The leadership team: Committed to excellence

John Dietrich became President and Chief Executive Officer of Atlas Air Worldwide and Atlas Air, Inc., its primary operating subsidiary, in January 2020. He was also elected to the Atlas Air Worldwide Board of Directors at such time. Prior to January 2020, he served as President of Atlas Air Worldwide from July 2019 to December 2019 and President and Chief Operating Officer of Atlas Air, Inc. from October 2014 to December 2019. Atlas Air Worldwide is a leading global provider of outsourced aircraft and aviation operating services. Mr. Dietrich is also President & Chief Executive Officer of Southern Air, Inc., an airline acquired by Atlas Air Worldwide in 2016.

Mr. Dietrich has over 30 years’ experience in all facets of aviation and airline management. He serves as Chairman of the National Defense Transportation Association. He also sits on the Board of Polar Air Cargo Worldwide, Inc., a joint venture airline with DHL Express, and the Board of AACT, a Korean joint venture for warehouse and ground handling services.

Mr. Dietrich joined Atlas Air Worldwide in 1999 as Associate General Counsel and in 2004 was promoted to Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary. In that role, he also had responsibility for Human Resources and Corporate Communications.

Prior to joining AAWW, Mr. Dietrich spent 13 years at United Airlines, seven of those as a litigation attorney. At both United and AAWW, he was responsible for providing legal counsel to all levels of management and served as an advisor on issues related to labor relations, employment and commercial litigation.

Mr. Dietrich attended Southern Illinois University and graduated cum laude from the University of Illinois at Chicago John Marshall Law School. He is a member of the Bar in New York, Illinois and Colorado.

James A. (Jim) Forbes was appointed to Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the company on January 1, 2020. In addition to his role as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Atlas Air Worldwide, he will serve as Chief Operating Officer of the company’s subsidiaries Atlas Air, Inc. and Southern Air, Inc.

He has over 30 years of aviation operating experience, including more than 20 years with Atlas Air Worldwide. He is currently Senior Vice President, Chief Operating Officer for Southern Air. In this role, he has been responsible for all aspects of the day-to-day Southern Air operation, including flight, ground and technical operations, as well as safety, performance and customer satisfaction.

Mr. Forbes joined Atlas in 1997 as Senior Director of Ground Operations, where he helped build the global infrastructure upon which Atlas has grown. He was promoted to Vice President, Worldwide Ground Operations in 2001, overseeing station operations for all of Atlas Air and Polar Air Cargo. In 2008, Mr. Forbes was named Senior Vice President for System Performance and Quality at Polar Air Cargo Worldwide, Atlas’ joint venture with DHL Express. In that role he led the transformation of the all-cargo network into today’s on-time express operation that supports DHL Express’ worldwide air network.

Prior to joining Atlas, Mr. Forbes was Station Director for USAir’s transatlantic hub in Philadelphia, overseeing 350 daily departures and leading nearly 2,000 employees. Earlier in his career, Mr. Forbes served as Chairman of the Merger Committee for Teamsters Union Local 278, which represented ground employees of Pacific Southwest Airlines and negotiated the all-airport staff merger of USAir and Pacific Southwest Airlines.

Michael T. Steen joined Atlas Air Worldwide in April 2007 and was appointed Executive Vice President in 2010. He is responsible for all aspects of the Company’s global sales and marketing activities, including strategy, new products and services, brand positioning and marketing communications. Additionally, he is President and Chief Executive Officer of Titan Aviation Holdings, Inc., the wholly-owned dry-leasing subsidiary of Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc.

Mr. Steen has both broad and unique experience in the aviation and logistics sectors, having served global leadership roles at market leaders including DHL, Exel Plc and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. He currently serves on the Board of Directors at CHC Helicopters and is Vice Chairman of the International Air Transportation Association [IATA] Cargo Committee. Mr. Steen is a past Chairman and board member of The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA).

Mr. Steen earned a degree in economics in Gothenburg Sweden and is an alumnus of the Advanced Executive Program at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Adam Kokas is responsible for directing the company’s legal and regulatory affairs, as well as overseeing all compliance matters. He joined AAWW as Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary in October 2006. The following year he took on responsibility for the company’s human resources department which includes the benefits, staffing, HRIS and employee relations functions. He was appointed to Executive Vice President in 2014.

Mr. Kokas joined AAWW from Ropes & Gray LLP, where he was a partner in its Corporate Department, focusing on general corporate, securities and business law. Prior to joining Ropes & Gray, Mr. Kokas was a partner at Kelley Drye & Warren LLP, where he joined as an associate in 2001. While at both firms, Mr. Kokas represented AAWW in a variety of matters, including corporate finance transactions, corporate governance and compliance matters, strategic alliances, securities matters, and other general corporate issues.

Mr. Kokas earned his bachelor’s degree from Rutgers College, and is a cum laude graduate of the Boston University School of Law, where he was an Edward M. Hennessey scholar. He is a member of the Bar in New York and New Jersey. Mr. Kokas has served as chairman of the Cargo Airline Association, a nonprofit trade organization representing U.S. cargo carriers, since 2011.

Spencer Schwartz is the company’s CFO, responsible for all financial and information technology (IT) functions, including treasury, investor relations, financial planning and analysis, financial reporting, accounting, tax, internal audit, business resiliency and IT. He was named to the position in June 2010 and was appointed Executive Vice President in 2014.

Mr. Schwartz joined AAWW as Vice President and Controller in 2008. He is a certified public accountant with broad experience in financial management, risk analysis, strategic planning, accounting, budgeting, forecasting, financial analysis, auditing, tax and related disciplines.

Prior to AAWW, Mr. Schwartz was employed for more than 12 years by MasterCard Incorporated where he served as Group Head of Global Risk Management; Senior Vice President and Business Financial Officer; Senior Vice President, Corporate Controller and Chief Accounting Officer; and Vice President of Taxation.

Mr. Schwartz began his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers. He earned an MBA with honors from New York University’s Stern School of Business and a bachelor’s degree in accounting from The Pennsylvania State University. He was named one of the “100 most influential people in finance” by Treasury & Risk Magazine. Mr. Schwartz was also named by Aviation News as one of the “Top 10 CFOs in the aerospace industry” and “The Aviation 100”, which recognizes the most outstanding performers in aerospace. Mr. Schwartz is an active member of the Board of Directors of Junior Achievement of the Hudson Valley, an organization that partners businesses with schools to benefit school-age children in the community.

Ms. Goodwin-Peters is responsible for providing strategic leadership through the development of Human Resources policies and practices that reflect the Company’s values and support its strategy.

Ms. Goodwin-Peters joined Atlas Air in 2018 with more than 15 years of Human Resources experience. Before joining Atlas, Ms. Goodwin-Peters was the Head of Human Resources North America for Kate Spade & Co. and was responsible for talent identification and management initiatives and served as a liaison to the Board of Directors on topics of talent strategy and executive compensation. Additionally, she led company-wide culture enhancement programs and learning and organization development. Prior to Kate Spade, Ms. Goodwin-Peters held senior HR positions with Aeropostale, Inc. and Ralph Lauren where she led global performance management and mobilization programs that facilitated significant company growth.

Ms. Goodwin-Peters holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Fordham University and an MBA from the Zicklin School of Business.