Northwest Airlines has detailed a number of strategic changes in its executive management team.“With the completion of our restructuring, we have committed the
airline to an increased focus on our employees and our customers.
These management changes will better position us to realize these
goals and capitalize on the skills and expertise of our leadership
team,” said Doug Steenland, President and Chief Executive Officer.

  “We have had the strongest management team in the business for
years and with these changes I am confident that this team is capable
of working collaboratively with the 31,000 men and women of Northwest
Airlines to make Northwest the best airline in the industry from both
an employee and customer relations perspective,” Steenland added.

  The changes are effective Oct. 1.

  Details of the announcement are outlined below:

  OPERATIONS

  Safety

  Ken Hylander, Vice President Safety, Engineering and Chief Safety
Officer, has been promoted to Senior Vice President Safety,
Engineering and Chief Safety Officer. He will continue to report
jointly to Steenland and Andy Roberts, Executive Vice President
Operations. In addition to his safety and engineering
responsibilities, Ken has been assigned to lead the introduction of
the Boeing 787 aircraft into the Northwest fleet, serves as the
company’s representative on the Air Transport Association’s Strategic
Advisory Committee, and is Northwest’s chief liaison to the Federal
Aviation Administration. He holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering
from the University of Rhode Island and an MBA from California State
University. “Ken is an industry leader in safety processes and
practices,” commented Steenland. “We’re fortunate to have his safety,
engineering and project management expertise at the airline.”

  Flight Operations

  Tim Rainey, Senior Vice President Flight Operations and Inflight
Services, has been named Senior Vice President Flight Operations and
System Operations Control (SOC) reporting to Steenland. Tim holds a
bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota.

  Bill Lentsch, Vice President Customer Service for Northwest’s
Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP) hub, has been named Vice President Flight
Operations and SOC Administration. Lentsch brings a wealth of
knowledge and experience to this position. “I’m looking forward to
having one of Northwest’s finest leaders and a strong employee
advocate, join the Flight Operations management team,” said Rainey.
With a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering and an MBA from the
University of Minnesota, Lentsch spent 14 years in Northwest’s
Technical Operations department before accepting an assignment as
Chief Operating Officer at Champion Air from 2003 to 2005. Upon
returning to Northwest, he joined Airport Operations as Vice President
Station Operations before assuming his current role managing MSP’s
airport operations.

  Bob Muhs, Managing Director System Operations Control, has been
promoted to the position of Vice President SOC. Bob has held positions
of increasing responsibility in Northwest’s SOC over the last 25 years
after starting in Northwest’s Airport Operations department in 1977.
Bob holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern
University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of North
Dakota. “Bob is one of the strongest operating executives in the
airline industry and we’re pleased to have him join Northwest’s senior
leadership team,” stated Rainey.

  Inflight Services

  Julie Showers, Vice President Labor Relations, has been promoted
to Senior Vice President Inflight Services. In recognition of the
critically important role our Flight Attendants play in delivering
customer service, the Inflight Services position has been elevated to
Senior Vice President and will report directly to Andy Roberts. “Julie
has developed strong working relationships with our Flight Attendants
and Flight Attendant union leadership throughout her career. Her
management skills make her well suited to take on this critical role
leading Northwest’s second largest employee group of nearly 8,000
Flight Attendants,” said Roberts. Julie holds a bachelor’s degree in
Political Science from Stanford University and earned her Law Degree
from the University of Minnesota Law School.

  Suzanne Boda, Vice President Inflight Services, has elected to
resign from Northwest effective Oct. 1. Boda has served in a variety
of operations roles during her 24-year career at Northwest. “Suzanne
has been an invaluable member of the Northwest leadership team and
will be greatly missed,” said Roberts. “She has led our Inflight
organization during our restructuring and has done so with care and
concern for our Flight Attendants and passengers alike.” On her
upcoming departure, Boda stated, “my 24 years at Northwest have been
extraordinary and I wish all of my colleagues nothing but success in
the years ahead as I look forward to beginning a new chapter in my
life.”

  Airport Customer Service

  Todd C. Anderson, Managing Director Customer Service - Gateways,
Europe & Memphis, has been promoted to Vice President Customer Service
- MSP, a position that reports to Crystal Knotek, Senior Vice
President Customer Service & Airport Operations. Todd joined Northwest
in 1979 and has held a variety of executive level Customer Service
positions internationally and in the United States. He previously
managed airport operations in Seattle and Narita International Airport
in Tokyo before assuming the role of Managing Director Customer
Service for Northwest’s Asia operations. Todd returned to the U.S. and
assumed his current responsibilities in 2003. He holds a bachelor’s
degree from the University of Minnesota. “Todd has done a great job
leading several Employee Involvement Teams and excels at managing
complex operations while maintaining outstanding service to our
customers. I’m pleased that he will continue those leadership efforts
at MSP,” said Knotek.

  Regional Airline Operations

  Tim Campbell, Vice President Flight Operations and System
Operations Control Administration, has been named Vice President
Regional Airline Operations reporting jointly to Neal Cohen, Executive
Vice President Strategy, International, and CEO Regional Airlines, and
Andy Roberts. In his new role, Campbell will have responsibility for
coordinating all aspects of Northwest’s operations interface with its
regional carriers including Compass Airlines, Mesaba Airlines, and
Pinnacle Airlines. “Given his broad airline operations background, Tim
is well positioned to fill this role which is particularly important
as Compass and Mesaba take delivery of 72 new generation regional jets
over the next two years,” said Cohen. Campbell holds a bachelor’s
degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Michigan and an
MBA in Finance and International Business from Seattle University.

  INTERNATIONAL, CARGO AND STRATEGIC PLANNING

  International

  Laura Liu, Vice President International Marketing & Sales, has
been promoted to Senior Vice President International reporting to
Cohen. Liu will have worldwide responsibility for Northwest’s
international passenger business. She joined Northwest in 1992 and has
spent her entire 16 year Northwest career in the International
Division. “We’re fortunate to have a seasoned executive to lead our
international efforts during this period of growth,” said Cohen.
“Laura’s deep international experience positions us well to capitalize
on the numerous opportunities that our new international fleet of
Airbus A330 and Boeing 787 aircraft will present us.” Liu holds a
bachelor’s and master’s degree in Engineering, in addition to an MBA
from Cornell University.

  Fred Deschamps, Vice President Pacific Operations &
Administration, has been named Vice President International Marketing
& Sales reporting to Liu. Deschamps spent the first eight years of his
Northwest career in International Revenue Management and recently
returned from an extended expatriate assignment in Tokyo having served
in leadership roles supporting Northwest’s Pacific operations for the
past seven years. Deschamps holds an MBA from Kellogg School of
Management at Northwestern University and a bachelor’s degree from
Macalester College. “Fred’s extensive international experience will
serve him well in his new assignment and I look forward to continuing
to work together with Fred as he takes on leadership of our
international sales and marketing activities,” said Liu.

  Cargo

  Tom Bach, Vice President Network Planning & Revenue Management,
has been promoted to President NWA Cargo reporting to Cohen. Bach, a
24 year Northwest veteran, has held positions in Domestic Pricing,
Planning, and Yield Management. “Tom is an extraordinarily capable
executive and is joining Cargo at a pivotal time for the business,”
stated Cohen. “He will be tasked with leading a number of critical
cargo business initiatives and we’re pleased to have him join the
Cargo leadership team.” Tom holds a bachelor’s degree in Aviation
Administration from the University of North Dakota and a master’s
degree in Finance & Marketing from Purdue University.

  Strategic Planning

  Jim Friedel, President NWA Cargo, has been named to the newly
created position of Senior Vice President Strategic Planning,
reporting jointly to Cohen and Dave Davis, Chief Financial Officer.
Jim will have responsibility for managing a number of critical
strategic projects. During his 16-year career, Friedel has held senior
level positions in Marketing, Finance, Reservations, International and
Cargo. “Jim’s consulting expertise and broad Northwest experience
makes him ideally suited to lead these efforts,” said Cohen. Jim holds
a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University.

  Dan McDonald, Vice President Fleet Planning, has been named Vice
President Strategy and Fleet Planning reporting to Friedel. In his
expanded role, Dan will continue to have responsibility for leading
Northwest’s fleet planning group and will also get involved in a
variety of non-fleet related strategic projects. McDonald holds
bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of North Dakota
and an MBA from the University of Minnesota. “Dan did a tremendous job
of on our fleet restructuring efforts and will be a tremendous
resource on future strategic initiatives,” commented Friedel.

  MARKETING AND DISTRIBUTION

  Domestic Marketing

  Jim Cron, Vice President Passenger Marketing and Sales & Chief
Executive Officer of MLT Vacations, has been promoted to Senior Vice
President Revenue Management, Planning and Loyalty Marketing and CEO
MLT, reporting to Tim Griffin, Executive Vice President Marketing &
Distribution. Jim has a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from St.
John’s University and an MBA in Finance and Marketing from the
University of St. Thomas. “We’re fortunate to have Jim return to
Domestic Planning and Revenue Management and bring his extensive
Loyalty and Tour Marketing experience,” said Griffin.

  Dennis Newman, Managing Director North America Planning, has been
promoted to Vice President Domestic Planning and Scheduling reporting
to Cron. Newman joined Northwest in 1992 and has worked in worked in
Domestic and Pacific Area Marketing, Financial Planning & Analysis,
and most recently North America Planning. He has a bachelor’s degree
in computer science from Princeton and an MBA from Dartmouth. In
commenting on Newman’s appointment, Cron said “Dennis brings an
extensive knowledge of our route structure and the domestic
marketplace to the task of guiding our network development.”

  Steve Sear, Vice President Sales, will now report directly to
Griffin. Steve holds a bachelor’s degree from DePauw University and an
MBA from the University of Chicago.

  HUMAN RESOURCES AND LABOR RELATIONS

  Labor Relations

  Bob Brodin, current Labor Consultant and former Senior Vice
President Labor Relations, has been named Senior Vice President Labor
Relations reporting jointly to Steenland and Mike Becker, Senior Vice
President of Human Resources and Labor Relations. “We’re pleased that
Bob will be rejoining the Northwest Team,” said Becker. “Northwest is
fortunate to have a seasoned leader heading up our labor relations
efforts during this important period of rebuilding trust and
continuing our collaboration with union leadership.” Brodin holds a
bachelor’s degree from Bethel University and received his Law degree
from William Mitchell College of Law.
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