Kimberly Becker, the president and chief executive of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, will retire in 2026 after a 40-year career in aviation, she announced Thursday.
Under her tenure, which began in 2017, the airport recovered from the coronavirus pandemic, saw a record-high number of passengers in 2024, built a new Terminal 1 and grew its international reach.
“My decision to retire from the Airport Authority brings to close a challenging, fulfilling, and deeply rewarding 40-year career in the aviation industry,” Becker, 62, said. “Aviation has taken me around the globe and given me the opportunity to make a difference in our community.”
Kimberly Becker with the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, announced her retirement Thursday. (John Gibbins / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
One of her most meaningful achievements at the airport, Becker added, “has been the opportunity to lead several transformative initiatives that have strengthened the Authority’s strategic position and expanded its impact across the region and industry.”
Becker made a deep imprint on the airport’s vision and operations, said Gil Cabrera, the authority’s board chair.
“She has guided (the airport) through significant challenges and spearheaded a transformation that will enhance the customer experience for decades to come,” Cabrera said. “It has been a privilege and honor to work with her.
Becker led several major capital improvement initiatives, including the $3.8 billion new Terminal 1 program. That is expected to “generate more than $4.5 billion for San Diego’s economy and create more than 25,000 jobs that pay $2 billion in wages to local workers,” the airport said.
In 2019, the airport became North America’s second carbon-neutral airport, after Dallas Fort Worth International Airport.
Once the coronavirus pandemic struck, toward the middle of her tenure, Becker is credited with helping San Diego’s airport recover “from historic pandemic lows to achieve an average annual operating revenue growth of 21% and secure over $200 million in federal grants for critical infrastructure in 2024,” the news release said.
A more recent win: last year a record number of travelers — 25 million — went through San Diego’s airport.
Asked in an interview with the Union-Tribune on Thursday what achievement she is most proud of, Becker said the new Terminal 1 is “the obvious answer” and “a great source of pride for the community.” Yet she emphasized a different kind of victory: The culture she helped create at the authority. She credited her team for being “incredible” and cohesive.
“It’s really creating a culture that everybody is trying to further the airport as a team and as an organization, versus maybe department by department,” she said.
One mantra she instilled in others, which has taken root: “Believe the best in one another.”
Becker also shared her leadership philosophy: “I think my objective is to make everybody understand that no matter what your job is, you have an important role in the success of this airport,” she said. “That is the way I approach things and ask the rest of the organization to approach things — make sure people know the value of what they do here. That made everybody understand their purpose and have a purpose-focused organization.”
Before coming to San Diego, Becker was the director of aviation for Mineta San José International Airport. She also held operations and environmental positions at Hollywood Burbank Airport (formerly named Lockheed Air Terminal) and New Jersey’s Teterboro Airport.
For her efforts and achievements, Becker has earned multiple recognitions in recent years. In San Diego, she was named Woman of the Year by the San Diego Chapter of Advancing Women in Transportation and CEO of the Year in the government category, awarded by the San Diego Business Journal. The San Diego Chamber of Commerce granted Becker a Moving San Diego Forward award. Beyond San Diego, she won an aviation industry award when she was named “Director of the Year – Large Hub Airports” by Airport Experience News, a trade publication.
“We interviewed a lot of very well-qualified people,” said the airport authority’s former chair, April Boling, when Becker was hired in 2017. “Ultimately, we were looking for someone with a collaborative leadership style, someone willing to work with the community.”
She will stay on through mid-March 2026 and help with the transition of her successor, which will be found through a global search. Becker’s total wages in 2024 were $604,570, with an additional $120,840 in health and retirement benefits, according to state records.
In retirement Becker said she plans to travel, but at a less rushed pace than she did for work. She will spend time with family. And she looks forward to living a life that is less governed by schedules than her career in aviation has been.
“I like having a wide open slate at this point,” she said.
Originally Published: October 16, 2025 at 4:05 PM PDT