Southwest Airlines Co. today shared Executive Leadership changes and organizational alignment effective Friday, Dec. 1, to provide additional focus and clarity to support the Company’s strategic priorities.
“We’re closing out a year of purposeful investment in our capabilities and resiliency, having made enormous strides in a more seamless experience for our Customers,” Bob Jordan, Southwest Airlines President & Chief Executive Officer said. “These changes solidify Southwest’s Executive Leadership Team as we work to achieve our objectives for 2024 and beyond.”
- Justin Jones will elevate to Executive Vice President Operations, reporting to Chief Operating Officer Andrew Watterson. Jones will lead the Teams coordinating modernization and oversight of the daily operation of the airline.
- Tony Roach will advance to a new role as Senior Vice President & Chief Customer Officer under Executive Vice President & Chief Commercial Officer Ryan Green, who now will report to Watterson. Roach will oversee the end-to-end Customer Experience.
- Elizabeth Bryant will advance to Senior Vice President & Chief People Officer; Whitney Eichinger will advance to Senior Vice President & Chief Communications Officer; both will continue reporting to Chief Administration Officer Linda Rutherford. Angela Marano will join Rutherford’s Executive Leadership Team in assuming the role of Vice President Artificial Intelligence & Data Transformation to lead a new organization defining an infrastructure and governance to harness the power of data and artificial intelligence and the Company’s Data Privacy Office.
- Jason Van Eaton will advance to Senior Vice President & Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, reporting to Executive Vice President and Chief Legal & Regulatory Officer Mark Shaw.
“These changes not only individually recognize the excellent contributions from these Executive Leaders,” Jordan added, “we’re collectively creating an organizational structure that reflects our priority of caring for the Employees who serve our Customers, elevating the experience of traveling, and bolstering our foundational Reliability and financial performance.”
