leadership

​John Dietrich
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Atlas Air Worldwide
President and Chief Operating Officer, Atlas Air, Inc.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Southern Air, Inc.

John Dietrich was named Chief Executive Officer of Southern Air in 2016 following Atlas Air Worldwide’s acquisition of the company. This is in addition to his roles as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Atlas Air Worldwide, and President and Chief Operating Officer, Atlas Air, Inc. Mr. Dietrich is responsible for all aspects of the companies’ global operations, including safety, flight operations, technical operations, system operations, ground operations, procurement, and regulatory compliance. He also has responsibility for defense and government contracts.

Mr. Dietrich joined Atlas Air Worldwide in 1999 as Associate General Counsel and in 2004 was promoted to Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary. In that role, he also had responsibility for human resources and corporate communications. In 2006, he became Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Atlas Air Worldwide and Atlas Air Inc., and was named President and Chief Operating Officer of Atlas Air in 2014.

Prior to joining Atlas, Mr. Dietrich spent 13 years at United Airlines, seven of those as a litigation attorney. He has provided legal counsel to all levels of management, and served as an advisor on issues related to labor relations, employment, and commercial litigation.

Mr. Dietrich attended Southern Illinois University and graduated cum laude from the John Marshall Law School in Chicago. He is a member of the state bar associations in New York, Illinois, and Colorado. ​​​

​Adam R. Kokas
Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, Atlas Air, Inc.

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.  ​

​Patricia Goodwin-Peters
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 and strategy. Additionally, she led company-wide culture development 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. ​

​James Forbes
Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Southern Air, Inc.

Jim Forbes became Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Southern Air, Inc. in October 2016. He is responsible for all aspects of the cargo airline’s operations, including safety, flight operations, systems and technical operations, fleet network, information technology and maintenance.

Before joining Southern, Mr. Forbes spent 19 years with Atlas Air Worldwide subsidiaries, most recently as Div. Sr. VP Operations, System Performance and Quality at Polar Air Cargo Worldwide (PACW). In this position, Mr. Forbes was responsible for all day-to-day station operations at the Company’s subsidiary PACW, our Road Feeder Network, service delivery and quality, as well as contract and administration for all properties, facilities and services. Previously, Mr. Forbes was the Senior Director of Ground Operations for Atlas, managing all phases of ground operations and customer service.

Mr. Forbes joined Atlas in 1997 with extensive airline experience in operations, sales and customer service. He was Director of US Airways’ hub in Philadelphia, where he managed an operation of 250 flights a day and a staff of just over 2,000 employees. During his 19-year career, he held several other positions including regional cargo sales manager and station manager at various locations in the US Airways system.

Mr. Forbes has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix.

Steve Turner
Director, Flight Operations, Southern Air, Inc.

Captain Steve Turner joined Southern Air in October of 2016 to manage flight operations.

Steve Turner has been with Atlas Air for 18 years as a B-747 Captain, Management Pilot and Flight Operations manager. He was selected as Atlas Assistant Chief Pilot/JFK in 1999 and promoted to Director of Training/MIA from 2001 to 2006. From 2006 to 2008, he was promoted to the Director of Operations, Polar, in which he oversaw Flight Operations during the Atlas/Polar merger.

Throughout his tenure, Steve maintained currency as an active line pilot and a Check Airman. He was the 2015 Flight Operations Lead for the UPS and FedEx Peak operations. Prior to joining Atlas Air, Steve served 26 years in the USAF as a Fighter Pilot and Commander. He was an Outstanding Graduate of the elite USAF Fighter Weapons Instructor Course and later served as an F-15E Squadron Commander during Desert Storm. Steve was a Director of Operations on several occasions, during peacetime and in combat. He has over 10,000 hours of flying for the Military and with 747s.

​ ​Spencer Schwartz
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Atlas Air Worldwide

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​Michael Borkowski
Assistant Secretary and Senior Attorney, Atlas Air, Inc.

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