Industry & Services >> CEO Interviews >> March 20, 2000
M. TOM CHRISTOPHER, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Kitty Hawk,
Inc., began his career in the air cargo industry in the mid-1970s as a
sales representative for Burlington Northern. Mr. Christopher founded
Kitty Hawk, then strictly an air logistics company, in 1976. He grew
Kitty Hawk through securing major contracts with key customers,
including contracts with General Motors and the U.S. Postal Service,
which are still major Kitty Hawk customers. Kitty Hawk has received
prestigious supplier of the year awards from both GM and the USPS. Kitty
Hawk was listed on NASDAQ in 1996. In 1997, Mr. Christopher led Kitty
Hawk as it acquired the Kalitta Companies, a move that almost tripled
the company's annual revenues. Kitty Hawk today operates more than 100
aircraft and employs more than 2,500 people around the world.
Headquartered in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, Kitty Hawk has division
offices in Ypsilanti, MI and Fort Wayne, IN, and has outstations in more
than 40 cities across the United States. Kitty Hawk has three major
divisions: airfreight carrier, scheduled freight and logistics, all of
which operate with the goal of delivering freight on time. Mr.
Christopher has been featured in Inc. Magazine and was named Ernst and
Young Entrepreneur of the Year. Kitty Hawk was recognized as one of the
'Best 200 Small Companies in America in 1997' by Forbes. Profile
Mr. Christopher: I started the company in 1976 as a charter sales
company. I was selling on-demand charters under the
