DFW International Airport Board Select New Leadership

Dallas attorney Robert W. Hsueh has been elected as the new Chairman of the DFW International Airport Board of Directors. Hsueh has served on the Board since July 2005, previously as Board Secretary, and most recently as Vice Chair. Joining Hsueh as Board Officers will be Lillie M. Biggins of Fort Worth and Sam Coats of Dallas, who were elected as Vice Chair and Board Secretary, respectively.

Hsueh has been practicing International and Immigration Law in the Dallas area since 1979. He is currently the Managing Partner at the Law Office of Robert Hsueh. In recent years, Hsueh has been involved with many professional associations, including the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission and the American Immigration Lawyers Association. Because of his positions on both sides of the Pacific Ocean, Hsueh has been uniquely capable of enhancing relations between the Dallas-Fort Worth region and China.

Hsueh takes over for outgoing Board Chairman Francisco Hernandez, whose term is expiring. Hernandez, a Fort Worth attorney, first joined the Board in May 2006, and previously served as Board Secretary and Vice Chair.

Biggins, the incoming Board Vice Chair, is a 30-year veteran of health care and holds the position of vice president of operations at Harris Methodist Fort Worth. She has served on the DFW Board since May 2005, previously as Vice Chair and Chair.

Sam Coats, the newly elected Board Secretary, joined the DFW Board in February 2012 as a representative of the city of Dallas. Coats has extensive aviation experience from serving as President of Muse Air Corporation until its acquisition by Southwest Airlines Company, as well as having held senior management positions with Continental Airlines, Inc., Southern Cross Airlines Holdings in Australia, Southwest Airlines Company, Braniff Airways, Inc. and Texas International Airlines, Inc. Coats has also practiced law with Jenkens & Gilchrist law firm in Dallas and served as a member of the Texas legislature.

The DFW International Airport Board of Directors is comprised of 12 members. Current members include Hsueh, Coats, Ben Muro, Brenda Reyes, Forrest Smith, Bernice Washington and Mayor Mike Rawlings, all from Dallas, as well as Hernandez, Biggins, Jeffrey Wentworth and Mayor Betsy Price from Fort Worth, along with Euless City Councilman Glenn Porterfield.

The Dallas and Fort Worth Mayors each have a permanent seat on the Board. The Dallas City Council appoints six members of the Board, and the Fort Worth City Council appoints three members. A single non-voting member is appointed by one of the four host cities of DFW Airport, rotating annually between the cities of Euless, Grapevine, Irving and Coppell.