Former Frontier Airlines chief executive Sean Menke has been named president and chief executive of Pinnacle Airlines Corp.
Menke, 42, is expected to begin his new duties July 1. He also will become a member of Memphis-based Pinnacle’s board.
Menke and his wife, Arminda, plan to relocate with their three young sons to Memphis, Tenn., this summer.
Menke guided Frontier Airlines, which was then based in Denver, through two years of financial difficulty, including an 18-month bankruptcy that ended Oct. 1, 2009, when Frontier was purchased by Republic Airways of Indianapolis.
In recognition of his leadership through Frontier’s turbulent financial times, Menke was named The Denver Post’s Business Person of the Year in 2009.
After the acquisition, Menke became Republic’s executive vice president and chief marketing officer. He left Republic in April 2010 and has been the managing partner of Denver-based Vista Strategic Group LLC, a management-consulting company.
“I am very excited to be joining Pinnacle during a period of transformation in the airline industry,” Menke said in a statement.
“Pinnacle has proven it is focused on being a leading regional operator in North America,” Menke said. “I look forward to working with the employees of Pinnacle as well as our airline partners to provide reliable and efficient airline service.”
Pinnacle Airlines Corp. is a holding company with 7,800 employees and is the parent company of Pinnacle Airlines Inc., Mesaba Aviation Inc. and Colgan Air Inc.
Ann Schrader: 303-954-1967 or aschrader@denverpost.com
