Senior appointments at Northwest Airlines

Northwest Airlines has made two appointments in its international and alliance organizations, naming Nathaniel Pieper to the position of vice president-alliances and Jim Friedel, president of NWA Cargo, to the additional role of senior vice president-Pacific, effective immediately.

In his new role, Pieper will be responsible for Northwest’s global alliance strategy and partnerships, including the airline’s joint venture with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Northwest’s membership in the SkyTeam alliance.

Pieper replaces Gary Fishman, who has retired from Northwest.

“Nat has held a number of key positions with Northwest in financial and business planning," said Phil Haan, executive vice president of international, alliances and information technology and chairman of NWA Cargo. “Nat’s leadership skills and wide range of experience at Northwest will help us continue to develop our strategic global alliances to better serve our customers.”

Pieper joined Northwest in 1997. Since 2003, he has served as managing director of financial planning and analysis, with responsibilities for labor analysis, long-range financial planning and fleet planning, including Northwest’s recent Boeing 787 order. Previously, he held positions in and had responsibility for capital planning and strategic planning. Pieper earned an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management in finance, strategy and transportation management and a BA in history from Duke University.

Friedel named Senior Vice President - Pacific and President NWA Cargo

Jim Friedel will take on the newly-created role of senior vice president-Pacific in addition to retaining his responsibilities as president of NWA Cargo. Friedel will have profit and loss (P&L) responsibility for Northwest’s Asia Pacific operations.

“Jim’s vast cargo experience in the Asia Pacific region will be a strong asset as he leads our efforts to leverage the combination of Northwest’s major passenger and cargo presence in this key region,” said Haan.

“The Asia Pacific region continues to be the most rapidly developing part of the global economy,” said Friedel. “I look forward to working with the passenger and cargo teams to ensure that Northwest continues to be a strong and nimble competitor.”

A 14-year veteran of Northwest, Friedel is president of NWA Cargo, one of the largest players in the trans-Pacific air freight market. Before joining NWA Cargo in 1996, Friedel had responsibility for the operation of Northwest’s passenger reservations offices in the U.S. He also served as director of analysis in corporate finance.

Before joining Northwest in 1991, Friedel was an associate with Mercer Management Consulting, where he worked with logistics clients such as railroads, distribution centers, overnight express couriers, and truckers. He holds an economics degree from Princeton University and is a native of New York.

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