Transportation: PERRY J. MILLER

Being the first Black person to lead any organization comes with “immeasurable pressure and challenges,” Miller says.

Since 2019, he has led the Capital Region Airport Commission, which has 164 employees and projects $51.9 million in fiscal 2022 revenue. Under Miller’s leadership, Richmond International Airport has completed more than $56 million in capital improvements, including a six-gate, $38 million extension of Concourse A. The airport is also planning a $7 million construction of a facility to accommodate international commercial flights.

Miller admires Air Force Gen. Benjamin O. Davis Jr., who commanded the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II, for demonstrating that challenges of leadership are “not insurmountable. Performance and achievement are the result of single-minded determination despite the emotional, psychological and physical effects of the incomparably more difficult task of leadership.”

Miller is vice chair of the American Association of Airport Executives and president of its Southeast chapter.  He was named Virginia Airport Manager of the Year for 2021 by the state aviation board. He also serves on aviation advisory boards for Hampton and Texas Southern universities, as well as Richmond Region Tourism’s board.