On Monday, United announced that Brett Hart, the airline’s executive vice president and general counsel, will serve as acting chief executive. Its president and CEO, Oscar Munoz, suffered a heart attack Oct. 15 and has been placed on medical leave.
The airline has been silent about Munoz’s condition and how it will affect the company. On Monday, United issued a statement that said it will “conclude the corporate governance process necessitated” by Munoz’s heart attack. It didn’t disclose additional details, nor did it say much more with its announcement of Hart’s appointment.
“It is too soon to know the course of treatment and timing of recovery,” United said in its statement.
United appointed Munoz as its chief executive on Sept. 8, following the airline’s announcement that its former CEO, Jeff Smisek, had stepped down. The resignation came in middle of federal investigation into the airline. Munoz is 56 years old.
Hart will work alongside Henry L. Meyer III, United’s non-executive chairman of the board. Meyer expressed confidence that Hart can implement Munoz’s vision for the airline:
Brett has taken on increasing responsibility beyond general counsel over the last few years in the operations and customer facing areas of the company. I am confident in his ability to continue to implement the company’s strategy and Oscar’s mission of bringing United’s people together around the shared purpose of becoming the best airline for our customers and employees.
Some communicators have criticized United’s reticence, saying the airline should be more forthcoming with its plans for its organization.
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Chris Giglio, HL Strategic Solutions’ president, told CNBC that United “could have done better” and that its statements “didn’t add anything to the situation.”
“The first statement, it said, ‘We are continuing to operate normally.’ Well, it’s not normal not to have your CEO,” Giglio told CNBC. “That’s a statement that, in an isolated way, doesn’t make complete sense. It’s normal to have someone in charge.”
How do you think United is handling its situation, PR Daily readers?
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