Continental Airlines’ (NYSE: CAL AND CAL.A) Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Larry Kellner has been awarded the 2000 CFO Excellence Award in the Information/Knowledge Management category, making him the first three-time winner in the history of the awards, sponsored by CFO magazine and Arthur Andersen.
Last year, Kellner won in the Turnaround Management category, and in 1998 he received the award in the Managing External Stakeholders category. This year, Kellner appeared on the cover of CFO magazine’s October awards issue.

The publication notes Kellner’s essential role in leading the company’s turnaround, saying he “not only revamped Continental’s IT systems, he used them to help pull the airline out of its steep fiscal nosedive.”

“We were in the Stone Age in terms of information technology when Larry arrived,” said Continental’s Chairman and CEO Gordon Bethune in the article published in the October issue of the magazine. “Today, we have some of the most sophisticated systems anywhere.” In the article, Kellner credits Continental’s Chief Information Officer Janet Wejman for helping to revamp Continental’s information technology systems.

Only 10 other CFOs from companies such as Oracle, Merck and Capital One were awarded for “breaking through the traditional boundaries of finance, creating value in innovative ways, and delivering it on a consistent basis.”

Kellner joined Continental Airlines in May 1995. He is responsible for the airline’s overall financial operations including treasury, financial planning, tax, accounting, investor relations, fleet, information technology, fuel purchasing, internal audit and risk management.

Continental Airlines is the fifth largest airline in the U.S., offering more than 2,400 departures daily to 138 domestic and 92 international destinations. Operating major hubs in Newark, Houston and Cleveland, Continental (www.continental.com) serves more international cities than any other U.S. carrier, including extensive service throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia.

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