McGee Air Services Announces Leadership Team
Team brings years of aviation experience to McGee
SEATTLE, April 22, 2016 -- McGee Air Services Inc. today announced the formation of its leadership team. Four seasoned aviation leaders will join Dean DuVall to run McGee Air Services.
Marie Underwood
Managing Director, Finance and Controller
Underwood started with United Airlines in 1994 and worked in several positions of increasing responsibility before leaving for Mesa Air Group in 2005. She joined Horizon Air in 2006 as the division controller for maintenance. In 2008, she transitioned to Alaska, initially as division controller for maintenance and engineering and then division controller for airport operations and customer service. She has been consistently recognized for her ability to balance the needs of the business with the need to manage costs, her ability to optimize processes, and for her dependability and attention to detail.
Underwood holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management from the University of Portland and is about to complete her Executive MBA degree at the University of Washington.
Chéri Ruger
Managing Director, Human Resources
Ruger has a rich history with both Horizon and Alaska. She started at Horizon as a flight attendant in 2000. Since then, she has worked as an executive assistant, crew hotel and transportation coordinator, labor relations manager, HR generalist and HR manager. Most recently, she has supported airport operations, maintenance and safety divisions. She has proven to have a common sense approach, be approachable yet no-nonsense, and have a willingness to roll up her sleeves and dive in.
Ruger holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Washington and holds the PHR and SHRM-CP human resources certifications.
Ben Reed
Managing Director, Safety and Compliance
Reed joined internal audit at Alaska in 2009 after working as a CPA for Deloitte and Touche. He moved to airport operations and customer service as the manager, airports quality assurance in 2012 and was promoted to director, aviation security and regulatory compliance in 2013. For the past year Reed has served as director, station operations support where he has overseen resource planning, cabin cleaning, ground support equipment and deicing. Reed has proven to be a tremendously talented and versatile team player.
He earned Bachelors’ and Masters’ degrees in accounting from Brigham Young University.
Rachel Steitz
Managing Director, Operations
Steitz started with Northwest Airlines and worked in ramp operations for nine years before taking on various leadership positions within the cargo division. She joined Delta Airlines during the merger with Northwest Airlines in 2009 as the Manager, Cargo Safety. She moved to Alaska Airlines in 2011 as the manager, safety risk management (SMS) and most recently served as the director of airport operations safety where she was responsible for safety operations and continuous improvement for Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air airport and cargo locations. Rachel has proven to be a committed and highly effective leader who always puts safety first and genuinely values the people she works with.
Steitz holds a Bachelor of Organizational Leadership, Labor Relations and Aviation Administration degree from Northern Kentucky University. She also holds an FAA Commercial Pilot license as well as Six-sigma Greenbelt and Lean Coordinator certifications.
Team brings years of aviation experience to McGee
SEATTLE, April 22, 2016 -- McGee Air Services Inc. today announced the formation of its leadership team. Four seasoned aviation leaders will join Dean DuVall to run McGee Air Services.
Marie Underwood
Managing Director, Finance and Controller
Underwood started with United Airlines in 1994 and worked in several positions of increasing responsibility before leaving for Mesa Air Group in 2005. She joined Horizon Air in 2006 as the division controller for maintenance. In 2008, she transitioned to Alaska, initially as division controller for maintenance and engineering and then division controller for airport operations and customer service. She has been consistently recognized for her ability to balance the needs of the business with the need to manage costs, her ability to optimize processes, and for her dependability and attention to detail.
Underwood holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management from the University of Portland and is about to complete her Executive MBA degree at the University of Washington.
Chéri Ruger
Managing Director, Human Resources
Ruger has a rich history with both Horizon and Alaska. She started at Horizon as a flight attendant in 2000. Since then, she has worked as an executive assistant, crew hotel and transportation coordinator, labor relations manager, HR generalist and HR manager. Most recently, she has supported airport operations, maintenance and safety divisions. She has proven to have a common sense approach, be approachable yet no-nonsense, and have a willingness to roll up her sleeves and dive in.
Ruger holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Washington and holds the PHR and SHRM-CP human resources certifications.
Ben Reed
Managing Director, Safety and Compliance
Reed joined internal audit at Alaska in 2009 after working as a CPA for Deloitte and Touche. He moved to airport operations and customer service as the manager, airports quality assurance in 2012 and was promoted to director, aviation security and regulatory compliance in 2013. For the past year Reed has served as director, station operations support where he has overseen resource planning, cabin cleaning, ground support equipment and deicing. Reed has proven to be a tremendously talented and versatile team player.
He earned Bachelors’ and Masters’ degrees in accounting from Brigham Young University.
Rachel Steitz
Managing Director, Operations
Steitz started with Northwest Airlines and worked in ramp operations for nine years before taking on various leadership positions within the cargo division. She joined Delta Airlines during the merger with Northwest Airlines in 2009 as the Manager, Cargo Safety. She moved to Alaska Airlines in 2011 as the manager, safety risk management (SMS) and most recently served as the director of airport operations safety where she was responsible for safety operations and continuous improvement for Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air airport and cargo locations. Rachel has proven to be a committed and highly effective leader who always puts safety first and genuinely values the people she works with.
Steitz holds a Bachelor of Organizational Leadership, Labor Relations and Aviation Administration degree from Northern Kentucky University. She also holds an FAA Commercial Pilot license as well as Six-sigma Greenbelt and Lean Coordinator certifications.