Horton is back
Tom Horton returned to American Airlines as chief finance officer from telecoms giant AT&T, which he joined in 2003 after 17 years at the airline. Horton, 44, succeeds James Beer, who left to become chief financial officer at Symantec, a California software-security company. Beer’s predecessor as chief financial officer also left the airline industry.
At American and its parent AMR, Horton worked on the 2001 takeover of TWA, but insists that he did not return to American to work on any mergers or acquisitions. Horton will add the title of executive vice-president of finance and planning, and will oversee all planning operations.
He stressed that, while further cost cutting will be his highest priority, he shares chief executive Gerard Arpey’s view of “bankruptcy as a solution that is kind of un-American. I wouldn’t trade our position with the other airlines who’ve been through bankruptcy. We’re going to go about this the right way. What we’ve got to do is find ways of working together to make the company successful.”Arpey stresses labour-management collaboration as the way to identify opportunities to save on expenses.
DAVID FIELD / WASHINGTON
Source: Airline Business
