Continental staff primed for top jobs in merger as UAL executives take flight
UAL and Continental Airlines, which plan to merge this year to create the world’s largest airline, announced a new management lineup yesterday that puts Continental executives in choice spots.
UAL, parent of United Airlines, and Continental, said they have proposed naming Continental chief financial officer Zane Rowe as chief financial officer of the combined company.
UAL chief administrative officer Pete McDonald would be chief operations officer. Continental chief marketing officer Jim Compton would keep that job title at the new company. Continental chief executive Jeff Smisek is slated to run the merged company.
]The two airlines also yesterday announced the departure of two top UAL executives: president John Tague and chief financial officer Kathryn Mikells. “The Mikells change surprised me quite a bit just given the remarkable job that she’s done at United over the last couple of years and dealing with some very difficult liquidity issues,” said airline researcher William Swelbar, of Massachusetts Institute of Technology.