The board overseeing Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport has awarded a nearly $97,000 performance bonus to the airport’s CEO on top of a 9.2% pay raise and extended his contract for another two years.
A new contract approved by the Rhode Island Airport Corporation’s board of directors Tuesday morning pays CEO Iftikhar Ahmad an annual base salary of $527,728, up from $483,276 in the three-year agreement the panel approved in January 2024.
Under that contract, which was set to expire Oct. 12, 2026, Ahmad was eligible for a maximum bonus of 20% of his base salary and a pay increase contingent upon an annual performance review by the board. His latest review was completed Tuesday morning by the board’s executive compensation committee and then considered in a 30-minute closed-door session during the full board meeting.
Upon return to open session, Ahmad was showered with praise by the head of the board’s compensation committee.
“The CEO’s performance was exemplary,” board secretary Christopher Little said. “If we had a score of higher of 10 with regard to some of the initiatives, it would have been higher.”
In addition to recommending Ahmad’s bonus, Little urged the board to amend his contract to include a cost of living adjustment. The panel approved the change unanimously, but a copy of the new contract released to Rhode Island Current did not include a mention of the cost of living adjustment.
The board ratified a resolution commending Ahmad for the “transformational progress” he’s made at T.F. Green since taking the helm of the airport corporation in 2016. Before landing in Warwick, Ahmad served as director of aviation at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.
Before his arrival, the board’s resolution notes the airport faced chronic underperformance and needed an executive who would foster a high-performance culture.
The resolution touts accomplishments such as spearheading major renovations within the Warwick terminal, creating more brand awareness by partnering with the New England Patriots, increasing the number of nonstop flights 118% over the last nine years, and becoming the permanent base for Breeze Airways.
Officials also cite Ahmad’s tenure in helping T.F. Green reach the distinction of being the best in the world, according to Travel + Leisure magazine.
“Things have changed,” Ahmad told reporters after the meeting.
But his tenure has hit some turbulence in the past year.
He has had a very rocky relationship with unionized police officers and firefighters, who last February unanimously delivered a vote of no confidence in airport leadership,citing a hostile work environment and the unwillingness of Ahmad to negotiate a new contract.
A new contract was eventually ratified in March, but only after a bitter dispute with the union’s president, who had been fired months earlier.
Airport officials had also considered privatizing TSA duties over “unacceptable” wait times, only to withdraw its petition after observing “significantly enhanced performance at the checkpoint” and facing pushback from members of Rhode Island’s congressional delegation.
Most recently, unionized janitors have expressed frustrations over a new vendor to handle janitorial duties at the airport, fearing the proposal under review could slash hours and put jobs at risk.
Ahmad acknowledged certain aspects of leading the airport have been bumpy but that major changes have come at the direction of the board in its quest to “transform” T.F. Green. He invoked a cooking analogy to suggest how messy change can sometimes be.
“If we weren’t doing what we’re doing, this stuff wouldn’t happen,” Ahmad told reporters. “And yes, sometimes there are omelets to be made.”
This story was originally published by the Rhode Island Current.
