Hartsfield-Jackson GM Seeks to Curb Flight Delays

Mr. DeCosta

Ben DeCosta, general manager at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, traveled to Washington Feb. 26 to participate in a Department of Transportation panel on minimizing flight delays.

The task force, created by U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, brought together airline, airport and consumer representatives for the first of up to four meetings in 2008 to address factors contributing to longer wait times at airports across the country.

Mr. DeCosta has been at the airport’s helm throughout the first stages of the $6.2 billion expansion project that has already yielded a fifth runway and will eventually include a 12-gate international terminal and new rental car facility. 

He said Hartsfield-Jackson has already made many strides in reducing idle time at the airport.

According to the U.S. News and World Report’s Airport Misery Index released Feb. 11, 28 percent of flights at Hartsfield-Jackson, the world’s busiest airport by passenger volume, are delayed.

The most recent numbers from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics show that the 20 airlines reporting on-time arrival data recorded a national on-time arrival rate of 73.4 percent in 2007, down from 75.4 percent in 2006.

 

Porsche North America Names New Head of Operations

Stuttgart, Germany-based Porsche AG has announced that Detlev von Platen, current managing director of Porsche’s French subsidiary, will head Porsche Cars North America effective April 1.

Mr. von Platen will take over as president and CEO of the Atlanta-based subsidiary for Peter Schwarzenbauer, who has been named to the managing board of Ingolstodt, Germany-based Audi AG.

Mr. von Platen has been working to develop Porsche’s brand in his native France since 1997 and has been managing director of Boulogne Billancourt, France-based subsidiary Porsche France SA since its founding in 1999.

In that time, Porsche sales have more than tripled in France to 2,916 vehicles in 2007, and the company plans to expand into Morocco and Tunisia.

Mr. von Platen will oversee 250 employees in the company’s North American operation, where Porsche sold 36,680 vehicles last year, a market accounting for 38 percent of the company’s total sales worldwide.

Felix Brautigam, currently a Porsche regional sales manager in Ludwigsburg, Germany, will take over Mr. von Platen’s position at Porsche France.

Mexican American Chamber Appoints New President, Chair

The Mexican American Business Chamber has named Jose Puente chair of its board and Elizabeth Uribe-Diaz president for 2008. 

Prior to this appointment, Ms. Uribe-Diaz spent two years with the organization as membership coordinator.  In that capacity, she worked to recruit new members and to educate the Hispanic businesspeople about the resources available to them.

Ms. Uribe-Diaz, an Atlanta resident, has a longstanding interest in the Mexican population in America.  Before joining the chamber, she directed analysis at the Institute for Mexicans Abroad, which is run by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Mexico City. 

A native of the state of Hidalgo, Mexico, Ms. Uribe-Diaz grew up in California.

She replaces Beatriz Gasiba, who served as the chamber’s president for six years.

Visit www.mexicanchamber.org.

Atlanta Law Firm Adds Labor and Employment Attorney

Mr. Floyd

Thompson Hine LLP has hired Cleveland-based attorney Mark Floyd to head the law firm’s newly created labor and employment practice in its Atlanta office.

Mr. Floyd will split time between Atlanta and Cleveland, where he will maintain his practice, which has focused on employment disputes and immigration law.

Thompson Hine’s partner-in-charge in Atlanta, Walt Linscott, said that Mr. Floyd’s more than 20 years of experience in labor and employment law will “provide a unique resource to businesses in the area.”

The law firm represents businesses worldwide from seven U.S. offices and its European location in Brussels, Belgium.

Visit www.thompsonhine.com.