Home grown

New chief executive Jason Harfield has been with Airservices since joining as a trainee air traffic controller at the age of 18, and so, as he puts it, “knows where the skeletons” are

The fact that seeing someone who has an operational background, has worked in the organisation and is part of their profession is now leading the organisation, has resonated significantly. ” Jason Harfield is the first air traffic controller to have risen through the ranks at Airservices to become chief executive of Australia’s air traffic management (ATM) and aviation rescue and firefighting (ARFF) provider.

“You know where the skeletons are,” says Harfield. “I know where to go [look] into the organisation. ” Harfield was formally appointed CEO on March 9 after acting in the role since August 2015 following the sudden resignation of his predecessor, Margaret Staib. And he takes the reins at Airservices at a particularly complex time, as it plans for the introduction of the new OneSKY air traffic management system in partnership with the ADF, awaits an Australian National Audit Office report into probity concerns over OneSKY contract negotiations, looks to reform its business practices and cuts costs in the face of slowing growth in airline traffic (and hence revenues) thanks to the end of the mining boom, and manages a host of technologically complex projects designed to increase airspace efficiency.