Ground Support Worldwide - 17

Photo courtesy of TAS

COVER STORY

hen Dana Perry enrolled in art
school, a future in the aviation
industry wasn't the most likely
career path. But the part-time job he
took at Seattle-Tacoma International
Airport to pay for school opened the door.

As senior vice
president of
operations at
Total Airport
Services,
a focus on
communication,
collaboration
and effective
planning is
paramount to
success.
By Josh Smith

Since then, his capacity to digest black-andwhite data and metrics coupled with his ability
"to see in color" has allowed him to advance his
career, where he now leads nearly 1,700 people
across eight stations nationwide for Total Airport Services (TAS).
In the last year, Perry has led TAS' most
recent start-up station in Houston - the first
for TAS at George Bush Intercontinental Airport. His leadership allowed a customer to bring
a station from one of the worst performing to
achieving No. 1 station performance within one
quarter. What's more, his mentorship resulted
in a single station turnover of 4 percent.
Silvio Tano, CEO at TAS, says Perry's knowledge and approachability has made him the
go-to person at TAS.
"Dana has a down to earth 'keep it simple'
management outlook and is a good, ethical
person - as all true leaders are required to be,"
Tano says, noting Perry is respected at all levels
of the organization. "He also has an uncanny
ability to build trust across many disciplines."
With a supreme talent to communicate
with and set an example for his team, Perry
is distinctively qualified to be Ground Support
Worldwide's 2020 Team Leader of the Year.

Part-Time Job to Career
Perry has always been near aviation, including
his childhood home directly below the flight
path of Sea-Tac. While he watched the planes
above and felt the windows of his bedroom rattle, he believes this experience unknowingly
guided his path toward aviation.
After high school, he took a part time job
washing and detailing planes for Jack Reed Aircraft Sales at a small regional airport in Auburn.
"That was really the first time up-and-close
touching airplanes," Perry says.
When he was back in school, he took a part
time job at Sea-Tac, working for Aviation West
- a small, one-station operation.

"Basically, it empowered me to do everything
and challenge me, giving me roles that I wasn't
necessarily comfortable with," Perry says, adding he spent 16 years at Aviation West.
He began as an agent in the warehouse,
building up for CargoLux and Air France and
did the handling for those flights. He advanced
to be ramp lead, then supervisor and later assistant manager.
"Then I got full control of the office and
warehouse," Perry says. "I was in sales and
service. Then assistant station manager and
eventually station manager.
"That company was sold to a little bit larger
company - Aviation Ground Services in '98," he
adds. "Then in 2000 is when I ended up taking
over the station leadership."
Perry says the rest is history.
"That part-time job I took at Sea-Tac was
just to pay the bills while I was in art school,"
he recalls. "I was going to be an artist and here
I am today. I still like to draw, but my time is
focused at the airport."

Total Airport Services
Perry was promoted to his current role of senior
vice president of operations after three years
at TAS.
In his role, he is responsible for the company's complete operational portfolio, which
includes passenger handling, cargo warehouse
and ramp operations, GSE fueling and maintenance, in addition to other support services
at eight stations, representing 1,700 employees
across the US.
"When I came on to TAS mid-2016, I
came from Swissport - a very large company,"
explains Perry, who joined TAS as director of
operations support, following stints as general
manager at Swissport and a regional director
at Servisair, having managed a portfolio of $50
million and 1,500 employees across nine stations. "What excited me about TAS is it kind

MAY 2020

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Ground Support Worldwide

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