Northwest Airlines Elects Richard Anderson And Doug Steenland To Its Board Of Directors

Northwest Airlines (NASDAQ: NWAC) said today that its board of directors elected Chief Executive Officer Richard Anderson and President Doug Steenland to the board.

Gary L. Wilson, Northwest Airlines chairman said, “The election of Richard and Doug reflects the confidence of the board in the outstanding manner in which the two executives have guided Northwest since assuming the top leadership positions in February. Richard Anderson continues to build the airline’s reputation as a carrier committed to providing customers with an efficient travel experience.”

“Doug Steenland continues his leadership role at Northwest including the building of our airline alliance program and the facilitation of the airline’s government affairs efforts.”

Wilson continued, “In recent weeks, Richard and Doug have worked together to make the difficult but necessary changes that have allowed Northwest to continue providing safe and reliable service to customers during an extremely difficult time in our nation’s history.”

Anderson, who joined Northwest in 1990, was elected chief executive officer on February 19. Before becoming CEO, Anderson was the airline’s chief operating officer. Before joining Northwest, Anderson spent three years at Continental Airlines in legal affairs. He serves on the Board of Mesaba Aviation, the Board of Overseers of the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota, the Board of Minnesota Life Insurance Company, and the Minneapolis Downtown Council. He is also a trustee for the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan.

Steenland joined Northwest in 1991 as vice president and deputy general counsel and became senior vice president and general counsel in 1994. In 1999, he was named executive vice president and chief corporate officer and was named president in February. Before joining Northwest, Steenland was a senior partner with Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson & Hand, a Washington, D.C. law firm known for its work in transportation and government relations matters. Earlier in his career, he was an attorney for the U.S. Department of Transportation. Steenland serves on the Board of Mesaba Aviation, the Board of Express Airlines I, the Board of the Minnesota Symphony Orchestra and Guthrie Theater.