United, Continental name execs for combined airline; United CFO and president to leave

Execs named for combined United, Continental

NEW YORK — United and Continental airlines on Tuesday announced the executives who would run the combined airline once the deal closes.

They’ve said all along that the combined airline’s CEO would be Continental chief Jeff Smisek, with United CEO Glenn Tilton as chairman. On Tuesday, they named the eight executives under Smisek, with four from each airline.

Zane Rowe, Continental’s chief financial officer, will keep that job after the deal closes. Continental labor chief Mike Bonds will keep his role, too.

The chief operations officer will be Pete McDonald, who has been with United since 1969. United’s new general counsel Tom Sabatino is staying in that job.

United Chief Financial Officer Kathryn Mikells and its President, John Tague, are both leaving after the deal closes. Tilton brought in Tague in 2003 while United was restructuring under bankruptcy protection. Mikells has been with United since 1994, and was named chief financial officer in November 2008.

Other executives included:

— Jeff Foland, who has been at United since 2005, will lead the combined airline’s frequent flier program;

— Nene Foxhall, who has been at Continental since 1995, will oversee communications and lobbying;

— Jim Compton, who has been with Continental since 1995, will be chief marketing officer.

— The chief information officer will be Keith Halbert, who has been with United since 2008;

The two airlines are aiming to close the deal by the end of this year, although integrating their operations will take longer. They have said the combined airline will be named United and based in United’s hometown of Chicago.

Shares of United parent UAL Corp. were down 11 cents at $24.14 in morning trading. Continental Airlines Inc. fell 9 cents to $25.56.