Board of Directors
Gary L. Wilson
Chairman
Gary L. Wilson became chairman in 1997. He was elected co-chairman of the Board of
Directors in 1991 and joined the Board as a director in 1989. Mr. Wilson also serves as a
director of the Walt Disney Company. He joined Disney in 1985 as executive vice president
and chief financial officer and a director. Before joining Disney, Mr. Wilson served for
11 years in executive positions at Marriott Corp., including executive vice president and
chief financial officer. Mr. Wilson serves on the Board of Trustees of Duke University,
the Board of Visitors at the Fuqua School of Business at Duke, and the Board of the
National Collegiate Athletic Association Foundation.
Richard C. Blum
Chairman & President,
Richard C. Blum & Associates, Inc.
Richard C. Blum has served as a director of the Company since 1989. Mr. Blum is chairman
and president of Richard C. Blum & Associates, Inc., a merchant banking firm which
acts as general partner for various investment partnerships. Mr. Blum also serves as a
director of the Shaklee Corporation, ImmuLogic Pharmaceutical Corporation, the Sumitomo
Bank of California, Triad Systems Corporation, CB Commercial Real Estate Group (formerly
Coldwell Banker, a holding company for various real estate enterprises), the National
Education Corporation (proprietary education and training) and AGP Industrial Corporation.
Mr. Blum is the vice chairman of URS Corporation and a special foreign advisor to Shanghai
International Trust and Investment Company (China).
Ray W. Benning, Jr.
Director of the Airline Division of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters
Ray W. Benning, Jr. has served as a board member since April 1999. He has been director of
the Airline Division of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters since 1995. Benning
served as assistant to the director of the Teamsters Airline Division from 1993 to 1995
and a president of Teamsters Airline Local 2707 from 1985 to 1993.
Elaine L. Chao
Distinguished Fellow at The Heritage Foundation
Chao is a Distinguished Fellow at The Heritage Foundation where she is also Chairman of
the Asia Advisory Council. From 1992 to 1996, she was president and chief executive
officer of United Way of America (UWA). Prior to joining UWA, Elaine Chao was director of
the Peace Corps, and had served as deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of
Transportation. Chao received her MBA from the Harvard Business School and an
undergraduate degree in economics from Mount Holyoke College. She has also studied at
M.I.T., Dartmouth College and Columbia University and is the recipient of 12 honorary
degrees. She also serves on a number of other corporate and nonprofit boards.
Alfred A. Checchi
Private Investor
Alfred A. Checchi has served on the Board of Directors since 1989. Previously he served as
chairman and co-chairman. He resigned as co-chairman in 1997. Mr. Checchi worked for eight
years in a variety of positions at the Marriott Corporation and also worked for four years
as a principal of the Bass Brothers Enterprises investment group. Playing a prominent role
in the non-oil investment activity of the Bass organization, he led the group's
acquisition of a controlling interest in Walt Disney, Inc. In 1989 Mr. Checchi, along with
his long time friend and associate Gary Wilson, organized a small group of partners
including KLM Royal Dutch Airlines to purchase Northwest Airlines.
James G. Coulter
Managing Director of Texas Pacific Group
James G. Coulter has served as a board member since April 1999. He was a founding partner
and since 1992 has served as a managing director of Texas Pacific Group, a private equity
investment fund. Coulter was vice president of Robert M. Bass Group, Inc., a private
investment firm now doing business as Keystone, Inc. From 1986 to 1988, he also was
associated with SPO Partners, a private investment firm. Coulter currently serves on the
boards of directors of America West Holdings Corp., Beringer Wine Estates and Oxford
Health Plans, Inc.
John H. Dasburg
President and Chief Executive Officer
NWA Inc. and Northwest Airlines
John H. Dasburg was named president and chief executive officer of NWA Inc. and its
principal subsidiary, Northwest Airlines, in November 1990. Before his airline career, he
served as president of Marriott's Lodging Group and executive vice president of Marriott
Corp. In this post, he was responsible for the full range of Marriott's lodging products.
He joined Marriott in 1980. Prior to his tenure at Marriott, he was a partner with KPMG
Peat Marwick, an international CPA firm. Dasburg received a bachelor's degree in
engineering, a master's degree in business administration and a law degree, all from the
University of Florida. He served three years in the U.S. Navy with one year in Vietnam. He
is active in civic affairs and serves as a director of a number of universities and
corporations. Dasburg was named airline industry "Man of the Year" in 1994 by
Travel Agent magazine. He was appointed by President Bush to the White House Fellows
Committee. He is a member of the board of The St. Paul Companies, Promus Hotel
Corporation, Mayo Foundation, Northwest Airlines and the Supervisory Board of KLM Royal
Dutch Airlines. He lives in Edina, Minnesota, with his wife and two children.
Doris Kearns Goodwin
Pulitzer Prize-winning author
Doris Kearns Goodwin is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of four books on history and
politics. Her 1995 publication, No Ordinary Time, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for
history and remained on the New York Times bestseller list for six months. Her 1997 book,
Wait Till Next Year: A Memoir, is a personal reflection on growing up in the 1950s in love
with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Goodwin graduated magna cum laude from Colby College and holds
a Ph.D. in government from Harvard University. She served as an assistant to President
Lyndon Johnson during the last year of his administration and for ten years was a
Professor of Government at Harvard University. Goodwin is a member of the Harvard
University Board of Overseers and the Society of American Historians. She and her husband
Richard are the parents of three sons and reside in Concord, Massachusetts.
Dennis F. Hightower
Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration Professor
Dennis F. Hightower is a professor of Management at Harvard University Graduate School of
Business Administration where he focuses on issues of leadership and global management
from the perspective of the general manager. Prior to assuming his academic post,
Hightower was a senior executive of The Walt Disney Company where he served as president
of Disney Consumer Products - Europe, Middle East and Africa and as president of Walt
Disney Television and Telecommunications, the company's largest division in terms of
revenue and operating income. Hightower holds an undergraduate degree from Howard
University and an MBA from Harvard. In addition to his tenure at the Walt Disney Company,
Hightower also has held senior positions with General Electric and Mattel, Inc. He
currently serves as a member of the board of directors of PanAmSat Corporation;
Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation; The TJX Companies, Inc.; the Price Waterhouse Chairman's
Advisory Council; Howard University Board of Trustees; and the Friends of Vieilles Maisons
Francaises, Inc. He and his wife Denia are the parents of a daughter and son and reside in
Los Angeles.
George J. Kourpias
Retired International President-International Association of Machinists & Aerospace
Workers
George Kourpias has served as a director of the Company since 1997. Kourpias is the
retired international president of the International Association of Machinists and
Aerospace Workers, an organization he served for nearly 40 years. He was elected
international president in 1989. Kourpias has been a leader in local, district, state
council and international union service since 1952 when he was first employed as a
machinist at the Wincharger Corp. in Sioux City, IA. Early in his union career, Kourpias
realized that much of what unions win at the bargaining table can be lost in the
legislative, judicial and executive branches of government. This caused him to take an
active role in politics. In recent years he has been active in the Democratic Party in
Montgomery County, Maryland, and has participated in several Democratic National
Conventions. He is currently a member of the Democratic National Committee.
Frederic V. Malek
Chairman, Thayer Capital Partners
Frederic V. Malek has served as a director of the Company since 1989. Mr. Malek served as
president of Northwest Airlines from late 1989 to mid-1990 and was vice chairman of
Northwest Airlines from 1990 through 1991. In 1992, Mr. Malek served as campaign manager
for President George Bush. Mr. Malek was president of Marriott Hotels from 1981 through
mid-1987. Mr. Malek is chairman of Thayer Capital Partners, a Washington, D.C.-based
merchant bank, which Mr. Malek formed in 1993. Mr. Malek is also co-chairman of CB
Commercial Real Estate Group. Mr. Malek is a director of American Management Systems, Inc.
(computer service and consulting), Automatic Data Processing, Inc., FPL Group, Inc.,
ICF-Kaiser, Inc. (environmental engineering and construction managers), Manor Care, Inc.
(nursing homes and lodging services), National Education Corporation and various mutual
funds sponsored by PaineWebber Group Inc.
Walter F. Mondale
Former United States Vice President and U.S. Ambassador to Japan
Walter F. Mondale, former United States Vice President, was elected to the Company’s
Board of Directors in 1997. He previously served on the Northwest board from 1989 to 1993
when he resigned to serve as United States Ambassador to Japan, a post he held through
December 15, 1996. Mr. Mondale’s record of public service also includes U.S. Senator
and Attorney General for the State of Minnesota. He also was the Democratic Party’s
nominee for President in 1984. He currently is a partner with the Minneapolis law firm of
Dorsey & Whitney LLP, and also serves as a director of several other non-profit and
corporate boards.
V. A. Ravindran
President, Paracor Finance Inc.
V.A. Ravindran has served as a director of the Company since May 1992. Since 1987, Mr.
Ravindran has been the president of Paracor Finance Inc. (formerly Elders Finance, Inc.),
a U.S. merchant bank wholly owned by Fosters Brewing Group Ltd. of Australia. He also
serves as a director of L.A. Gear, Inc. From 1987 to 1992, Mr. Ravindran was an executive
director of EFG, the finance group holding company of Fosters Brewing Group Ltd. of
Australia.
Michael Ristow
Captain
Northwest Captain Michael Ristow became a representative to the airline's Board of
Directors in January 1999. Northwest pilots hold one of three labor seats on the board.
Ristow has served as chairman of Northwest ALPA's Anchorage pilot council since 1993.
Ristow joined Northwest in 1968 and is a graduate of Montana State University.
Leo van Wijk
President & Chief Executive Officer, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
Leo van Wijk is the president and chief executive officer of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, a
position he has held since August. van Wijk joined KLM in 1971 and for 26 years has held a
range of increasingly senior positions at the Dutch airline, including postings in its
automation, cargo and marketing divisions. Prior to assuming the office of president, van
Wijk served as Managing Director of the airline and, following the company's management
reorganization, fulfilled the responsibilities of chief operating officer. Mr. van Wijk
previously served as a member of Northwest's board of directors from 1991 to 1996 and, in
addition to his position on the management board of KLM, currently serves as a member of
the supervisory boards of Martinair; Koninklijke Frans Maas Groep N.V.; TUI The
Netherlands N.V.; The Netherlands Bureau for Tourism; and Aegon The Netherlands N.V. van
Wijk holds a masters degree in econometrics from Amsterdam University and he and his wife
Hetty reside in Aerdenhout, The Netherlands.
Melvin R. Laird
Director Emeritus - Northwest Airlines
Consultant, The Reader's Digest Association, Inc.
Melvin R. Laird is Director-Emeritus of Northwest Airlines. Formerly Secretary of Defense
(1969-73), Mr. Laird has a long history of political service beginning in 1946 when he
became a member of the Wisconsin Senate. He was a member of the 83rd-91st Congresses,
Chairman of the Republican House Minority and Domestic Advisor to President Nixon from
1973-74. He has served as Senior Counsellor for National and International Affairs of The
Reader's Digest Association since 1974. Mr. Laird is a member of numerous Boards of
Directors and also serves as a Trustee on many non-profit organizations. He is also the
recipient of over 200 awards and honorary degrees.
Thomas L. Kempner
Director Emeritus - Northwest Airlines
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer,
Loeb Partners Corporation
Thomas L. Kempner has served as a director of the Company since 1989. Mr. Kempner is
chairman and chief executive officer of Loeb Partners Corporation, investment bankers, a
position he has held since 1983. He is a director of Richard C. Blum & Associates,
Inc., Alcide Corporation (agri/medical biotechnology), The Arlen Corporation
(manufacturing of building construction materials), Energy Research Corporation (fuel
cells and batteries), Igene Biotechnology, Inc. (biotechnology), Inter-magnetics General
Corporation (manufacturing of superconductive materials), Silent Radio, Inc.
(manufacturing of computerized message signs) and Channel America LP TV Holdings, Inc.
