United makes Board appointments to keep investors happy
United Airlines has bowed to pressure from activist investors by adding two new Board members.
It is a move aimed at appeasing investors PAR Capital Management Inc and Altimeter Capital Management LP, who criticised executives saying there are not enough board members with airline industry leadership experience.
The two hedge funds own a combined 7% in United Continental.
Edward Shapiro, a partner at PAR, will join Barney Harford, former chief executive of Orbitz Worldwide Inc as Board members immediately.
A third Board member, to be agreed between United and the investors, will join within the next six months.
The two companies had originally asked for the appointment of six new members and had tapped former Continental Airlines CEO Gordon Bethune.
United also said Robert Milton, former Air Canada CEO, will become non-executive chairman at the company’s annual meeting in June.
“We welcome Ed and Barney to the Board, and look forward to working constructively together as we build upon United’s increasing positive momentum,” said United CEO Oscar Munoz.
“I will continue to work closely with United’s Board, management team and our 85,000 talented aviation professionals to build on our momentum and focus on what matters most: improving our operational and financial performance.”
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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