Dunleavy appoints board members for Alaska Aerospace Corporation and Alaska Railroad Corporation

Gov. Mike Dunleavy made board appointments for two state-owned corporations, according to a statement released on Tuesday evening.

Dunleavy appointed former Alaska Lt. Gov. Craig Campbell to the “business owner/manager” seat on the Alaska Railroad Corporation board. He also tapped retired Air Force Col. John “Jack” Anthony for the Alaska Aerospace Corporation board.

Campbell formerly served as lieutenant governor under Gov. Sean Parnell. He was also president and CEO of Alaska Aerospace until March, when he moved on to head Aurora Launch Services. Campbell says since he already has experience in state corporations, the Alaska Railroad Corporation seemed like a good next step.

“I’ve always been intrigued by the railroad,” Campbell said in a phone interview on Wednesday. He added that he’s excited “to see how [the industry] works and to maybe contribute some of what I’ve done here at Alaska Aerospace to the railroad, as they face a challenging future … of having to grow their operations in a state that’s having a recession and needs to have growth in other areas.”

Campbell’s appointment will last for five years.

Anthony will serve until 2022. He has experience working with NASA and is a member of the Aurora Launch Services Board, according to the statement.

Mark Lester, current president and CEO of Alaska Aerospace says Anthony’s background will help the corporation’s launch facility, the Pacific Spaceport Complex on Kodiak’s Narrow Cape, continue expanding.

“His knowledge is key to helping us at Kodiak move forward to the next iteration of what the spaceport is going to be,” Lester said on Wednesday. “Everything we’ve talked about moving towards, Jack’s got the knowledge. Both technically as an engineer, as well as from a policy perspective, [he] understands how all those organizations and entities could work together.”

The vacant seat on the Alaska Railroad Corporation board was left by Jon Cook, chief financial officer of the Fairbanks-based company, Airport Equipment Rentals. Cook, who has supported the effort to recall Dunleavy, was dismissed from the board last month.