MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL, MINN — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has appointed James Lawrence as chair of the Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) board, which oversees Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) and six general aviation airports in the Twin Cities.
Lawrence currently chairs the commission’s Planning, Development and Environment Committee and is acting vice chair of the 15-member board. He was first appointed by Walz in 2021 to represent a central Twin Cities district that includes the communities of Bloomington and Richfield, which border MSP Airport. Lawrence began his new leadership role on Jan. 21, replacing former Chair Rick King, who retired in November 2025. Commissioner Patti Gartland has served as acting chair since King’s retirement.
Lawrence has an extensive international business background with numerous corporate leadership positions. Having moved to Minnesota in 1996, he currently serves as chair of a Minneapolis-based private investment firm. Lawrence once served as chief financial officer at General Mills and executive vice president and chief financial officer of Northwest Airlines. Since 1990, Lawrence has served as an executive or director of eight airlines, both legacy and low-cost.
Together, MSP and the MAC’s six general aviation airports — also known as reliever airports for reducing congestion at the primary commercial airport — supported more than 714,000 aircraft operations in 2024. The general aviation airports are all located within 35 miles of the downtowns of Minneapolis or St. Paul: Airlake (LVN) in Lakeville, Anoka County-Blaine (ANE), Crystal (MIC), Flying Cloud (FCM) in Eden Prairie, Lake Elmo (21D) and St. Paul Downtown (STP).
MSP is the 17th busiest airport by passengers in the United States, serving 37.2 million passengers in 2024.