An Interview With Helena Williams, CEO, JFK Millennium Partners
With a career spanning over 30 years in a variety of leadership roles in government and with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Long Island Bus, the Long Island Railroad, and as chief executive developing light rail, streetcar, and bus operations and maintenance services for North American Office of Paris-based transportation company, RATP Dev., Helena Williams is an undisputable renaissance woman in the transportation industry.
Starting with buses, then trains, Williams’ career in transportation has most recently landed her in the realm of airplanes when, in January 2022, the Vantage Airport Group-led JFK Millennium Partners (JMP) appointed her as Project Executive and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the team selected by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to lead the redevelopment of the new world-class, multi-billion-dollar international Terminal 6 at John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Originally from upstate New York, Helena grew up near Lake George. After graduating from SUNY Oneonta, she attended St. John’s University School of Law in Queens, where she met her future husband, Paul. “It was a wonderful school experience,” said Williams in an interview with Metropolitan Airport News. “My husband, who is originally from Floral Park, introduced me to Long Island and its beautiful geography, and I’ve been here ever since the early 1980s.”
Upon earning her Juris Doctor degree in Labor and Employment Law, Williams began working in the public sector in collective bargaining. After joining the MTA in 1985, comprised of 65 unions, a major subway system, bus and train operations, and bridges, Williams saw the delivery of transportation services, which hooked her public service spirit and her interest in delivering operations. “The MTA is always building, rebuilding, returning things to a state of good repair while expanding its network. So, you have both the complimentary operations and infrastructure development,” she commented.
Buses, Trains & Government
While doing work for the MTA in Nassau County, a colleague leading bus operations became something of a mentor to Williams, and she recalled the day he said to her, “Helena, you could be a great lawyer, a lawyer forever… you’ve got all that, but you also have a unique eye for operations. Would you think about switching over to operations?” His question hit the right chord with Williams, and the more she thought about it, the more she felt he was right, so she decided to switch gears toward operations. “I learned a lot from him,” said Williams. Later on, after his departure from the MTA, Williams ran MTA’s Long Island Bus in Nassau as Chief of Staff and President for nearly 13 years.
After leaving the MTA in 1998, Williams continued work in Nassau County government as Deputy County Executive for five years before rejoining the MTA and being invited to attain her dream job as President of the Long Island Railroad in 2007. “It was a very exciting time with the LIRR, with a lot of growth in service and the opportunity and goals to deliver on-time performance, reliability of service, safety and security,” reflected Williams
During her seven years with the MTA LIRR, Williams led many exciting projects, including yard development in Atlantic Yards that allowed the Barclays Center to be built while meeting many talented people in real estate development. At the same time, she did a stint at the MTA as executive director when the Board asked her to step in the aftermath of former Gov. Elliot Spitzer’s departure, as they launched worldwide recruitment to fill personnel changes. A Hudson Yards deal facilitated the overbuild at Hudson Yards, and East Side access took front and center stage in terms of infrastructure development. “The thing you learn about infrastructure development is that it can really be a long-term project that you can be at the start of, but not necessarily at its completion. And this was a long project that had a thousand moms and dads. I was invited to the opening ceremonies in 2022 and was very proud of the role I played for the time that I was there,” said Williams.
After leaving the Long Island Railroad in 2015, Williams was the Chief Development Officer for the French company RATP Dev, USA, serving as chief executive for the North American business development of rail and bus operations and maintenance services in the United States. During her nearly three-year tenure with RATP, she traveled extensively to many businesses in rail development. Williams then returned to government work in 2018 as the Chief Deputy County Executive in Nassau County, and after four years and a very challenging time through the worst part of the Covid pandemic, she was ready for another opportunity in the transportation industry, thinking, “I started with buses, went to trains…now I’ve got to get to planes in my career!”
“Great cities need great airports. You need access, you need volume of flights, you need connectivity… and that’s what JFK International Airport is.”
Helena Williams
The opportunity arrived in February 2022 when Williams became Project Executive and CEO of JFK Millennium Partners (JMP), leading the redevelopment of Terminal 6 at JFK International Airport. JMP is comprised of Vantage Airport Group, American Triple I Partners (ATI), and RXR, who have partnered with terminal airline sponsor JetBlue Airways to finance, develop, and operate the new 1.2 million-square-foot, 10-gate terminal built on the site of the former Terminal 6, in partnership with the Port Authority of NY & NJ. In forming the partnership, JFK Millennium Partners spoke to George Casey, CEO, Vantage Airport Group, and met with RXR investor Scott Rechler and minority investors Bill Thompson of American Triple I and ATI Partners co-founder Henry Cisternos. “They are a really nice, talented group of investors who know JFK,” said Williams.
“It is very exciting to be at JFK. It’s the world’s gateway and has a phenomenal history!” said Williams. Having spent so many years in government, Williams gives credit to Governor Hochul and Rick Cotton, Executive Director of the Port Authority, for being so committed to a vision of revitalization. Reflecting upon her prior travels with RATP Dev., she emphasized, “Great cities need great airports. You need access, you need volume of flights, you need connectivity…and that’s what JFK International Airport is. It is a place so full of energy and action. You go there, and you know it’s moving!”.
In combination with the Terminal 6 redevelopment construction, which broke ground in February 2023, Terminal 7 (the former British Air terminal) is now under the management and operation of JFK Millennium Partners. Terminal 7 was given a facelift in the interim, and new airlines were brought in. Today, Terminal 7 is humming, while at the same time, the new steel for Terminal 6 is already up at its construction site right next door. Terminal 6 will be seamlessly tied to JetBlue’s Terminal 5, which will make a new anchor location on the north side of JFK, while the south side of the airport gets the New Terminal One (NTO).
Additionally, with the Vantage Group (who played a significant role in the milestone development of the brand-new, state-of-the-art Terminal B at LaGuardia Airport, partnered with Skanska), JFK Millennium Partners now has the opportunity to utilize all the Vantage construction employees who were at LaGuardia and who are battle-tested in the New York market for the redevelopment of Terminal 6.
Community & Diversity
As the Terminal 6 project progresses, the Port Authority identified 35 zip codes in the Queens area around JFK, asking JMP to direct a super outreach to local business enterprises to engage them to do business with the JFK Millennium Partnership so that there is a flow with the community and cycle of money into the investment that goes back to the community. “We are working hard to exceed the Port Authority’s goal of utilizing 30% of Minority and Women-owned Enterprises (MWBE), and I am proud to say that we are doing very well on the women’s side and still pushing hard in our outreach to Black and Hispanic owned businesses”. While there is a capacity in the area, JMP is trying to maximize outreach in order to get to every nook and cranny they can within the 35 zip codes, inviting them to participate not only on the construction side but in the concessions arena.
Airports have their own recognition, called Community Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (CDBE), which is certified through the Federal government. Going through the process to be CDBE certified enables the enterprise to compete for the business at airport concessions. Employees and supply delivery are sought at different locations, and airport CDBE promotes and invites local area-wide businesses in the New York metropolitan region to come in and understand how to bid and partner with one of the large, typical vendors. “Our goal is to ensure that joint ventures with the ‘big guys’ bring in CDBE players. To JFK’s credit, we are not inventing this approach. Other terminals do the same thing, but it’s a smart approach to ensure that there is more of a distribution of the business,” explained Williams.
Technology
With the advancements in technology in today’s world, everything from baggage systems to the possible use of facial recognition are the biometrics that will be available at airports. The most up-to-date operating systems and biometrics are in the process of being evaluated for Terminal 6. “Airlines themselves want the most up-to-date operating system, which is what our terminal will provide,” said Williams, “this will help them identify gate capacity and if a plane is on time, or leaving a gate on time, or waiting for a gate. All of that is trapped in a common operating system at an airport.
Each terminal puts its own system in place, and those airlines really depend on it.” When Williams looks at the biometrics of Artificial Intelligence and when she speaks with tech people about it, asking whether there will be a capacity for predictive analytics, her answer is, “Yes, we will, because it’s those AI analytics that can help airlines recover when there is a delay or a cascading effect from the weather at a particular airport. They have to have their own system for where their planes are. But for those airplanes coming in, landing, or trying to take off, we will better predict gate availability.”
Traveling With Disabilities
The JMP team has reached out to a number of vendors. There are many new technologies available for the sight and hearing impaired. “The vendor community has been very good about reaching out, and I am very excited about what they are coming back to me with,” said Williams, “we want to make sure that from a guest experience, whether sight, hearing or physically disabled, that everyone has the best possible guest experience; that they can move through the facility without feeling hampered.”
Public Art
With over 20 public art locations at Terminal 6, the Public Art Fund has been retained to assist with the curation process of art at JFK International Airport. The JMP selection committee includes the Port Authority. There will be about ten medallion locations on the ground and some very large and smaller art installations. Most recently, as part of the curation process, the Public Art Fund presented a panel of 25 artist portfolios to the selection committee to share their concepts of art that will capture the energy, scale, and connectivity of JFK International Airport as the world’s gateway. Williams asserted, “We want the art to embrace people when they go through the terminal.”
Leading a Start-Up Enterprise
As the JMP CEO of a start-up enterprise that is now up to 100 employees, not only is Williams leading the building of a new terminal, she is building a new organization with a clear goal to engage employees and make sure they feel as committed to the project as she is, demonstrating that to the shareholders of this public/private partnership that has brought $1.3 billion in private money to the table. Her job is to report to the board at monthly board meetings and report on the progress of construction, whether it is on time and at the cost predicted, in addition to operating Terminal 7 and maximizing the number of flights that are operated out of there with partner airlines so that they have a successful T7 experience.
In leading an airport infrastructure and redevelopment project such as Terminal 6, the ultimate goal is to look to the future and determine what the needs for the future are. How is the building going to be sustainable in the environment? How will it meet the needs of customers, employees, and airport employees? There are many movable parts at an airport, which is the area that Williams and JFK Millennium Partners remain focused on during their design discussions. There will be many sustainability features, some of which are required by the Port Authority, who are very clear on what they want in terms of development. There will be solar arrays, energy conservation, gray water to recycle, and durability. “Our goal is to get Gold LEED status, picking building materials that are going to last, be sustainable, look good in the future, and have an architectural statement. It’s exciting for me to look ahead and know, ‘This lease goes to 2060, and this is something that is going to last.’”
In terms of logistics to and from Terminal 6, a taxi and ground transportation center is planned. As passengers become increasingly dependent on Uber and Lyft, there will be less need for long-term parking and more emphasis on how to get for-hire vehicles in and out quickly so that they do not clog the frontage of the terminal as people walk out to traffic. The ground transportation center will be on the first floor of the current Yellow Garage, designed with a throughput so that people can safely load up their luggage and leave the airport after a trip.
In this dynamic position, Williams covers many bases. Being in what is often seen as a non-traditional position for a woman is nothing new to her. “It goes back a long time for me. Rail is very male-dominated, and I did a very good job there and am doing the same with the airport,” said Williams. “Enhancing gender diversity ensures a better balance in the industry. Most of the time, if you are qualified at what you’re doing and the team recognizes that, they don’t really care what your gender is. They care about whether their job is secure and, whether you are representing them; whether you are moving them toward success. I can only say what I’m saying now about my experience because of those women who came before me 40, 60, and 80 years ago during World War II. I still look at ‘Rosie the Riveter’…that meant something. We stand on the shoulders of those who came before us. It’s those women in rail and those women in aviation that have cleared the path for me,” concluded Williams.
Great cities do need great airports. And under the leadership of Helena Williams and JFK Millennium Partners, Terminal 6 promises to be a major component in the delivery of redeveloping a great airport to the great City of New York.
