POLAR AIR CARGO WORLDWIDE - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Polar As Senior Director
- Senior Director, Ground Operations
Drew McGee joined Polar as Senior Director, Ground Operations in 2021. He is responsible for daily operations and compliance oversight for all Polar Air Ground Operations globally as well as outsourced service provider activities. Mr. McGee works closely with station managers and Atlas Air Ground Operations to develop, improve and implement processes and coordinate new station start-ups.
Mr. McGee joined Polar from Atlas Air, where he managed ACMI solutions in North America as part of the Ground Ops team, including overseeing existing ACMI customers, onboarding new long-term charter customers, and helping open new stations. He has more than 20 years of experience in cargo and carrier management, spanning air and ocean freight. Prior to his role most recent role at Atlas, Mr. McGee was with Nippon Cargo Airlines, and before that he held roles of increasing responsibility at Panalpina, where he worked for a decade. He also spent five years with Polar and Atlas between 2000-2005.
Mr. McGee studied business management at Harper College in Illinois and Aviation Management at Southern Illinois University's O'Hare campus.
Job Titles:
- General Counsel and Secretary, Atlas Air Worldwide
Job Titles:
- Senior Director of Network Planning
Ingrid Chariah is responsible for Polar's global network. She develops strategies and leads the network planning and alliances team to implement slot coordination, network optimization and interline alliances that drive the best network options for Polar's customers.
Ms. Chariah has served as senior director of network planning since 2021, and is a member of Polar's Senior Management Team.
Ms. Chariah joined Polar in 2013 from its sister company Atlas Air, where she spent nine years advancing through roles including operations controller and charter operations coordinator before transferring to Polar as manager of express networks and rising through network operations roles of increasing responsibility. She started her aviation career at Virgin Atlantic Airways where she served from seven years, holding roles across the network.
Job Titles:
- Chief
- Senior Vice President, Flight Operations
Jeffrey Carlson is responsible company wide global flight operations, including hiring, training, operations control, flight dispatch and crew scheduling at both Atlas Air and Polar Air Cargo Worldwide.
A veteran captain, Mr. Carlson joined the company in 2008 from Spirit Airlines, where he served as vice president of flight operations.
Mr. Carlson, a former chief pilot and vice president of flight operations at Northwest Airlines, has more than 15,000 hours of flying time on numerous aircraft, including the Boeing 747-400, a gauge which is operated by both Atlas and Polar, Among his achievements at Northwest, he partnered with Boeing to launch the Boeing 747-400 training program, which remains the industry standard today.
Mr. Carlson holds a bachelor's degree in aeronautical science from Embry Riddle University, and is a recipient of the university's Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award.
Job Titles:
- Chief Operating Officer
- Executive Vice President
Jon OIin was named Polar's EVP and Chief Operating Officer in January 2022. He is responsible for all aspects of the company's aviation operations, strategy, and service performance across the global Polar network. Polar's Senior Management Team reports to Mr. Olin.
Prior to joining Polar, Mr. Olin served as Vice President, Americas Region at DHL Express.
Mr. Olin's aviation leadership experience includes roles as SVP, Corporate Strategy & Administration at Amerijet International; Chief Legal and Administrative Officer of Southern Air Holdings; and EVP & General Counsel, Deutsche Post- DHL Americas. He began his career at DHL, where he advanced through a series of business leadership and advisory roles during his 15 year tenure.
Mr. Olin holds a JD from Santa Clara University School of Law, a Master of Laws degree in transnational business from University of the Pacific - McGeorge School of Law, and a BA from University of Iowa. He was also a Fulbright Scholar at the Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea.
Kersti Krepp - Chief Commercial Officer, SVP
Job Titles:
- Chief Commercial Officer
- Senior Vice President
Appointed SVP & Chief Commercial Officer in 2021, Kersti Krepp is responsible for Polar's end-to-end commercial strategy encompassing sales, customer service, marketing, and account management. She also oversees the company's global strategic communications.
In 2002, Ms. Krepp joined Polar in Hong Kong focused on sales and customer relationships. She took on increasing responsibilities as she drove Polar's expansion across the APAC region. She served as Vice President, Sales and Marketing for the APAC region prior to her appointment as SVP and Chief Commercial Officer. Ms. Krepp began her career in aviation with Evergreen in the U.S. and relocated to Hong Kong to serve as Senior Vice President, Asia, where she was responsible for opening and running Asia commercial operations for that carrier. She also co-founded and was Chief Operating Officer of V-Logic, an international logistics and supply chain management provider.
A graduate of the University of Western Ontario in Canada, Ms. Krepp earned a Master of Business Administration from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology/Kellogg School of Management joint degree program.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer of Atlas Air Worldwide
Mr. Steen has more than 30 years of experience in global aviation and logistics, including 16 years of executive leadership experience with Atlas. Mr. Steen is responsible for designing and executing the strategic growth plans for Atlas Air Worldwide and its global operating airlines, Atlas Air, Inc. and Polar Air Cargo, a joint venture airline with DHL Express, and its wholly-owned dry-leasing company, Titan Aviation Holdings, Inc.
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President, Human Resources
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.
Job Titles:
- Chief Financial Officer
- Senior Vice President
- Manager, Financial Planning and Analysis
Sylvie Blondeel is responsible for all aspects of financial management, planning and reporting, revenue verification and management, as well as administration for Polar. She is also the executive leader of Polar's ESG initiatives.
Ms. Blondeel joined the company in April 2008 as Manager, Financial Planning and Analysis, and has been promoted to positions of increasing responsibility over the years. She was named Vice President & CFO in 2014 and promoted to Senior Vice President in 2021. Ms. Blondeel is a member of Polar's Senior Management Team.
Prior to joining Polar, Ms. Blondeel was with Stanley Black & Decker where she started in the Finance Leadership Rotational Program, before joining the Corporate Operations Finance group and ultimately managing integration of new acquisitions. She began her career as a financial analyst with IBM in France.
Ms. Blondeel holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from Audencia in Nantes, France, and a Master of Business Administration from The Ohio State University in Columbus, OH.