As chief executive officer of Hawaiian Airlines, Diana Birkett Rakow is responsible for the performance and advancement of the Hawaiian Airlines brand and Alaska Air Group’s business in Hawai‘i — including Honolulu, the combined company’s second largest international hub after Seattle.

She also leads Air Group’s sustainability and venture investment strategies as a member of the company’s executive committee. Diana has been a member of Alaska Airlines’ executive committee for the last eight years, previously responsible for public affairs and sustainability, overseeing government affairs, communications, sustainability and corporate impact, community and cultural relations, sales and customer engagement in the states of Hawaiʻi and Alaska, and the Alaska Star Ventures investment arm.

Diana joined Alaska after two decades in the health care industry and government. Prior to Alaska, she was executive vice president of public affairs and marketing at Group Health, leading brand, strategy and stakeholder engagement through the company’s acquisition by Kaiser Permanente and launching the resulting, new $1.8 billion foundation. Before joining Group Health, she was health policy advisor to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, in Washington, D.C.

Diana holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Harvard University and master’s degrees in public health and public administration from the University of Washington. She is a board director for Hawaiian Airlines and Puget Sound Energy and serves on international councils to advance sustainability and clean energy.