Rhode Islanders can be tough on out-of-towners.

It can take years for a newcomer to feel comfortable enough here to join the public debate and offer suggestions on critical, public issues.

Last week, two new arrivals on the business scene –– John Maeda and Kevin Dillon –– delivered their first public speeches to Rhode Islanders who gathered at the annual Business Expo.

Maeda, the incoming president at the Rhode Island School of Design, and Dillon, newly appointed president of the Rhode Island Airport Corporation, had a lot to say about their organizations and their role in expanding the economy. Rhode Islanders should pay attention and welcome them with open arms.

During his speech, Maeda, 41, came across as a creative ball of energy.

He was insightful, inspired, perceptive and entertaining. He connected with the audience and even got a few laughs when he noted that while wandering through the state he already had learned how to pronounce Pawtucket.

“It’s pawTUCKet, right?”

Maeda, who was educated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Tsukuba University Institute of Art and Science in Japan, paid tribute to his predecessor, Roger Mandle, who was seated in the front row for Maeda’s speech.

During his 15-year tenure, Mandle became a civic leader. His legacy includes expanding RISD’s campus across the river from the East Side into downtown Providence and encouraging art students to embrace business skills to guide their professions and livelihoods. He is a cofounder of the Center for Enterprise and Business that matches RISD’s artists with Bryant University’s business students so they can learn from each other.

Maeda talked about building on Mandle’s legacy and the connections that link RISD, its students and the community.

“How do I leverage this campus and build community?” he asked. “How do we elevate RISD to meet that challenge?”

He suggested that the creativity RISD fosters could be a way that business connects commerce and community in the global economy. He spoke about a Japanese business method, called “omakase,” a term for the practice of chefs who observe their diners and prepare the perfect meal for them, creating a frictionless transaction.

He also talked about a new business model that links concepts from the worlds of art, design and technology. After his talk, he sent e-mails to business leaders saying he was energized and eager to get engaged with the business community.

Good. Rhode Islanders need to hear more of his ideas.

Just as Maeda said he hopes to build on Mandle’s work, Dillon said he is trying to recapture some of the excitement from 10 years ago, when his predecessors at T.F. Green Airport, people such as Elaine Roberts and Carol Grant, supervised the building of a new terminal and the arrival of low-cost carrier Southwest Airlines. That put Green on the region’s map and caused passenger traffic to skyrocket from 2.4 million in 1996 to 5.7 million in 2005.

Since then, passenger traffic has slumped, airline flights have decreased and the coalition of business and political leaders that support Green has deteriorated.

Dillon, a former administrator at airports in Manchester, N.H., and Orlando, Fla., came across as informed and committed to expanding Green as a gateway to economic development.

He said he’s focused on reducing the airport’s cost structure to compete with other airports, attracting new carriers and flights by courting airlines such as JetBlue and AirTran, and lengthening the runway to allow more cross-country trips to business hubs such as Dallas, Houston and Denver.

Regarding the opposition from Warwick officials and residents to the proposed airport expansion, Dillon said, “The tone of the debate needs to change.” He said he was confident that common ground could be found to permit the runway extension.

Dillon said he had learned a lot in the eight weeks he had been here.

“I’m thrilled to be here and call myself a Rhode Islander,” he said.

Let’s hope Rhode Islanders return the compliment. Let’s welcome Dillon and Maeda to the discussion about how to get the state moving again.

jkostrze@projo.com