AIRLINE INDUSTRY : Craib, Former CEO at Allstate, Takes Helm of the New TWA

Donald F. Craib Jr., retired chairman and chief executive of Allstate Insurance Group, on Tuesday was named chairman and chief executive of Trans World Airlines.

Craib, 68, will replace William Howard, 72, who joined the airline in July as it was preparing to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Howard said he resigned after his primary goal of getting the airline out of Bankruptcy Court was accomplished.

Vice Chairman Glenn Zander, 47, who was responsible for the airline’s finances and reportedly had been feuding with Howard, also resigned. He cited personal reasons.

Craib, who has never before run an airline, has since August served on TWA’s board as a representative of creditors. He could not be reached for comment.

The insurance executive was chairman of Allstate from March, 1982, through October, 1986. Craib was also chairman of Allstate’s Los Angeles-based Metropolitan Savings & Loan, now Sears Savings Bank, in the mid-1960s, and also managed Allstate’s regional office in Pasadena.

Craib, a UCLA alumnus, is a member of the board of the UCLA Graduate School of Management and a trustee of the UCLA Foundation.