Airport Commission To Offer Warren Smith Airport Manager Position

The Nantucket Airport Commission voted unanimously Tuesday evening to offer its open airport manager position to Warren Smith, an airport manager in Arizona. Commission chair Art Gasbarro said the commission will discuss the details of the offer in executive session. If Smith accepts the offer, he will succeed outgoing Nantucket Memorial Airport manager Noah Karberg.

“I enjoyed Warren’s enthusiasm,” commission member Phil Marks III said. “He feels very connected to what he is doing now. He loves what he is doing now. He is very intelligent when you listen to him speak about the different projects he has pushed forward, interactions with governments. I personally enjoyed the way he interacted with us. I feel like if he interacts with the staff that way, and the town that way, I feel like he has the intelligence to do us a great job.”

The commission interviewed two candidates prior to their 5 p.m. meeting. They spoke with Michael Caires, who is currently the general manager for TBI Airport Management (Vinci Airports) at Atlantic City International Airport, at 11 a.m., and then spoke to Smith at 2 p.m.

Smith, according to his LinkedIn profile, is currently the airport manager at Grand Canyon Airport in Arizona. He has held the position for two years. He graduated from Brigham Young University in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology and Exercise Science, Utah Valley University in 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in aviation administration and earned a master’s degree in business aviation from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 2019.

Smith began as an operations agent at Phoenix -Mesa Gateway Airport Authority in 2018 and then became the terminal duty manager at Propeller Airports in 2019 – a position he held for three years until January of 2022. For a period of time, Smith simultaneously worked as the CEO of Ross and Kendall Technologies from August of 2021 to May of 2022. Smith was the project manager (Special Projects – Grants) at A.T. Still University from August 2022 to February of 2023 before leaving to take the job as airport manager at Grand Canyon Airport immediately afterwards.

Each commission member said during the discussion that both candidates were extremely qualified, and that Nantucket Memorial Airport would be in good hands with either one leading the way.

However, Smith emerged as the first choice for a majority of the commission members for his communication skills, youth, enthusiasm, intelligence, and ability to carry out projects.

“His approach that he described in terms of not being afraid to jump into the car, not be afraid to see what is going on, and really be able to have a full grasp on what is happening on your facility,” Gasbarro said. “As a manager, it is your facility. The buck stops with him.”

Gasbarro added that Smith has a history of being able to address airport compliance issues and has a firm understanding of airport regulations.

The commission also liked the fact that Smith is living in an isolated area right now, which could make his transition to Nantucket easier. Vice Chair Andrea Planzer was the first commissioner to voice her support for Smith and stated she liked his enthusiasm when discussing a possible move to the island.

“With Mr. Smith, I thought he was a candidate who really wanted to be on Nantucket,” she said. “He was very enthusiastic. I thought that was a big positive. Also, he has been in an isolated community so Nantucket wouldn’t be so isolated to him.”

“I think he said he had to drive 60 miles to a grocery store, which is something I picked up on,” Gasbarro added. “He is paying over $5 per gallon for gas, so a drive to 'Sconset may not seem so bad.”

Commission member Anthony Bouscaren leaned towards Caires because of his older age and that he is from Mattapoisett, Mass.

“I tend to like the older guy, Michael, a little bit more because I think just coming in with a little bit more gray hair, a little bit of an older guy, he might be respected a little bit more. Also, he is from this area. One of my concerns is someone comes all the way from Arizona, spends six months here, the wife hates the place, and they want to leave for whatever reason. I think Michael, being an older guy from Mattapoisett is more likely to want to stay here, and I kind of like the grey hair just a little bit more. Again, I would support either one. But that is my comment.”

The search for a new airport manager began in August after Noah Karberg informed the commission of his intention to resign. Karberg was quickly tapped as the successor to former airport manager Tom Rafter on January 1^st, 2023 after Rafter announced his retirement from the position in November 2022.

Karberg formerly served as the airport’s environmental coordinator for four years and the assistant airport manager for five years. He has continued to fulfill his role as the airport’s manager since announcing his resignation and will continue to do so until a new manager has arrived.