SEATTLE,
March 22, 2021
/PRNewswire/ -- Today, Alaska Air Group announced the
appointment of Constance von Muehlen
as Chief Operating Officer of Alaska Airlines, effective
April 3, 2021. Upon assuming this
role, von Muehlen will join Alaska's Executive Committee and report to
Ben Minicucci, who becomes Chief
Executive Officer on March 31, 2021.
She succeeds current COO, Gary Beck,
who has announced his retirement following an impressive 47-year
career in aviation.
A 30-year aviation veteran who received her
leadership training flying Black Hawk helicopters as a Captain in
the U.S. Army, von Muehlen brings a proven track
record of safety and operational excellence to the role. As COO,
von Muehlen will oversee the
day-to-day operations on the ground and in the air for Alaska
Airlines, focusing on delivering on Alaska's commitment to genuine, caring service
that ensures a safe, reliable, hassle-free and welcoming experience
for all guests. She will also serve as board chair of McGee Air
Services, where she will oversee operations at Alaska's ground services
subsidiary.
"Constance is a deeply trusted leader who brings out the
best in people. She unlocks the potential of each individual to
drive a solution-oriented team approach," said Minicucci.
"Constance has an impressive ability to manage complexity, simplify
systems and see around corners to meet the future demands of our
business. As we welcome guests back to the skies following the
COVID-19 crisis, I can't think of a better person to oversee our
recovery."
Most recently, von Muehlen served as senior vice president
of maintenance and engineering where she led all safety, compliance
and operational performance of the airline's mainline Boeing and
Airbus fleet. Prior to that, von Muehlen served as Horizon Air's
chief operating officer, where she oversaw the customer service,
inflight, pilot, maintenance and system operations control
teams.
Before joining the airline in 2011 as Director of Engine
Maintenance, von Muehlen spent 20 years in aviation maintenance,
including her role as general manager of Pratt and
Whitney Canada's service center
in Saint-Hubert, Quebec, and
as director of airframe maintenance at Air Canada. She holds a
bachelor's degree from Johns Hopkins University and a
certificate in Executive Leadership Training from the Darden School
at the University of Virginia. She also completed an executive MBA
at the Foster School of Business at the University of
Washington.
Upon assuming this role, von Muehlen will make Alaska
Airlines history by becoming the company's first female COO. Learn
more about von Muehlen's approach to leadership on Alaska's Blog.
About Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines and its regional partners serve more than
115 destinations across the
United States and North
America. The airline provides essential air service for our
guests along with moving crucial cargo shipments, while emphasizing
Next-Level Care. Alaska is known
for low fares, award-winning customer service and sustainability
efforts.Guests can earn and redeem miles on flights to more than
800 destinations worldwide with Alaska and its Global Partners. On
March 31, 2021, Alaska will officially become a member of the
oneworld global alliance. Learn more about Alaska at newsroom.alaskaair.com and
blog.alaskaair.com. Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air are
subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group (NYSE: ALK).
View original content to download
multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/alaska-airlines-appoints-constance-von-muehlen-chief-operating-officer-301252677.html
SOURCE Alaska Airlines