The deep knowledge and top skills that Lillian Dukes has demonstrated throughout her career in aviation management have now won her three new roles at two leading organizations. At the University of Tennessee, the Haslam College of Business has named Lillian an Adjunct Faculty member and an Aerospace & Defense Advisory Board member in their Graduate and Executive Education Aerospace & Defense programs. As a faculty member at UT, Lillian will draw on her more than 25 years of experience working for such leading aviation companies as American Airlines, Midwest Express Airlines, Independence Air, American Eagle Airline, Beechcraft, Spirit Aerosystems and General Electric. U.S. News & World Report has consistently ranked Haslam’s undergraduate and graduate programs in Supply Chain Management among the best in the nation.

“There’s a reason for being where you are; it’s the impact you’re meant to have.”

Atlas Air Worldwide, a $2.74 billion global provider of outsourced aircraft and aviation operating services, has also tapped Lillian to join their team. As Senior Vice President for Technical Operations, Lillian will be responsible for overseeing all maintenance and engineering activities for Atlas, which deploys nearly 3,600 employees to operate more than 100 aircraft in 90 countries worldwide. Lillian’s job includes oversight of all safety, technical, and airworthiness standards for Atlas’s fleet, plus maintenance of the test facilities and equipment delivering on those technical standards. 

In addition to her career achievements, Lillian has also earned distinction for her philanthropic efforts. She has served on the boards of Jarvis Christian College, Fondation Enfant Jesus (which supports benevolent efforts in Haiti), and AWESOME (Achieving Women’s Excellence in Supply Chain Operations, Management & Education), the supply chain industry’s pre-eminent organization supporting women’s leadership in the supply chain field.

As a veteran of the fast-changing aviation industry, Lillian is adept in charting a path through new territory. “I’m a firm believer that everything has a purpose,” she says. “There’s a reason for being where you are; it’s the impact you’re meant to have. So your job is to discover, ‘How do I live into that?’” Read more about Lillian and the exceptional childhood that shaped her path to leadership here