Newsmaker: SW Taps Ward For Corps.

<B> Newsmaker: SW Taps Ward For Corps.</B>

By Jay Campbell

While making a number of management changes at its highest levels, Southwest Airlines last month also shuffled around some mid-management faces, creating an entirely new national sales position. The company's first-ever national accounts manager in charge of corporate, government and travel agency contracts, Jason Ward, said he's looking forward to investigating the many new opportunities opening up with the pace of change in the travel industry.

"Our philosophy is to keep an open mind," said Ward, previously a Southwest area marketing manager for Salt Lake City. "Since we're listed only in Sabre and because our fares already are discounted, it's difficult to talk about discount programs with companies. But as we grow, we are getting more and more national accounts with offices on both ends of the country."

Ward said in cases where a discount program doesn't make sense, he still will sit down with corporations to enhance awareness about Southwest's product. Also, he pointed out, there are a number of changes happening that could open some doors for Southwest, including lower-cost distribution options and the possibility of ARC accreditation. "But it's tough to say whether or not these new models will open up Southwest more directly to the corporate market," he added.

Southwest had a national accounts manager, Charles Zug, back in the early 1990s, but that position was renamed manager of business development and added a number of special projects to the sales portion of the job. Joe Lamkin later filled that role, but left the airline last year. This year, Southwest's vice president of marketing and sales, Dave Ridley, and a new senior director of field marketing, Richard Sweet, decided to create Ward's position.

Southwest has area marketing managers on the city level reporting to district managers, who report to regional directors, who report to Sweet.

Effective May 1, Ridley was named vice president of ground operations, and became a member of Southwest's nine-member executive planning committee. Joyce Rogge took over Ridley's marketing functions as vice president of marketing on May 1. She oversees field marketing, including Sweet's group, product distribution and the group and packages business.

Ridley is filling the role of James Wimberly, who will replace Gary Barron as executive vice president and chief operations officer on Jan. 1. Barron, one of the airline's founders, will remain with Southwest as an executive vice president in the labor relations area until 2000. Barron, Wimberly and now Ridley could be considered as possible successors to Herb Kelleher, the only chairman and chief executive in Southwest's 27-year history.