Diana Birkett Rakow

Diana Birkett Rakow is CEO of Hawaiian Airlines, now part of Alaska Air Group, and serves as executive vice president for Alaska Airlines with enterprise responsibility for sustainability and Alaska Star Ventures, the company’s investment arm. As Hawaiian Airlines CEO, Diana is responsible for the combined company’s business in Hawai’i and the Hawaiian Airlines brand, and is bringing together Alaska and Hawaiian while retaining two strong and beloved brands. Prior to becoming CEO, Diana spent eight years on Alaska’s executive committee, leading the company’s corporate affairs strategy including public affairs, sustainability, government affairs, communications, community relations and corporate philanthropy, and launching Alaska Star Ventures in 2021.

Today, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is widely recognized as the most viable and scalable technology available to meaningfully reduce aviation emissions in the near and medium term, making it a critical component of the industry’s climate strategy. Alaska and Hawaiian have been using, investing in, partnering on and advocating for this technology: the company reports purchasing nearly 11 million gallons of SAF in 2025, up 52 percent from the year before. But achieving aviation’s long-term climate goals will require more than a single solution. Now under a shared sustainability strategy, Alaska and Hawaiian, which together lead U.S. premium airlines in fuel efficiency, are working to identify and enable a portfolio of technologies and approaches, including operational efficiencies, next-generation aircraft, emerging propulsion systems and infrastructure investments.

Before joining Alaska, Diana spent two decades in health care and government, including as EVP of public affairs and marketing at Group Health through its acquisition by Kaiser Permanente, president of the Group Health Foundation, and earlier as a health policy advisor to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee. She holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Harvard and master’s degrees in public health and public administration from the University of Washington. Diana also serves on the boards of Hawaiian Airlines and Puget Sound Energy.