Oakland County has hired the first woman to manage Oakland County International Airport, Michigan’s second busiest airport, Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson announced today. Cheryl L. Bush will replace Karl Randall who retired earlier this year. She begins her new position July 12.
“Cheryl’s returning home to where she belongs,” Patterson said. “She spent most of her impressive aviation career as president of one of our airport businesses. She is well qualified to lead OCIA into the future.”
Bush launched her career at Aerodynamics, Inc. (ADI) in 1978 as an office manager. She rose through the ranks to become president in 1992, a role which she held until 2012 shortly before ADI moved out of state. Bush returns to OCIA from Signature Flight Support in Grand Rapids where she has served as general manager since 2015. From 2013-2015, she was a managing member of Adieu Consultant Services LLC, a Commerce Township company that manages aviation projects.
“I’m very excited to be returning home,” Bush said. “I’m looking forward to joining the county team and working with aviation professionals with whom I’ve built lasting and productive relationships over the years.”
Bush attended the Wayne State University School of Business and a series of business courses at Northwestern University. She holds a number of certificates including the Federal Aviation Administration safety management systems training, National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) aviation management courses, Sandler (sales) Training, and Karrass (negotiating) Seminars. She is past chairperson and secretary of the Michigan Business Aviation Association, a member of the NBAA, a founder and director of the Frank P. Macartney Scholarship Foundation, and past chair of the Greater Detroit Chapter of the Young Presidents’ Organization.
“I am delighted to be working directly with Cheryl once again,” said J. David VanderVeen, Oakland County’s director of central services who oversees the county’s three airports. “For nearly three decades, she has brought a positive energy to the aviation industry. She’s one of the hardest working aviation managers I know.”
About OCIA
Oakland County International Airport, which began operations in 1928, is Michigan’s second busiest airport. More than ½ million passengers and pilots pass through the airport every year with nearly 120,000 takeoffs and landings. Virtually all the Fortune 500 companies utilize the airport annually, helping to contribute to its $580 million economic impact on Southeast Michigan. OCIA is a pioneer and innovator in aviation with a history of firsts: OCIA was the first airport in the nation to be certified by the federal government, the first airport in the United States to earn an A-1-A rating, the site of Michigan’s first Air Tour, the first in Michigan to install a fuel-water separator to protect ground water, the first in the world to build an aesthetic ground run-up enclosure, and the first general aviation airport in the country to build a LEED Gold certified terminal. Oakland County has operated the airport since 1967.
For media inquiries only, please contact Bill Mullan, Oakland County media and communications
officer, at 248-858-1048.
Source: Oakland County Michigan
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