Houston Aviation Director Mario C. Diaz announced this month that Balram Bheodari has been named as the new General Manager for George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH).
Bheodari will join the Houston Airport System (HAS) team on April 13, 2015. He will be responsible for the daily operations of Houston’s largest airport and the development and implementation of its policies and procedures. In addition, he also coordinates the preparation, implementation and monitoring of the budget and expenditures for IAH, among other duties.
“Balram Bheodari is an experienced professional with a proven track record and an obvious commitment to excellence in anything he does,” Diaz said. “He has demonstrated strong leadership and the Houston Airport System will benefit from his strong background as we continue efforts to enhance the customer experience and create innovations to improve our facility to allow for continued growth.”
With more than 26 years of experience in aviation leadership and management roles, Bheodari — who likes to be called “B — joins the HAS team after serving more than three year as the Aviation Deputy General Manager of the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. He has managed an annual operating budget of more than $170 million and led the activation process and opening of the Atlanta airport’s 1.2 million square feet of international terminal that now accommodates more than 12 million international travelers each year.
Before becoming Aviation Deputy General Manager, Bheodari served as Interim Assistant General Manager for Operations, Maintenance and Security (OMS), which later was reorganized into two divisions (Public Safety and Security; Operations, Maintenance and Transportation). The OMS division comprised Airside Operations, Landside Operations, Airport Maintenance, Security, Ground Transportation, Airport Police, Airport Fire, Automated People Mover Systems and the Airport Centralized Command and Control Center.
In November 2009, Bheodari spearheaded the activation of Hartsfield-Jackson’s consolidated rental car center and the ATL SkyTrain automated people mover. He led the activation team responsible for the opening of the Maynard H. Jackson Jr. International Terminal in 2012.
In 2008, he received the American Association of Airport Executives’ Accredited Airport Executive designation, which fewer than 10 percent of airport executives nationally have earned.
In 2011, Bheodari earned the International Airport Professional accreditation from the Airports Council International and the International Civil Aviation Organization. Before arriving at the Department of Aviation in 1999, he was assigned to Third U.S. Army headquarters in Atlanta and served as a senior aviation adviser to the chief of aviation in support of operations in Southwest Asia.
Bheodari graduated from Troy University with a Bachelor of Science in aviation management. He also completed the Emory University Executive Education Management Development Program. He retired from the Army with 22 years of active military service in the aviation branch as an instrument-rated rotary wing pilot.