New SRQ airport CEO brings steely levels of experience to role

If airports are all about making connections, Paul Hoback has a head start prior to assuming the title of president and CEO of Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport in October.

As a youngster, his grandmother lived in Zephyrhills, in Pasco County. He had an uncle who lived in St. Petersburg. Many summers and vacations were spent in the area, including Siesta Key. Later, his sister lived in Fort Myers for a decade.

Starting Oct. 20, Hoback will follow in the footsteps of Rick Piccolo, who for three decades led SRQ first through a transition of governance, then out of a debt of tens of millions of dollars and finally through a half-decade of necessary facilities expansion to keep pace with a mid-and post-pandemic explosion in passenger growth from fewer than 2 million to more than 4 million and climbing.