Howard Putnam Announced as 2008 UGC Keynote Speaker
The importance of continuity covers every facet of industry imaginable, but a very special focus is on the airline industry. Howard Putnam, the 2008 International UGC keynote speaker, will speak firsthand on the important responsibilities, including disaster planning, he managed when with United Airlines, Braniff International and as CEO of Southwest Airlines.

“Our customer’s industries range from financial to manufacturing to healthcare to everything in between,” said Eric Strohl, President of Strohl Systems. “Each brings a unique planning perspective to our user group functions, and it goes without saying that Putnam’s shared experiences will certainly bring an impact.”

His stories of success have a wide audience. HarperCollins published his first book, “The Winds of Turbulence,” and Harvard University wrote a case study on his Braniff experiences titled, “The Ethics of Bankruptcy.” Beyond an author, he is a speaker and advisor on business issues, change, leadership and ethics.

Putnam was also chairman of InTech Aerospace Services LLC, in Houston and has served as a director of several startup technology companies.

His recounted experiences will include how he built a successful disaster preparedness plan from scratch at Southwest and how he became the first airline CEO to successfully restructure a major airline out of Chapter 11, as he did while at Braniff.

He’ll also describe how it was working through three hijackings and three airline accidents, as well as how it was being a member of the “Accident Notification Team.”

Learn how these experiences lead to Putnam’s philosophy on prudent continuity planning and testing, why he believes it deserves top priority, and why any program should have unlimited scope to handle any possible scenario.

“Our UGC guests should look forward to a presentation that is both informative and thought-provoking,” said Strohl. “Everyone in attendance will be able to relate in one way or another to Putnam’s past challenges and successes. We couldn’t ask for a more appropriate speaker for our keynote.”