This may be a minority opinion. I’m not overly taken aback by the raises ladled out to TIA CEO Joe Lopano. Granted, Joe Lo is now getting his third raise–to $330,750 per annum–in less than two years. He also has an impressive benefits package and will be handsomely rewarded if he sticks around for the next five years.
Of course, the process could have been less ad hoc, and, yes, the Aviation Authority looking like skittish supplicants is awkward.
But, fundamentally, Lopano’s remuneration is a function of the marketplace. TIA, while truly a world class airport, is still a spoke–not a hub facility. And it’s not likely to change in the geographic context of Atlanta, Orlando and Miami. So, the wherewithal to overcome inherent challenges and recruit internationally is a CEO requisite at TIA. Copa Airlines and Edelweiss Air are early testimonials to Lopano’s effectiveness and worth.
Research indicates that daily, non-stop service to a Latin American city would have an estimated $67 million annual economic impact on the region and create 600 jobs. Such service to a major European city would mean more than $150 million in impact and some 1,200 jobs. TIA is a critically important economic engine for Tampa Bay. Its CEO, if pro-active and promotionally savvy, is worth hundreds of millions–or more–to the economy.
Sure, we’re living in a time when lots of people haven’t gotten a raise in years, and this is not a popular sell. But the rules have never been the same for those whose productivity can be so quantified, for those who have a major, economically-impacting role.
And for what it’s worth, Lopano makes less than half of what Willie Taggart, the head football coach at USF, takes home. And have you seen USF lately?