Phil Washington will take over as the next CEO of the Denver International Airport this week, the Denver City Council unanimously agreed Monday.<\/p>\n
Mayor Michael Hancock nominated Washington for the job in June. Washington, who will be paid $266,143 a year, replaces outgoing CEO Kim Day, whose last day is Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Washington ran the Regional Transportation District in the Denver metro from 2009 until he left in 2015 to become the CEO of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.<\/p>\n
Los Angeles sheriff\u2019s deputies are investigating the L.A. transit authority and a nonprofit that received an apparent no-bid contract. While the investigation is ongoing, the topic didn’t come up Monday night and the council voted to approve Washington without discussion.<\/p>\n
Council members also downplayed the allegations during a late June committee hearing, instead honing in on Washington\u2019s experience and vision for the future of DIA — including forming a task force to improve the customer experience.<\/p>\n
As CEO, Washington will oversee multiple expansion projects, including a $770 million terminal renovation, a push to add 39 gates and plans to add a seventh runway.<\/p>\n
Washington\u2019s time as head of the airport could be relatively short-lived, because Hancock is term-limited and will leave office in 2023. But the next mayor could keep Washington on board like Hancock did with Day, who had been appointed by former Mayor John Hickenlooper.<\/p>\n