Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) recently hosted its Business Opportunity Forum (BOF), the airport's signature yearly event that gives representatives of large, small, minority-owned, and disadvantaged business enterprises and organizations the opportunity to learn about the state of the airport and future contracting opportunities, and to network with peers, resource partners, and airport leaders. More than 500 people attended this year's virtual BOF.
As part of the Forum, attendees participated in breakout sessions where they learned about:
- Requests for Proposals (RFPs), how to respond to them and how they are evaluated
- What 2019’s Local Business Purchasing Initiative (LBPI) means for small, local firms and how to take advantage of this new purchasing program
- DBE/ACDBE/SBE certification
- Upcoming PHL Capital Development projects
- PHL Guest Experience, what measures have been implemented to ensure the airport’s guests’ health and safety and the business opportunities created by these projects
- Upcoming contract opportunities for non-Architecture & Engineering professional services; service, supply, and equipment; and facilities maintenance
- Projections on future trends and opportunities for cargo and concessions
“In a year where routines have been disrupted and many events canceled, it is encouraging to see this particular event keep to its tradition of kicking off Minority Enterprise Development Week – albeit virtually. The Business Opportunity Forum has been a huge success in giving minority-owned businesses and entrepreneurs access to a variety of business opportunities at the airport, which is one of the largest and most important economic generators in the Philadelphia region,” said Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney.
When discussing the state of the airport with participants, PHL CEO Chellie Cameron said, “since the COVID-19 pandemic started, we have had to rethink how everything works and take a hard look at what our priorities are to make sure we get through this. We want to foster a culture of safety and equity for employees, stakeholders and guests, seeking ways to improve their experiences and enable their success; to grow the number of airlines, nonstop destinations, cargo operations, and seats offered through PHL; to tightly manage the airport’s finances to make sure that we can meet operational requirements; and to advance cross functional initiatives that are focused on recovery.”
In addition to Kenney and Cameron, speakers included Rep. Joanna McClinton; U.S. Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon; Jim Moses, American Airline’s Vice President for Hub Operations in PHL; PHL CAO Soledad Alfaro; PHL CFO Tracy Borda; PHL COO Keith Brune; and PHL CRO James Tyrell, as well as other members of the PHL executive team.
