General counsel and executive vice president Michael Stephens will oversee Tampa International Airport next year, positioning the airport for a new chapter of leadership during a time of breakneck growth for the transportation hub and Tampa Bay.

TAMPA, Fla. — Months after Tampa International Airport 's current CEO Joe Lopano announced he would be retiring, the airport has found its next chief executive. Michael Stephens, currently TPA's executive vice president and general counsel, will assume the role sometime after Lopano's last day in April 2025.

Michael Stephens, the longtime legal counsel at Tampa International Airport, has been chosen as the organization’s new CEO and will take over for the retiring Joe Lopano.

Tampa International Airport will reopen at 8 a.m. Friday morning after closing down for three days due to Hurricane Milton.

Tampa International Airport will receive $40 million in funding for its upcoming 16-gate Airside D project. The Federal Aviation Administration is awarding the funds as part of the Federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which Congress passed in 2021. The law aims to update the transportation network throughout the U.S.

Current CEO, Joe Lopano, announced earlier this year he would be retiring by the end of his contract in April 2025.