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Hawaiian Air
financial exec
steps downFormer US Airways chief
financial officer William Loftus
will fill the post temporarilyBy Tim Ruel
Star-BulletinHawaiian Airlines Inc. is searching for a new chief financial officer, following the recent unannounced departure of its former CFO, John Garibaldi.
Garibaldi, also an executive vice president, had been with the Hawaiian since May 1996. He resigned for undisclosed personal reasons on July 16, Hawaiian spokesman Keoni Wagner said yesterday.
Hawaiian had no comment on Garibaldi's leaving, Wagner said. Garibaldi could not be reached for comment.
Meanwhile, Hawaiian has appointed William Loftus, a former US Airways CFO and senior vice president, to replace Garibaldi until the company finds a permanent CFO.
Loftus, who began work Monday, was not available for comment. "He's hit the ground running over here," Wagner said.
Loftus is also managing director for New York-based LoftusGroup LLC, a management consulting company that specializes in companies that are under operating and financial stress, according to LoftusGroup's Web site.
Wagner said he was not aware of that business description, and that he could not comment on Hawaiian's reasons for choosing Loftus.
Hawaiian's stock price, traded on the American Stock Exchange, fell 12 1/2 cents today to close at $2.37 1/2. The shares are down 13.6 percent from a year ago.
In May, the firm reported a net loss of $2.6 million for the quarter ending March 31, compared with a net loss of $169,000 the same quarter in 1999. Hawaiian cited higher fuel costs for the loss.
At the same time, Hawaiian announced it had hired a financial adviser to talk to outside investors who had shown an interest in buying the company.
Loftus joined US Airways in 1989 to speed the stalled integration of another airline that US Airways had bought. He also has held senior executive positions at several Fortune 100 companies.
Following his resignation, Garibaldi will continue to receive his base salary, $245,000, for the next two years, and get full vesting of benefits, including stock options, according to a company filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. In 1999, Garibaldi's salary and bonus totaled $279,999, according to the filing.
