Cohen returns to Northwest as Han leaves
Ex-US Airways finance chief Neal Cohen has been drafted in to replace Bernard Han as chief financial officer at Northwest Airlines. Han's surprise resignation came less than three years after he rejoined the carrier from America West Airlines. Han had also worked at the American Airlines group.
Cohen, 45, was chief financial officer for US Airways for two years and had worked in marketing and finance positions at Northwest from 1991 to 2000. Between airlines, Cohen worked at insurer Conseco. He left US Airways along with Dave Siegel, the chief executive who recruited him. These two are credited with achieving considerable cost cuts at US Airways, although that did not save it from entering bankruptcy in 2002 and again last year.
Northwest chief executive Doug Steenland has worked with Cohen before and says he "brings first-hand knowledge" of the airline with him. Steenland credits Han, 40, with helping "reduce our non-labour costs while maintaining one of the best liquidity positions in the industry".
Steenland, president of the airline since 1991, took the top spot last October when Northwest chief executive Richard Anderson resigned to become executive vice-president at health-care insurer United Health Group. Since then Steenland has stepped up the campaign to bring down Northwest's costs. But despite a cost-cutting pilots agreement, he still must persuade machinists and flight attendants to accept cuts. In March, Northwest raised its labour cost-cutting goal from the $950 million set a year earlier to $1.1 billion.
DAVID FIELD WASHINGTON
Source: Airline Business
