SAN FRANCISCO (Diya TV) — Alaska Airlines board of directors named Indian-American Charu Jain as the company’s newest vice president and chief information officer.
Jain arrives at the airline from IBM Global Business Services, where she spearheaded the effort to integrate the IT systems of competitor American Airlines. Prior to that, she worked for two decades at United Airlines in progressive roles from programmer to senior managing director of airline operations technology and technology integration before leaving the company in 2012.
At Alaska, Jain will lead a department of more than 400 information technology professionals.
“Charu’s experience as both an airline executive and consultant is perfectly suited to help Air Group successfully integrate Virgin America from a technology standpoint,” said Brandon Pedersen, Alaska Airlines executive vice president of finance and CFO. “Throughout her 24-year career, Charu has been able to blend thoughtful leadership with a focus on results and we’re excited to have her onboard.”
Jain completed her undergraduate studies in economics at Lucknow University in India, and an MBA in International Management at Lake Forest Graduate School of Management.
Alaska Airlines and Virgin America, combined with their regional partners, fly 40 million people each year to 118 destinations across the globe.