Ben Minicucci serves as CEO and president of Alaska Air Group, the parent company of Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, and Horizon Air. Together, the airlines employ 33,000 people and operate nearly 1,500 daily flights to more than 140 destinations, including 29 international markets in the Americas, Asia, and Oceania.

During Minicucci’s 20-year career with Alaska, he has contributed in various roles of increasing responsibility, becoming CEO on March 31, 2021.

In 2016, he was promoted to president of Alaska Airlines and was also named CEO of Virgin America upon Alaska’s acquisition of the airline in December 2016 until the airlines merged under a single operating certificate in January 2018. He oversaw the integration of Alaska and Virgin America’s operations, processes, and work groups. As president of Alaska, Minicucci was responsible for both operations and commercial functions. He led the execution of the company’s strategic plan including a focus on Alaska’s network, flight schedule, sales, revenue management, safety and operations, marketing, and real estate.

In 2009, he was promoted to executive vice president and chief operating officer. During this time, he directed the implementation of a framework guiding customer service, which empowers employees to deliver personal and kind-hearted experiences to guests, recognizing their unique circumstances instead of being bound by rigid company policies.

In 2007, Minicucci was named vice president of Seattle operations. He implemented an operational management process called the turn timeline, which dramatically increased Alaska’s on-time performance and reliability. Minicucci joined Alaska in 2004 as staff vice president of maintenance.

Before joining Alaska, Minicucci spent seven years serving in a variety of roles at Air Canada’s technical operations and, ultimately, vice president of heavy maintenance. He served in the Canadian Armed Forces for 14 years prior to joining the private aviation sector.

He serves on the board of directors for Alaska Air Group, UNCF, World Trade Center Seattle, the Washington Roundtable, Challenge Seattle, and the Center for Leadership & Strategic Thinking at the University of Washington’s Michael G. Foster School of Business.