Executive Management
John W. Dietrich
President and Chief Executive Officer, Atlas Air Worldwide
John W. Dietrich is President and Chief Executive Officer of Atlas Air Worldwide, a $4 billion public company (Nasdaq: AAWW). AAWW is the leading global provider of outsourced aircraft and aviation operating services.
Mr. Dietrich has over 30 years’ of experience with multi-national, public companies, including all facets of aviation and airline management. He is responsible for strategic oversight for Atlas Air Worldwide and its subsidiaries, including its international operating airlines, Atlas Air, Inc., and Polar Air Cargo (a joint venture airline with DHL Express), and its leasing company, Titan Aviation Holdings, Inc. The Atlas Air Worldwide companies serve the e-commerce, express and general air freight markets in over 400 destinations in 90 countries, and are a major supplier to Alibaba, Amazon, DHL Express, FedEx, HP, Inditex, Kuehne+Nagel, NCA, Qantas, SF Express, UPS and the US military. Together, they operate the world’s largest fleet of 747 freighter aircraft and provide customers the broadest array of Boeing 747, 777, 767 and 737 aircraft and complementary aviation services. Atlas is the world’s second largest airfreight operator measured by freight tonne kilometers (FTKs).
Mr. Dietrich assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer in January 2020. Before being appointed as Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Dietrich served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer from September 2006 to December 2019. Mr. Dietrich joined Atlas Air Worldwide in 1999 as Associate General Counsel and subsequently served as its Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary. In that role, he also had responsibility for Human Resources, IT and Corporate Communications.
Under Mr. Dietrich’s leadership, the company has significantly expanded and diversified its service offerings, building from a single-gauge 747 ACMI (aircraft, crew, maintenance, insurance) cargo business to many gauges of aircraft, as well as the expansion into passenger service and aircraft leasing businesses. He introduced the highly successful joint venture with DHL with its Polar Air Cargo subsidiary. Mr. Dietrich is also responsible for the continuing expansion of the company’s military business in both cargo and passenger sectors.
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 serves as Chairman of the National Defense Transportation Association (NDTA), and led the organization’s development of an aviation subcommittee on cybersecurity. He also sits on the Board of Polar Air Cargo Worldwide, Inc. (the joint venture with DHL), and AACT, a Korean joint venture for warehouse and ground handling services. He is on the Board of Directors for Airlines for America (A4A) and is a member (and former Chairman) of the National Air Carrier Association (NACA). He was also a member of the Defense Science Board (DSB) Task Force on Survivable Logistics, convened by the U.S. Department of Defense. Additionally, Mr. Dietrich recently joined the board of the Liberty City Optimist Club, dedicated to youth development initiatives in the Miami community.
A native of Chicago, Illinois, 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.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnwdietrich/
James A. Forbes
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Atlas Air Worldwide
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.
Adam R. Kokas
Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, Atlas Air Worldwide
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
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Atlas Air Worldwide
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.
Michael T. Steen
Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, Atlas Air Worldwide President and Chief Executive Officer of Titan Aviation Holdings
Michael T. Steen is Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, of Atlas Air Worldwide. 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 will become President and Chief Executive Officer upon the retirement of John Dietrich, current President and Chief Executive Officer of Atlas Air Worldwide, on June 15, 2023.
Atlas Air Worldwide is the parent company of Atlas Air, Inc. and Titan Aviation Holdings, Inc., and is the majority shareholder of Polar Air Cargo, a joint venture airline with DHL Express. Our companies serve the e-commerce, express and general air freight markets in more than 400 destinations in 90 countries and are a major supplier to Alibaba, Amazon, DHL Express, FedEx, HP, Inditex, Kuehne+Nagel, NCA, Qantas, SF Express, UPS and the U.S. military. Together, they operate the world’s largest fleet of 747 freighter aircraft and provide customers the broadest array of Boeing 747, 777, 767 and 737 aircraft and complementary aviation services. Atlas is the world’s second-largest airfreight operator measured by freight tonne kilometers (FTKs).
Mr. Steen has more than 30 years of experience in aviation and logistics, including 16 years of executive leadership experience with Atlas. He has served as Chief Commercial Officer since 2007 and has been responsible for leading the Company’s strategy and growing market share, as well as developing and diversifying the Company’s roster of blue-chip customers. Mr. Steen has oversight of all aspects of the Company’s global sales and marketing activities, including strategy, new products and services, brand positioning and marketing communications.
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 Helicopter and 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.
Patricia Goodwin-Peters
Senior Vice President Human Resources, Atlas Air Worldwide
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