National search to ensue to find Piccolo’s replacement, Airport Authority board says
Fredrick “Rick” Piccolo, president and CEO of the Sarasota Bradenton International Airport, has informed the Sarasota Manatee Airport Authority Board (SMAA) that he will retire on June 30, 2025, but he will continue to serve in an advisory role for six months after that, the airport has announced.
“As I enter my 30th year at the helm of SRQ,” Piccolo said in a statement in a news release, “I have been blessed to work with so many outstanding professionals and have enjoyed tremendous support from distinguished Board members throughout my time here. I look forward to having more time to spend with my family.”
Sarasota Manatee Airport Authority Chair Robert Spencer said in the news release, “The airport has been fortunate to have such an outstanding individual for nearly three decades and the tremendous growth and development of the airport is a testament to his leadership.”
The release adds, “A national search will ensue utilizing the professional search firm Korn Ferry with a goal to have the new executive in place before summer.”
Early this year, Airport Experience News produced a podcast about Piccolo, it noted on its Facebook page.
“From janitor to CEO: Rick Piccolo worked his way up in aviation, starting at the bottom and taking on increasingly senior roles before landing as CEO of Sarasota Bradenton International Airport (SRQ),” the publication said.
In the podcast, Piccolo pointed out, “I am an example that you can start out at [one of the] lowest jobs there is and yet someday run the airport.”
Biographical information about Piccolo that The Sarasota News Leader found on the website of the Sarasota Sunrise Rotary Club notes that Piccolo has been president and CEO of the Sarasota Bradenton International Airport (SRQ) since 1995. He began his aviation career, in a manner of speaking, when he worked as a janitor at the Buffalo International Airport, the biography says.
After earning a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from the State University of New York at Buffalo, the biography adds, Piccolo held several airport positions, including building superintendent, property manager, assistant to airport manager, and assistant director of operations.
At one point, it continues, he worked in the Operations Department at Tampa International Airport. Prior to his position at SRQ, it says, he was the assistant airport director at the St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport.
Further, the biography points out, in 2005, the Florida Department of Transportation selected Piccolo as the 2005 Aviation Professional of the Year and the Federal Aviation Administration chose him as the Airport Manager of the Year. In October 2009, Airport Revenue News announced Piccolo as the winner of the “Small Airport CEO of the Year” distinction.
The biography further notes, “He has overseen a myriad of challenges in his 29-year tenure while still managing to lead the Sarasota Bradenton International Airport to become the fastest growing airport in the U.S. amongst the largest 100 airports when comparing 2023 vs. 2018.”