Alaska Air Group announced that Diana Birkett Rakow will become CEO of Hawaiian Airlines, effective October 29, following the retirement of current Hawaiian Airlines CEO Joe Sprague, who has been with the company for 25 years.
With Alaska Air Group seeing strong momentum, with a stock return of 56.51% in 2024 and 27.81% revenue growth in the last twelve months, Birkett Rakow will take over an airline with strong metrics. She will remain based in Honolulu and report to Ben Minicucci, CEO of Alaska Air Group.
Joe Sprague, who was named CEO of Hawaiian Airlines after Alaska Air Group completed its acquisition of the carrier in September 2024, will stay on during the transition. Before that, he was an executive at Alaska Airlines and president of regional subsidiary Horizon Air. Alaska Air Group has a strong financial health score and is considered undervalued based on InvestPro’s “Fair Value Assessment.”
The company’s success is reflected in its attractive 0.56 Price/Earnings-to-Growth ratio. The leadership change comes as Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines near completion of their integration into a single mainline operating carrier under one Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) operating certificate, expected in the next few months.
Alaska Air Group also announced that Kyle Levine will be promoted to a position overseeing public and government affairs. He will assume the role of executive vice president of corporate and public affairs, chief legal officer, and corporate secretary. The company, which serves over 140 destinations across North America, Latin America, Asia, and the Pacific, will begin its European service in spring 2026.
Meet Diana Birkett Rakow
Diana Birkett Rakow was drawn to science and exploration from a young age, leading her to Harvard University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in chemistry. Additionally, she holds two Master of Arts degrees—one in public administration and one in public health—from the University of Washington Evans School of Public Affairs.
In a 2016 interview, she shared that she had initially applied to a Master of Fine Arts in painting and trained as a yoga teacher before entering the healthcare field, experiences she believes helped her develop creativity in her work. Birkett Rakow began her professional journey as a health policy advisor for the US Senate Finance Committee in Washington, D.C.
She spent over a decade at Group Health in various senior positions, including Executive Director of Public Policy and Executive Vice President of Public Affairs. After its acquisition by Kaiser Permanente, she continued on as Vice President of Public Affairs, Communications, and Brand Management.
Diana Birkett Rakow later became Vice President of External Relations at Alaska Airlines, and was subsequently promoted to Senior Vice President of Public Affairs and Sustainability, where she led the environmental and social governance (ESG) strategy, government affairs, communications, and community relations.
She spearheaded the airline’s efforts toward achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2040, and oversaw the airline’s venture investment arm, Alaska Star Ventures, which invests in new technologies to help reach that goal.
After Alaska Air Group acquired Hawaiian Airlines, Diana Birkett Rakow was named CEO of Hawaiian Airlines in October 2025, making her the first female CEO in Hawaiian Airlines’ history.