Alaska Native Regional Corporations Thriving: ANCSA companies amassing billions, employing thousands.

• Author: Stricker, Julie
• Position: SPECIAL SECTION: Alaska Native Business

Michelle Anderson

President

Ahtna Corporation

Matt Fagnani

CEO

The Aleut Corporation

Rex A. Rock Sr.

President & CEO

Arctic Slope Regional Corporation

Gail R. Schubert

President & CEO

Bering Straits Native Corporation

Jason Metrokin

President & CEO

Bristol Bay Native Corporation

Andrew Guy

President & CEO

Calista Corporation

Gabriel Kompkoff

CEO

Chugach Alaska Corporation

Sophie Minich

President of CEO

Cook Inlet Region, Inc.

Aaron Schutt

President & CEO

Doyon, Limited

Elizabeth Perry

CEO

Koniag, Inc.

Wayne Westlake

President & CEO

NANA Regional Corporation

Anthony Mallott

President & CEO

Sealaska, Inc.

With climate change creating new opportunities in the Arctic, Alaska's Native corporations are making sure they have a say in any future development. They are involved in forums such as the Arctic Economic Council; working together in partnerships such as the Inuit Arctic Business Alliance; and partnering directly with Outside corporations doing business in Alaska.

The corporations were created in 1971 under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA), which divided 44 million acres and $962.5 million between twelve Alaska-based regional corporations and more than two hundred village corporations. A thirteenth corporation was later created for Alaska Natives living outside the state.

The corporations were tasked with dual mandates: create profitable businesses and support shareholders' cultural, educational, and social needs.

In the four decades since ANCSA, the corporations have become an economic powerhouse in Alaska. In 2014 they amassed billions in revenue and employed thousands of Alaskans, as well as thousands of others around the world.

Ahtna Corporation

Ahtna recorded its third straight profit in fiscal year 2014, three years after a major corporate restructuring, which has put it in position for future opportunities to expand, President and Interim CEO Michelle Anderson told shareholders.

The corporation's headquarters are in Glennallen, with offices in Anchorage. Its thirteen subsidiaries are in construction, environmental, engineering, facilities management, government contracting, professional support services, real estate, and oil and gas and employ more than 1,500 worldwide. All subsidiaries except Ahtna Development Corporation are under the umbrella of Ahtna Netiye', an Ahtna Athabascan word meaning "our strength."

Overall 2014 revenues were $185 million with a net income of $5.2 million. Dividend payouts were third highest in corporate history. Ahtna has 1,903 shareholders, nearly half of whom were born after 1971. The corporation also provides job training and education for shareholders. A quarter of its Alaska-based workforce was made up of Ahtna shareholders, who earned a combined $7.2 million in wages. It also paid out more than $60,000 in elder dividends.

In 2014, Ahtna actively explored its oil and gas potential, leasing forty-four thousand acres near Tolsona for seismic testing. The corporation will seek reimbursement for the testing from the state of Alaska through New Frontier Basin tax credits. Overall, Ahtna expects the testing, which was positive, to costless than $500,000 net.

While 2014 overall was successful, one project generated substantial losses. Ahtna Environmental, Inc.'s Rock Creek project has lost $4 million since it began--$700,000 in 2014. The corporation conducted an audit of the project, resulting in major management changes. Despite the loss, Ahtna Environmental remained one of Ahtna's most profitable subsidiaries in 2014, with $1.6 million in net income.

Also in 2014, Ahtna established its Settlement Trust to provide future tax-free dividends to shareholders. The corporation contributed $3.4 million to the trust early in 2015 and will continue to contribute 10 percent of its net income to the trust until the balance reaches $10 million.

In addition, Ahtna provides more than $500,000 annually to the Ahtna Heritage Foundation, which oversees scholarship programs for Ahtna shareholders. The corporation is also actively working to protect wildlife populations.

The Aleut Corporation

The Aleut Corporation welcomed Matt Fagnani as its CEO in 2014. Fagnani has more than twenty-five years of experience in Alaska with Native corporations, resource, oil and gas, and government industries.

The corporation, with a land base along Alaska's Aleutian Islands and offices in Anchorage, gets the bulk of its income through government contracting, with subsidiaries in telecommunications, environmental remediation, fuel sales, and real estate management. It has 3,383 shareholders. Revenues in 2014 totaled $120.3 million, $96 million of which came from operations and maintenance contracts. Another $10.8 million came from bulk fuel sales.

The Aleut Corporation announced dividends of $4 per share as well as a $500 elder payout. Overall, the corporation has paid $34.3 million in dividends and $5.3 million in elder benefits since its inception, President Thomas Mack said in a message to shareholders. Mack also was invited to be a member of the Arctic Economic Council.

The Aleut Corporation and the Aleutian Pribilof Island Community Development Association sponsor Aleutian Marketplace...