Douglas Steenland

Douglas M. Steenland was president and chief executive officer of Northwest Airlines (NYSE: NWA). He was named CEO on October 1, 2004, and served as the airline's president from 2004 until its merger with Delta Air Lines in October 2008.[1]

Education

Steenland holds a bachelor of arts in history from Michigan's Calvin College and a juris doctor (with highest honors) from the National Law Center at George Washington University. He serves on the Board of Directors of Northwest Airlines, Inc. and is President of the Board of Directors of the Air Transport Association and a member of the Board of the International Air Transport Association. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Minnesota Orchestra, the Greater Twin Cities United Way and is Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Guthrie Theater.

Career

Steenland worked as a senior partner at the Washington, D.C., law firm of Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson, and Hand (now part of Piper Rudnick, Washington, D.C.) and handled matters related to transportation, corporate law, telecommunications, government relations, and insurance. He also has served in the Office of the General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Northwest Airlines

Steenland had a 17 year career with Northwest Airlines, first joining the airline in 1991 as vice president and deputy general counsel. Between 1994 and 1999, he was a senior vice president and general counsel. Following that he served as the airline's executive vice president and chief corporate officer. From 2004 to 2008 he was Chief executive officer of Northwest Airlines, and helped lead the airline through difficult economic times, including the Severe acute respiratory syndrome epidemic, recession, Iraq War, ending when the airline merged with Delta Air Lines in 2008.[2]

Chairmanships

On July 6, 2009, Steenland was appointed to the Board of Directors of Chrysler Group LLC. On April 12, 2010, Steenland was appointed the non-executive Chairman of the Board for Performance Food Group, the third largest foodservice distributor in the United States.[3] In August 2011, Travelport announced Douglas Steenland was appointed as vice chairman of its board of directors.[4] He also serves as Non-Executive Chairman of the Board of International Lease Finance Corporation.[5] Steenland also sits on the Board of Directors for AIG and is an Executive Advisor for The Blackstone Group.

Personal life

Steenland is married and has two children, Maggie and Willie.[6]

References

  1. ↑ "Board of Directors". Delta Air Lines. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
  2. ↑ http://www.iata.org/events/agm/2011/Pages/ceoforum-douglassteenland.aspx
  3. ↑ http://www.pfgc.com/About/Pages/CompanyLeadership.aspx
  4. ↑ http://www.breakingtravelnews.com/news/article/douglas-steenland-takes-seat-on-travelport-board/
  5. ↑ http://www.ilfc.com/team.htm
  6. ↑ Northwest Airlines - Senior Officers, Biography