United Continental (UAL) Announces Changes In Management (revised)

United Continental Holdings Inc. (NYSE:UAL) announced changes to its managerial team. The company has appointed Andrew Levy as Executive Vice President (EVP) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Levy will replace the acting CFO Gerry Laderman, who will go back to his position as the senior vice president, finance, procurement and treasurer. Meanwhile, Julia Haywood has been appointed as executive vice president and chief commercial officer (CCO). The chief revenue officer and vice chairman of the company, Jim Compton, is expected to retire after the transition by the end of 2016.

The new appointments are one of the several major decisions undertaken by the company’s Chief Financial Officer, Oscar Munoz, as he strives to bring about a turnaround at United Continental.

Background of New Joiners

Levy has been in the airline industry for the past 13 years. He has been part of the leadership team at Allegiant Travel Company and has served as Chief Operating Officer and CFO. Haywood has a consulting background and joined United Continental after working at The Boston Consulting Group (“BCG”). She was also part of the leadership team at BCG having served as a partner and managing director. Before joining United Continental as CCO, Haywood was a partner on the revenue and network transformation team of BCG at United.

Both Levy and Haywood have years of experience and leadership. We expect the new appointees to bring about changes that will benefit the company.

In addition to appointing new leaders, United Continental has been actively working on finalizing several employee contracts to improve operational efficiency.

Zacks Rank and Stocks to Consider

United Continental currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Better-ranked stocks in the transportation sector include Copa Holdings SA (NYSE:CPA) with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), and Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) and SkyWest Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) with a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

(We are reissuing this article to correct a mistake. The original article, issued on Aug 19, 2016, should no longer be relied upon.)