Chief Airport Development Officer
Los Angeles World Airports
Redondo Beach, CA, United States
Michael R. Christensen, P.E., C.M., Assistant General Manager Airports, Chief Airport Development Officer, Los Angeles World Airports
Mr. Christensen was appointed Deputy Executive Director, Facilities Maintenance and Utilities Group, at Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) in 2017. He was subsequently promoted to Chief Operations and Maintenance Officer in 2021, and in August 2024 was appointed Chief Airport Development Officer. LAWA, also known as the City of Los Angeles Department of Airports, operates LAX, the largest origin-destination airport in the world, and Van Nuys, one of the largest general aviation airports in the United States. Mr. Christensen’s responsibilities currently include overseeing the planning, design, and construction of airside, terminal, and landside infrastructure which are part of LAWA’s $30 Billion capital improvement program. He has over 48 years of experience as an engineering and transportation professional. Prior to joining LAWA, he spent 9 years as Chief Development Officer at the Ports of Los Angeles, the largest seaport in North American. Before joining the Port of Los Angeles in 2006, Mr. Christensen served as Vice President at Parsons Transportation Group, responsible for a broad range of airport, port, planning, roadway, and rail projects, and as a senior executive with several other transportation consulting firms in the San Francisco Bay Area. His career also included 16 years of service with a Class One railroad where he held posts at eight different locations throughout the railroad’s 13-state system engaged in construction, maintenance, operations, and environmental remediation. Mr. Christensen earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Arizona State University and certificates in Executive Education from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and California State University Northridge. He is a registered professional civil engineer in California and nine other western states. He is a life member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association, and a Certified Member of the American Association of Airport Executives. Mr. Christensen has served on numerous governmental, industry, academic and technical advisory boards and is a former elected member of the Redondo Beach Unified School District Board of Education. He is an avid snow skier and enjoys spending time on a trout stream and with his wife, kids, and grandkids.
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LAX APM - A Transformational Change
Monday, June 9, 2025
1:30 PM – 1:45 PM MT