There are always unexpected challenges for new CEOs, though some are larger than others. When a recruiter first approached Christina Cassotis to become the CEO of Pittsburgh International Airport, she was asked what she thought about the city. “I said, ‘I think nothing of Pittsburgh, and I have no interest in the job because it’s dead,’” she recalled in an interview with me.
She wasn’t talking about the city, but specifically about the airport. In 1992, the former USAir made Pittsburgh a hub, routing both domestic and international flights through its airport. Only 20% of passengers in the airport started or finished their trips there. But financial problems forced USAir to abruptly pull out of Pittsburgh, changing the business and character of the airport. While a few other airlines filled in the empty gates, Pittsburgh’s airport still hadn’t recovered when they called Cassotis in 2014.
Read more at Forbes.
Originally published: September 29, 2025
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