By Nick Pasion – Reporter, Puget Sound Business Journal
Mar 19, 2025
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport managing director Lance Lyttle was named the CEO of the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority on Wednesday.
Lyttle is now in contract negotiations with the Orlando, Florida, authority but is expected to begin the role in mid-April. Port of Seattle Commission President Toshiko Hasegawa said officials will conduct a fast-moving national search for his replacement.
“While I am deeply grateful for his incredible contributions to SEA Airport, I am even more thrilled for him as he considers transitioning into this exciting new role as CEO in Orlando,” Hasegawa said in a statement to the Business Journal.
Arif Ghouse, chief operating officer of the port’s aviation division, will serve as the interim managing director while the port searches for a new executive, the port said in a press release.
During his near-decade helming the airport, Lyttle has overseen it through the pandemic, billions of dollars worth of facilities renovations, and, most recently, a cybersecurity assault that brought some of the airport’s systems back to pen-and-paper operations for weeks on end.