St. Louis is launching its search for a new leader to fill Lambert International Airport's chief executive officer position.
Mayor Cara Spencer's office announced the establishment of a committee to conduct a national search to replace Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge, who will retire in August after 16 years at the helm.
In a statement, the mayor's office said six experts in aviation, governance and corporate leadership will advise Spencer on selecting a new director of the airport, which is set for big changes in the coming years.
The airport is to undergo a roughly $3 billion overhaul, which includes consolidating two terminals into one.
The committee includes Kim Becker, recently retired CEO of San Diego International Airport; June Fowler, retired vice president of corporate and public communications at BJC HealthCare; Kathy Mazzarella, chairman, president and CEO of Graybar; Casey Millburg, Spencer's chief of staff; Robert Montgomery, former airport affairs executive at Southwest Airlines; and Kevin F. O'Malley, former U.S. ambassador to Ireland.
Jeff Mazur, partner at Greater St. Louis Inc., and Jason Van Eaton of Soaring Hawk Consulting, a former Southwest Airlines executive, will also help the committee in its search.
The statement cited support from Greater St. Louis Inc. that allowed the city to retain Korn Ferry, a global executive search firm focused on the airport industry.
Hamm-Niebruegge departs after a decade and a half. Spencer and other officials lauded her tenure when she announced her retirement last year. Recently, she helped secure flight service through British Airways from Lambert to London Heathrow and increased service to Frankfurt through Lufthansa.
"This has been a remarkable opportunity to transform the airport into not only the transportation center the region needs, but also the modern front door St. Louis deserves," said Hamm-Niebruegge in a statement when her retirement was announced. "It has been a true honor to lead this airport for the past fifteen years, and I will depart knowing that we will leave it better than we found it."
She leaves as the airport reports strong passenger counts. According to the airport's annual report, last year's count of 15.3 million passengers was down slightly from 2024's 15.9 million, the airport's highest total since 2003.
The committee's goal is to have a candidate recommendation for Mayor Spencer in the next few months.
Copyright 2026 St. Louis Public Radio