After 12 years piloting BAA, chief executive Mike Hodgkinson has handed over control of the steering column.
Mr Hodgkinson joined BAA in 1991 from Land Rover; he retired last Friday as he reached BAA's retirement age of 60.
He commented: "When I first came to BAA, everyone was calling Stansted 'the white elephant' - there were very few buildings and there were no planes."
But the airport has since grown from 1.5m passengers a year into 17m, and is now the fastest-growing airport in Europe.
"The industry never stays the same, it's very dynamic, and has changed so much it's almost a completely different business to when I started," he added.
"I've really enjoyed every minute of my time with BAA."
And Mr Hodgkinson says he is leaving the company in safe hands, with BAA deputy chief executive Mike Clasper stepping forward.
"Mike is really looking forward to the challenge and has a great deal of experience. I'm totally confident he will do what is best for the company."
Published Friday, June 20, 2003
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