Speaker Biograghy: Karen provides key leadership support and guidance to the overall facility and capital planning process at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. This includes the development and maintenance of the Airport Development Plan, which is the guiding document for development of the airport, and the Long-Range Capital Plan, which projects the timely replacement of airport assets. She serves as a liaison to public and private entities to advocate for airport development, including road and rail access improvements, and ensures overall airport development complies with governmental regulations and the public interest. Karen has over 30 years' planning experience in professional consulting and public agency positions, including 25 years exclusively in aviation. Throughout her career, she has led multiple aviation project teams focused on airport masterplanning, environmental/noise studies, and land use development for airports throughout the country. Her experience includes programme management in support and leadership roles for many of the airports in the North Texas area, including DFW Airport and the recently completed Dallas Love Field Modernization Program. Karen was President of KavPlan LLC, a certified Woman-Owned Business Enterprise (WBE) specialising in strategic aviation planning and programming, and served as a strategic advisor to airport and airline executives. Prior to forming KavPlan, she was in the aviation consulting business and spent the early part of her career on the planning staff at DFW Airport. She also brings insights into the municipal planning process gained from her 16-year service on the City of Bedford Planning and Zoning Commission. Karen holds an MBA from the University of Dallas, and a BSc in Industrial Management from Purdue University. She earned her Commercial Pilot with Instrument Rating licence in 1982.


Day 2 - 15 March
Session: Commercial - Concessions, Retail & Media

16:55 - 17:30 - Panel Discussion: Balancing capital efficiency, customer service and commercial revenues
Synopsis: This panel discusses the often difficult challenge of meeting capital efficiency targets, managing cost pressures and achieving operational requirements with the evolving imperative of delivering a comfortable, flexible, engaging terminal environment for our customers that optimises commercial revenues.

Day 2 - 15 March
Session: Commercial - Concessions, Retail & Media

15:50 - 16:25 - Protecting business during development: using governance framework for capital programmes
Synopsis: In a world of ever-changing regulations, technologies and opportunities, airports are challenged to manage the competing need for large-scale capital programmes that enable growth and improve passenger experience, while ensuring ongoing business operations are successful during the implementation of these programmes. Project Lifecycle Governance is the key to an airport effectively and efficiently delivering the right projects at the right time. This level of transparency and process enables airports to respond to change, see the operational impact of improvements, and successfully secure financing with ROI measured and confirmed throughout the gateways in the process.

Audience will learn:

• Governance can drive clarity, consistency and continuous improvement to achieve organisational goals
• Enable airports to effectively prioritise projects and demonstrate added value to the business
• Clear governance enables improved investment decisions and securing of adequate funding
• Project risks and their mitigation are transparent throughout the project lifecycle, enabling organisational agility to address change