the ability to network and develop relationships if you truly want to excel in the industry," he said. "There are so many different functions within an airport, and you need to be able to leverage the knowledge of others."
