When Nicoela McCoy walked through the doors of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Cayman Islands (CAACI) in 2002, aviation was still, in almost every sense, a man’s world. This was true not just in the Cayman Islands, but across the industry globally.
Over 25 years ago, the cockpit, the hangar, the boardroom, and the regulator’s office were spaces where women were the exception rather than the norm. There were women in aviation even then, but very few held senior posts, and fewer still were shaping policy or sitting at the negotiating table.
“I want to share what that journey has looked like from where I started to where I stand today, and what I hope it means for the women who will come after me,” she says.
Starting Without the ‘Right’ Background
McCoy did not come into aviation through the pathways that were, and in many ways still are, considered the traditional or preferred routes: engineering, maintenance, piloting, or air traffic control. Her academic background was in business.
She holds a Bachelor of Science from the College of Business Administration at the University of South Florida and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Tampa, and her early career was rooted in tourism and marketing, first with Cayman Airways as a Marketing Coordinator, then as Public Relations Manager for the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism, where she managed public relations initiatives across the USA, Canada, Europe, and South America.
So when she joined CAACI as Manager for Corporate Communications & Marketing, McCoy knew she would have to work hard to earn her place in a technical, regulatory industry that had not been built with people like her in mind.
“I was tenacious about closing that gap,” she recalls. “I enrolled in every relevant industry course I could find, I asked questions relentlessly, and I sought out hands-on training wherever it was offered.”
In 2005, she completed IATA’s Aviation Law course with distinction, and in 2006 she passed, again with distinction, IATA’s ‘Managing Aviation Policy and Regulation’ course, designed specifically for senior-level civil aviation regulators; IATA’s Civil Aviation Management in 2019 in addition to other IATA, ICAO and industry training courses over the years
“It also helped, more than I could have imagined, that I am married to a private pilot and FAA certified aircraft technician,” McCoy adds. “Over more than 30 years together, the hours I have spent flying privately with him gave me a practical, lived understanding of aviation that no classroom alone could have provided.”
She also comments on the learnings and love of aviation and air transport seed planted as her mom was employed in the airline industry before she was born until she was a young adult, this exposed her to aviation industry terminology and personnel from an early age.
A Career Built Through Growth and Responsibility
That determination to learn opened doors. In 2004, when CAACI was reorganised into a purely regulatory body, McCoy was appointed Director of Commercial Affairs Regulation, taking primary responsibility for developing the Authority’s economic regulatory programmes and overseeing business development. In 2006, her remit expanded to include Administration.
Then, in March 2012, she was promoted to Deputy Director-General, one of two posts reporting directly to the Director-General of Civil Aviation, with responsibility for higher-level economic regulatory, and administrative matters.
Having demonstrated dedication and commitment to learning this industry and working very hard to support the Authority as it grew and evolved over the years, her Director-General supported her growth path, for which she expresses gratitude for his guidance and enouragement. She comments, “Through perseverance I have learned much from peers around me within the CAACI at all levels of the organization as well as through close liaison with industry partners.”
Today, McCoy oversees the aviation economic regulatory activities of the jurisdiction, including air transport licensing, bilateral and multilateral air service negotiations, strategic planning as well as the Authority’s Human Resources, Business Development, and IT functions. She has also served as Secretary to the Air Transport Licensing Authority, currently as the Secretary to the CAACI’s Board of Directors, and has represented CAACI in high-level negotiations with foreign governments and at international aviation conferences.
In July 2017, she became the first Cayman member of the International Aviation Women’s Association, and in 2022, she was named a recipient of Her Majesty’s New Year’s Honours, receiving a Certificate and Badge of Honour for meritorious service to the country during the COVID-19 pandemic, working with departments throughout the CI Government and the local and international air transport industry to support border closures, transitional openings, air ambulance and emergency air transport during this risky time and re-opening of the country and return to normal air transport operations.
Leadership Means Bringing Others With You
For McCoy, her own advancement has never been the whole story. Along the way, her focus has broadened from personal growth to helping others rise, both men and women, though she is particularly drawn to supporting women who face the specific challenges that still exist in the industry.
“There is a real and perhaps unintended bias in many workplaces” she explains. “Women are often given opportunities, but on terms that assume we will simply adopt male-shaped roles, be away from home, from our spouses and young children, work long nights, and somehow master the impossible balancing act of work, home, and community, all while being expected to do it as effortlessly as a ‘Superwoman.’”
McCoy remains determined to help change that equation. Her vision for the future of aviation is one where flexible working arrangements are genuinely accepted and supported, where training opportunities are equally accessible regardless of gender, origination and background, and where the industry actively closes the gaps between institutional expectations and the real lives women lead.
“That means resourcing women wherever I can, creating pathways for advancement, offering emotional and practical support, and building genuinely inclusive workplaces,” she says, “rather than simply opening the door and expecting women to adapt to spaces designed around traditional models and expectations.”
Beyond the Runway
McCoy also believes that leadership extends well beyond one’s own industry and into the community. She has served on the boards of private schools in the Cayman Islands and volunteers with the Central Caribbean Marine Institute (CCMI), particularly supporting its educational programmes for children.
During the height of the pandemic, she served for the first three years on the R3 Cayman Foundation Board of Directors – helping to fundraise and distribute funds to support the Cayman Islands’ recovery from COVID-19.
McCoy championed the establishment of CAACI’s charitable initiatives, founding its first Social & Charitable Committee and embedding philanthropy into the organization’s culture through meaningful team-building activities that strengthen staff engagement, collaboration, and community impact. Coming from a family where both parents consistently gave back to the Cayman community, McCoy grew up with these Christian values ingrained in her – and she continues to strive to live up to them today.
“These commitments, to education, to balanced conservation, and to community resilience and giving back to a community that has supported me, are, to me, simply an extension of the same belief that has guided my career,” she reflects. “That we rise by lifting others.”
Looking back with gratitude over more than two decades of opportunities and for those that mentored and supported her, McCoy is quietly proud of how far she has come, from a marketing office with little formal aviation background to a senior regulatory post shaping the future of the industry. But she is even more invested in what comes next.
“I remain invested in my own growth, learning alongside my peers, empowering others to grow, and to share in building a Cayman Islands – and a global aviation industry – where the next generation of professionals, and women especially, won’t need to be as tenacious as I had to be,” she says. “Because the pathways, the flexibility, and the equal opportunity won’t be something they have to fight for. They’ll be built into the very foundation of our workplaces, so that every person has what they need to achieve their best career in this extraordinary industry.”
Name: Nicoela McCoy
Professional Title: Deputy Director-General, Economic Regulation & Administration, Civil Aviation Authority of the Cayman Islands
Bio: Nicoela is an experienced aviation professional with more than two decades in economic regulation, administration, communications and marketing. Her expertise spans air transport licensing, regulatory policy, international negotiations, airport and service-provider oversight, business development, human resources, IT, public relations and the promotion of the Cayman Islands aviation sector internationally.
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