Meet the Tampa Airport Team

The Tampa International Airport Research & Air Service Development team is delighted to welcome a new face – and it’s one many of you already know.

Alex Heiter just joined TPA in August as Director of Research & Air Service Development, after 15 years with Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

So we thought we’d take this opportunity to (re-)introduce you to Alex and the rest of the TPA team.

Chris Minner is the Executive Vice President of Tampa International Airport responsible for the $360 million of commercial revenues produced by Tampa International and its network of three reliever airports.

He leads a group of award-winning teams that include real estate, concessions, commercial parking, communications, marketing, research and air service development.

Since landing in Tampa Bay, Chris has delivered hundreds of millions of dollars in economic impact to the region by successfully recruiting new nonstop flights to the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Panama, Germany and the Netherlands.

Chris is a native of Bakersfield, California. He began his professional career 25 years ago at his hometown airport.

Since then, he’s held senior leadership positions at airports in San Francisco Bay and Dallas / Fort Worth before arriving in Tampa Bay. Chris and his wife Andrea live in Tampa Bay with their two sons, Michael and Ernie.

Alex is a 25-year veteran of the aviation industry. In his new role, Alex leads TPA’s efforts to attract new air service in addition to providing insightful analysis of passenger research.

Prior to joining TPA, Alex worked at Boeing Commercial Airplanes for 15 years, half of that as an executive in the Marketing organization. Most recently, Alex served as Managing Director of Marketing for Europe, overseeing the market strategies and analysis in support of sales and product strategy for airlines in the region.

Previously, as Director of Network & Fleet Planning, Alex led a team of consultants responsible for analyzing and planning route networks and developing fleet plans. Alex’s first Boeing role was as a long-range product forecasting focal for the Commercial Market Outlook (CMO), a 20-year view of the worldwide demand for commercial airplanes. Alex’s ongoing duties also included providing consultative services to senior management on various issues regarding the global airline marketplace.

Before his time at Boeing, Alex worked at Continental Airlines, serving as Senior Manager of Network Planning. Other positions held at Continental included Strategic Planning, International Route Planning, Pricing and Revenue Management. Alex has also worked for Sabre Airline Solutions as a principal in their airline consulting practice.

Alex holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Aviation Management from Purdue University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Texas at Austin. He resides in Pasco County with his wife and two school-aged children.

Guy, a 35-year veteran of the aviation industry, joined Tampa International Airport in 2018 as Manager of Air Service Development. In this role, Guy assists TPA’s efforts to attract new air service, working with airline network planners on schedules and data analysis. He also collaborates closely with network teams in administering TPA’s Air Service Incentive Program.

Prior to his position at TPA Guy was a Senior Management Consultant with Sabre Airline Solutions. There, he worked with both medium and large air carriers from Europe to Asia. Responsibilities included assisting clients with short- or long-term strategic planning for potential new route opportunities as well as codeshare and alliance planning

Previously, Guy worked with American Airlines/American Eagle as Manager of Route Planning responsible for creating both short-term schedule plans and 12-month operating plans. As part of that job, he forecasted all potential new route opportunities that would enable the expansion of both American and Eagle.

Devon is an experienced economic development and tourism professional who has dedicated her career to growing Tampa Bay’s economy over the last decade.

As the Business & Market Intelligence Manager for the Research & Air Service Development team at TPA, Devon serves in both an internal consultative role managing research-driven insights across the organization, as well as in an external role working with customers and community stakeholders to develop real-time actionable market intelligence pivotal in building Tampa Bay’s economy.

Since 2019, Devon has played an instrumental role in expanding nonstop destinations available at TPA, making Tampa Bay more accessible to the rest of the world.

Prior to joining TPA, Devon was the Senior Economic Development Manager at the Pasco Economic Development Council, where she was responsible for business retention and expansion, international business development and workforce development within Pasco County. She was also the Pasco representative for the regional alliance, Global Tampa Bay, an organization dedicated to increasing international trade and foreign direct investment in Tampa Bay.

Before transitioning to economic development, Devon’s career began in the hotel industry during her college days in Tallahassee. After graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Recreation & Leisure Services Administration from Florida State University with a concentration in Travel & Tourism and double minors in Business & Communications, she continued to serve the tourism industry in both leisure and business travel sales in Tampa.

Devon currently serves as President of the Tampa Bay Organization of Women in International Trade and is also a graduate of both Leadership Pasco’s Class of 2017 and the Florida TaxWatch Citizenship Institute’s Class of 2018.