SEATTLE, Jan. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Alaska Airlines
announced today the promotion of four highly experienced leaders
who will emphasize the importance of providing remarkable guest
experiences and creating continued future growth for the
company.
Effective immediately, Sangita
Woerner has been promoted to senior vice president of
marketing and guest experience; Charu
Jain has been promoted to a new role as senior vice
president of merchandising and innovation; and Vikram Baskaran will succeed Jain as the vice
president of information technology services. Additionally,
Kyle Levine has been promoted to
senior vice president of legal and general counsel.
Woerner's elevated role provides an opportunity to continue
broadening her focus on ensuring excellence in the end-to-end guest
experience, and to continue growing the Alaska brand and loyalty as
the company grows. She joined Alaska in 2015 and led the company's 2016
brand relaunch, the onboard product and service redefinition
through the integration with Virgin America, and creating new
uniforms in partnership with frontline teams.
"During Sangita's five years with us, she has built a strong
marketing organization and led Alaska's move to a single brand with the
acquisition of Virgin America, including the consolidation of two
loyalty programs and upgrading our onboard product for a modern
West Coast vibe and fresh local flavor," said Andrew Harrison, executive vice president and
chief commercial officer. "She's a leader who has insatiable drive
to take care of our guests and build a powerful brand."
In her new role as senior vice president of merchandising and
innovation, Jain will work closely with the commercial
business, operating divisions and technology teams to implement
solutions enabling the company to continue to deliver an excellent
experience for guests and employees. She has more than 25 years of
experience as a senior technology executive. She joined
Alaska in 2017 as vice president
of information technology services and chief information
officer.
"Charu will drive and advance our legacy of innovation," said
Harrison. "She's a proven technology leader who integrated hundreds
of systems through the acquisition of Virgin America. Her
responsibilities include driving both employee and guest-facing
innovation along with taking Alaska to the next level with merchandising
our products and services, and managing our ever-evolving
distribution channels."
Baskaran takes the helm of information technology services as
vice president. Along with Jain, he led the IT team through the
complexities of integration with Virgin America with near flawless
execution. Vikram leads a world-class IT operation that's at the
foundation of Alaska consistently
receiving high rankings in airline customer satisfaction. He joined
the company in 2013 as a managing director of technology.
"Vikram's in-depth knowledge of our technology environment and
his proven commitment to delivering great technology to our
employees and guests make him perfectly suited for this role," said
Brandon Pedersen, executive vice
president and chief financial officer. "I'm confident that Vikram
will be an exceptional leader for our IT organization."
As the senior vice president of legal and general counsel, chief
ethics and compliance officer and corporate secretary, Levine heads
Alaska Air Group's team of legal, governance and compliance
professionals; supports board of directors' activities and
shareholder services; and sits on the company's executive
committee. He joined the company in 2006.
"Kyle has served Alaska
extremely well as general counsel over the years," said
Brad Tilden, chairman and CEO of
Alaska Air Group. "In addition to critical counsel through our
merger with Virgin America, he has built out a strong legal team,
strengthened our ethics and compliance program, and served as a
company-wide champion for diversity and inclusion. He has earned
this promotion and we're all glad to see it happening."
Alaska Airlines and its regional partners fly 46 million guests
a year to more than 115 destinations with an average of 1,300 daily
flights across the United States
and to Mexico, Canada and Costa
Rica. With Alaska and
Alaska Global Partners, guests can earn and redeem miles on flights
to more than 800 destinations worldwide. Alaska Airlines ranked
"Highest in Customer Satisfaction Among Traditional Carriers
in North America" in the J.D. Power North America Airline
Satisfaction Study for 12 consecutive years from 2008 to 2019.
Learn about Alaska's award-winning
service at newsroom.alaskaair.com and blog.alaskaair.com.
Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air are subsidiaries of Alaska Air
Group (NYSE: ALK).
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SOURCE Alaska Airlines
