Charlotte Douglas
He’s the airport’s first economic affairs manager, responsible for recruiting companies beyond airlines to locate their facilities at Charlotte Douglas International Airport. Hair’s role is an extension of the airport’s plans to move beyond aviation and become a major logistics hub.
“It’s been a whole lot of fun to get up and running,” said Hair, who has held positions with the N.C. Department of Commerce and the Cleveland County Economic Development Partnership. A month into his new job, here’s a look at Hair’s new role at Charlotte’s airport.
Hair, who will make an annual salary of $98,500, is the airport’s first dedicated economic developer. The airport, American Airlines’ second-busiest hub, owns thousands of acres of land besides the runway, terminal and parking lots passengers use. Hair’s mandate is largely to come up with a development strategy for how to use that land.
Beyond the land the airport owns, he said Charlotte Douglas’ zone of influence covers more than 20 square miles, stretching roughly from the Catawba River to Billy Graham Parkway and Interstate 85 to Shopton Road. Prominent developers, including Lincoln Harris, have explored development in the largely vacant tract of land between the airport and the river.