NWA CEO Leaves

[festus]

Northwest CEO leaves for post at UnitedHealth

NEW YORK, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Northwest Airlines Corp. on Friday said Chief Executive Richard Anderson is leaving the company to become executive vice president of UnitedHealth Group .

Northwest named President Douglas Steenland to the additional post of chief executive officer, effective immediately.



10/01/04 08:11 ET

 

[SDF2BUF2MCO]

Another "professional" business person leaving.

Makes me wonder are their any ivory tower types that actually "enjoy" or at least interested in running a good airline? The only one that remotely comes to mind is Gordon at CO. Could say SWA and JB (?). Any other people come to mind? The rest seem to look at it as nothing more than a business (which is a cruel reality) but it doesn't appear they are interested in the airline business and sure not interested in flying itself.

As I get older, I am becoming a big believer in pursuing something you enjoy and hopefully you can make money at it. Even the ivory tower types seem to be miserable souls.

 

[xanderman]

I believe Doug Parker @ AWA is interested in the long term success of the airline...

Andy

 

[On Your Six]

Wait, an actual CEO leaving to become an EVP? Boy, you know he must not like this business... I wonder why?

 

[G4G5]

The health care business vs the airline business? Anyone question this move. It's a no brainer.
UHC is out of MSP so he doesn't have to move.
Fly on the company G5 vs NWA
My guess is, his new ex vp compensation package blows away his NWA CEO package.

Let's face it folks the airline business will never attract the Warton MBA's. The margins are way to thin, the unions too powerful, too much competition, too much regulation and scrutiny. We get the mgt folks who were in the lower half of the graduating class of the 3rd tier mgt schools.

Let's be honest here what do they get in return? None of these folks are in it for their love of flying. The compensation of an airline ceo will never approach that of a fortune 50 ceo's. Arpey and Anderson could never dream of getting compensated on a level like Gerstner or Walsh did. Heck an airline ceo doesn't even get close to what a high level executive at IBM or GE gets and look at the BS you have to put up with. No thanks. Tha's why the good ones like Anderson and Brenneman get out while the going is good.

Anyone who sticks around does so because they have a huge equity stake attached to the survival of their company. Once that equity stake has reached it's maxium potential, why hang around?

This industry is forever doomed to have weak mgt. Hence the current state of the industry.

 

[8vATE]

Another "professional" business person leaving.

Makes me wonder are their any ivory tower types that actually "enjoy" or at least interested in running a good airline? The only one that remotely comes to mind is Gordon at CO. Could say SWA and JB (?). Any other people come to mind? The rest seem to look at it as nothing more than a business (which is a cruel reality) but it doesn't appear they are interested in the airline business and sure not interested in flying itself.

Gordon's retiring...
SWA CEO abruptly announced his retirement earlier this summer...

Song's CEO just resigned...

Heading for greener pastures and industries that can actually make money...

 

[schafjet]

The local news here in the Twin Cities said his compensation package at UnitedHealth will be better than what he was making at NWA.

 

[Lear70]

Tha's why the good ones like Anderson and Brenneman get out while the going is good.

Anyone who sticks around does so because they have a huge equity stake attached to the survival of their company. Once that equity stake has reached it's maxium potential, why hang around?

That's exactly what he's doing, and can you blame him? If you think for one second that ALL the legacy carriers are going to escape bankruptcy in the next 2 or 3 years, you're smoking some serious foliage that you should share with the rest of us...

There's no way for Northwest, Continental, AA, etc to compete with a USAirways (if they survive round 2), United, and Delta with the HUGE concession packages they'll be getting. The other carriers will keep bleeding red since they'll have to price match to retain their market share with labor costs twice that of the bankrupt carriers, and eventually they too will fall to the Chapter 11 wolves already nipping at their heels.

Anderson is doing what he's done all along: play it VERY SMART. No one wants to be known as the CEO that took a once healthy airline into bankruptcy, good positions are MUCH harder to get after that, even for "fat cat" Harvard grad CEO's. I'm certain his new position, although a step "down" in title, pays much better (look at the profit margin in the medical field versus aviation), has better bennies (not to mention stock options that are actually WORTH something), and lets him bail while, as the previous poster mentioned, "the getting is good".

Wouldn't be a bit surprised to see Gordon pulling the same move sometime in the next year... It's gonna be a rough decade!

 

[Heavy Set]

The local news here in the Twin Cities said his compensation package at UnitedHealth will be better than what he was making at NWA.

Give me a break. The guy is already an old millionaire.... I'd think it would be difficult to give up the CEO power and control aspect of the job...

It sounds like he, like the others, is getting spooked by the changing industry fundamentals... Would you look forward to wrangling concessions out of all of your labor unions over the next few years?