Michael Christensen
Chief Development Officer,
Los Angeles World Airports

Michael Christensen was appointed Los Angeles World Airports Chief Development Officer in March 2024. Prior to his appointment, he served as its deputy executive director of operations and maintenance, overseeing both facilities maintenance and utilities along with operations and emergency management. Michael has over 43 years of experience as a transportation professional. Prior to joining LAWA, he held senior executive positions at the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles and was vice president at Parsons Transportation Group, responsible for a broad range of local, regional, and national airport, port, planning, goods movement and rail projects. Michael also had been vice president and managing principal for Nolte and Associates and president of Summit/Lynch Consulting Engineers, both transportation consulting firms in the San Francisco Bay Area.
His career also included 16 years at Southern Pacific Railroad where he held posts at eight different locations in the railroad’s 13-state system engaged in maintenance, construction, operations, and environmental remediation. Michael earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Arizona State University and a certificate in executive education from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. He is a professional civil engineer in California and nine other western states, a certified member of the American Association of Airport Executives and has been a member of several governmental, industry and technical advisory boards, including current service on the Redondo Beach (Calif.) Unified School District Board of Education.