Blake is the regional vice president, aviation and senior project manager in the Southeast region aviation market. In this role, he leads aviation planning, engineering and construction management for airport civil and facility projects across Florida while supporting business development efforts in Florida, the southeastern U.S. and international markets.

With three decades of experience, Blake has comprehensive knowledge in the administration and operation of commercial service and general aviation airports, airport and aviation-related project design, project management and construction contract management of aviation projects. His project experience includes runway extensions, runway safety area expansions, taxiway widening and extensions, apron rehabilitations, terminal improvements, air cargo facilities, hangar developments, remote digital towers and industrial parks.

OVERCOMING CHALLENGES“My passion is aviation. I began my career in aviation as an air traffic controller, then an airport engineer, and then an airport manager. With Hanson, I’m able to use all my aviation experience to help airports overcome their biggest challenges.”

Since joining Hanson in 2016, Blake has played a crucial role in expanding the firm’s aviation presence, managing multidisciplinary teams, leading over $50 million in engineering-led, design-build projects and serving as a project manager for clients in emerging markets. He collaborates closely with Hanson’s aviation market leadership to drive strategic growth.

His work spans numerous regional airports, including projects in Orlando, Sarasota, Naples, Venice, Vero Beach and Bartow, Florida; Everett, Washington; and Dingshu, China. His contributions to the remote digital tower project at Bartow Executive Airport were featured in an Airport Improvement magazine article. The project also won a Grand Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies of Illinois.

Prior to Hanson, Blake served as the director of Silver Comet Field at Paulding Northwest Atlanta Airport and the executive director of the Paulding County Industrial Building Authority in Dallas, Georgia, where he led the development of more than 300 acres of industrial parks and oversaw the design and construction of multiple industrial facilities. He also took a lead role in the planning, design, construction and operation of the first new airport built in the state of Georgia in over 30 years. Earlier in his career, Blake was an air traffic controller in the U.S. Army and served in the Gulf War.

Blake is an active member of the Florida Airports Council, having served as the corporate committee chairperson. He is also passionate about supporting foreign missions and has participated in mission trips to Kenya, Nigeria, the Philippines and Costa Rica.