Alaska Airlines promotes two experienced leaders to vice president positions

With a continuing focus on strategic growth during a period of recovery from the impacts of COVID-19, Alaska Airlines' board of directors has elected two highly experienced leaders to new roles as vice presidents: Sandy Stelling becomes vice president of strategy, analytics and transformation, and Brett Catlin becomes vice president of network and alliances.

In her new role, Stelling will lead the execution of the company's strategy and oversee development of all strategic initiatives. She is a veteran leader at Alaska, having previously served in several managing director positions during her 21 years with the company, most recently as managing director of strategy and transformation.

"Sandy is an outstanding leader at Alaska. She has proven she can tackle any program and make it successful, or find unique solutions to tricky problems," said Ben Minicucci, Alaska Airlines' president. "Strategic thinking is critical during the recovery of the airline industry and through today's complex environment. We're excited about our future and the contributions of leaders like Sandy to help get us there."

Stelling was a core team member of the Integration Management Office for Alaska's acquisition of Virgin America. As part of that effort, she led the flawless integration of the passenger service systems between the two airlines. She joined Alaska in 1999 as an information technology project manager. Prior to Alaska, she served as a systems and project engineer for The Boeing Company. She holds a bachelor's degree from Lehigh University.

As VP of network and alliances, Catlin will set the long-term network strategy and oversee the financial performance of the airline's competitive network, robust schedule, and portfolio of domestic and global alliances. Catlin had been managing director of capacity planning and alliance planning since April 2019 and served in other managing director roles prior to that. He started at Alaska in 2017.

"Brett's energy, enthusiasm and immense knowledge of network strategies and alliance partnerships will help us set the best course for our company in the years ahead," said Andrew Harrison, Alaska's executive vice president and chief commercial officer. "There are significant changes happening in the airline industry, and Brett deeply understands how to be the most competitive in a new, dynamic environment."

Catlin started at Alaska in 2017. He previously worked at L.E.K. Consulting where he was a senior engagement manager for travel and transport practice. He holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Central Florida and a master's degree from the University of Rochester.

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).