INDIANAPOLIS, Jan. 10, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- ATA Holdings Corp. (Pink Sheets:ATAHQ) and ATA Airlines announced today the following promotions and realignment of responsibilities at the senior leadership level, effective immediately. The new structure reflects ATA's intention to drive accountability down to each of its two lines of business -- Military/Charter and Scheduled Service.
-- Subodh Karnik, currently the Company's Senior Vice
President and Chief Commercial Officer, will become Executive
Vice President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) -- reporting to
John Denison, Chairman, President and CEO. Karnik will have
direct responsibility for all operations including marketing,
planning, and finance functions.
-- Captain John Graber, currently the Company's Senior Vice
President, Flight Operations and Maintenance, will become General
Manager-Military/Charter and Senior Vice President-Operations.
Captain Graber will report to the COO. As General
Manager-Military/Charter, he will have responsibility for all
aspects of ATA's Military/Charter business. As Senior Vice
President-Operations, his responsibilities will include Flight
Operations, Maintenance, System Operations Control, and Safety
and Security.
-- ATA has created a new position, Senior Vice President-Scheduled
Service, and expects to name a leader for that new role
within the next month. The SVP-Scheduled Service will also report
to the COO and will have responsibility for the Marketing and
Market Planning functions as well as Inflight, Station
Operations, Cargo, and Corporate Communications.
-- Doug Yakola, currently the Company's Senior Vice President,
Customers and Ground Operations, will become Senior Vice
President-Chief Financial Officer (CFO) reporting to the
COO. In addition to his finance and accounting responsibilities,
Yakola will be responsible for Strategic Sourcing, Information
Technology, and Real Estate. Francis J. Conway, ATA's interim
CFO, will remain with the Company until ATA emerges from Chapter
11, expected during the first quarter of 2006, and will assist
Yakola with all aspects of his new role until that time.
"ATA is fortunate to have professionals with the experience and determination needed to lead ATA to a profitable future. I am of course very pleased to announce that Subodh Karnik, Captain John Graber and Doug Yakola have accepted their new assignments. Our Company needs their energy, vision, and good judgment as we complete the financial and operational restructuring process," said John Denison, Chairman, CEO, and President. "Against harsh odds, ATA will emerge from Chapter 11 in First Quarter 2006 because of our employees' hard work and sacrifices, their caring for one another, and most importantly because of their absolute determination to 'win.' Work remains to be done, but I have no doubt of our ultimate success because our employees will accept nothing less," he added.
-- John Denison - Chairman, CEO, and President: John
Denison was recently elected to succeed George Mikelsons as
Chairman of the Board of the Company upon Mikelsons' resignation
effective Dec. 31, 2005. He joined ATA in February of 2005 after
a three-year period of retirement from Southwest Airlines. There
his responsibilities included serving as Executive Vice President
of Corporate Services and Chief Financial Officer. Prior to
joining Southwest in 1986, Denison served for six years in
various corporate finance roles at the LTV Corporation also in
Dallas, Texas. Among other responsibilities, he assisted in the
financial restructuring of the conglomerate that held interests
in aerospace defense, steel and energy.
Denison's leadership in restructuring efforts for struggling
companies dates back to the 1970s. He spent his early career in
the Detroit area with more than a decade at the Chrysler
Corporation. As Manager of Corporate Finance, Denison played a
role in the restructuring of the automaker and was part of a team
responsible for obtaining the government assistance that
ultimately saved the company. Denison earned a bachelor of arts
in economics at Oakland University in Rochester, Mich. and
continued his graduate education at Wayne State University, where
he earned a master of business administration in finance.
-- Subodh Karnik - Executive Vice President and Chief
Operating Officer: Subodh Karnik joined ATA in June of 2005 as
Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer. Karnik has
15 years of airline experience that includes serving in a wide
range of leadership roles at three major carriers. Most recently,
he was Senior Vice President of Marketing Planning at Delta Air
Lines. Before joining Delta in 1999, Karnik worked as Staff Vice
President of International Finance at Continental Airlines and
CFO of subsidiary Continental Micronesia. He moved to Continental
from Northwest Airlines, where Karnik maintained responsibilities
in alliances, international sales, revenue management and
strategic planning. He is a graduate of the Birla Institute of
Technology and Science and the University of Michigan Ross School
of Business.
-- Doug Yakola - Senior Vice President and Chief Financial
Officer: Doug Yakola joined ATA in 2003 as Vice President,
Station Operations and Cargo. In 2005, he was promoted to Senior
Vice President, Customers and Ground Operations. Prior to joining
ATA, Yakola spent eighteen years at Northwest Airlines. His
experience with Northwest included director-level roles with
responsibility for the passenger service operation at Northwest's
largest hub (Detroit), overseeing luggage handling worldwide, and
station technology planning. Yakola holds a master of business
administration from the Kellogg School of Management -
Northwestern University, and a bachelor of science in business
administration from the University of Central Florida.
-- Captain John Graber - General Manager-Military/Charter
and Senior Vice President-Operations: Captain John Graber
joined ATA in 1993 as a First Officer. He has held numerous
positions at the carrier, from Crew Resource Management and
Ground School Instructor to Director of Flight Standards and
Training. Graber was promoted to Senior Vice President, Flight
Operations and Maintenance in January of 2005. Prior to joining
ATA, Graber spent time flying for Pan Am Express in Europe, TW
Express Airlines, Inc., and the U.S. Army. Graber holds a master
of business administration, cum laude, from the University of
Notre Dame, and a bachelor of arts from Edison State College.
-- Frank Conway - Francis J. Conway joined ATA Holdings Corp.
in June of 2005 as Interim Chief Financial Officer. In
this role, he continues to work closely with ATA's senior
leadership team to direct the Company's Chapter 11 reorganization
efforts. Conway's professional background includes more than
20 years of experience serving financially distressed companies
as an officer, director and advisor. Much of this work has been
in the aviation industry, where he has served as financial
advisor to scheduled carriers as well as an officer and
director with numerous aircraft leasing entities. Conway
comes to ATA from Navigant Capital Advisors, LLC, the dedicated
corporate finance advisory business of Navigant Consulting, Inc.
("Navigant"). As Managing Director for Navigant Capital Advisors,
he leads the firm's restructuring practice. Conway holds
a bachelor of science in accounting and management from New York
University and is a Certified Public Accountant (C.P.A.).
ATA Airlines, headquartered in Indianapolis, now in its 33rd year of operation, offers affordable travel to major business centers and popular vacation destinations like New York, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Hawaii, Florida and Mexico. Through direct and connecting Southwest Airlines codeshare flights, ATA now serves customers in more than 60 markets. For more information, visit ata.com.