Southwest Airlines executive chairman to step down under 'comprehensive board refreshment'

Southwest Airlines announced (10-Sep-2024) the following changes to its executive team under the next phase of its "comprehensive board refreshment":

• Executive chairman Gary Kelly will retire immediately after the annual meeting in spring 2025;
• Retirement of six directors, effective Nov-2024:
  • David Biegler (compensation committee chairman);
  • Veronica Biggins (nominating and corporate governance committee chair);
  • Senator Roy Blunt;
  • Dr William Cunningham (lead director);
  • Dr Thomas Gilligan (audit committee chairman);
  • Jill Soltau;
• Elimination of the executive committee structure and creation of a new finance committee focused on assisting the board with oversight of financial, operational and business plans and strategies, as well as major transactions, capital structure and capital allocation priorities.

The Southwest board plans to appoint four new independent directors, potentially including candidates proposed by activist investor Elliott Investment Management in the near term. The board also reaffirmed its unanimous support for CEO Bob Jordan as it continues constructive engagement toward a collaborative resolution with Elliott. [more - original PR]