Alan M. Utay had reason to have a few butterflies in his stomach the day he started work as general counsel at Alliance Data Systems Corp. in Plano. Sept. 17, 2001, wasn’t just his first day on the job at the credit-card processing and marketing company; it also was the day the U.S. stock markets re-opened following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on America.
During his first week or so at Alliance Data during that unsettling time, Utay says he dealt with a crisis at a work location after particles of a mysterious white powder wafted out of an envelope. He also fielded calls from the U.S. Secret Service about credit cards issued to individuals with the same names as suspected terrorists.
