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Dr. Ryan Leick enjoys executing real-world solutions to the challenging aviation environment grounded in a unique and diverse career in industry and higher education.  He brings strategic insight from three airlines and front-line operational knowledge acquired training airport professionals during his lifetime in aviation higher education.

Dr. Leick draws on industry experience in airline marketing, distribution and information technology gained from working for entrepreneurial startup and long-haul low-cost carrier MAXjet Airways, major network carrier United Airlines and privately held, niche carrier Aloha Airlines.  His qualifications combine specialized technical application of data science with strategic understanding of the industry, a focus on value creation and large scale project management experience.

Ryan is currently an Associate Professor specializing in airline / airport operations and planning at Utah Valley University.  Ryan also teaches the Certified Member course for the American Association of Airport Executives while consulting on a variety of aviation projects with AECOM.

Ryan has traveled to every continent sharing results from his applied research in Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Italy, Panama, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.  Recent contributions to the field include research into the effectiveness of centralized deicing facilities during winter operations and the gamification of lean production management for airline schedule optimization.

He is a graduate of the Air Transport Management Ph.D. program at Cranfield University in the United Kingdom and alumni of the School of Business at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach campus.