Southwest Airlines announce leadership changes and appointments in various sectors in the company

Southwest Airlines Co., recently announced Leadership changes and appointments within various departments of the company.

Justin Jones is promoted to Senior Vice President Operational Strategy & Design, where he will lead the airline’s modernization and operational improvements in this newly created role. Jones previously served as the Vice President Technical Operations Planning and Performance, where he was responsible for Contract Services, Heavy Maintenance Planning, Maintenance Reliability and Records, Training, Business Intelligence, Aircraft Appearance, and Strategic Planning for Technical Operations. Jones has held a variety of performance and strategy roles throughout the Company and started with Southwest in 2001 as a Revenue Management and Pricing Analyst.

With this change, Angela Marano, currently Managing Director Business Transformation, is promoted to Vice President Business Transformation, and she and her Team will move from the Finance Department to the new Strategy & Design Team. The Business Transformation Team provides a variety of services and capabilities, including Innovation/Human-Centered Design, Continuous Improvement, Emerging Trends, Data Science, and Automation. Marano has been at Southwest® for 23 years, starting in 1998 in Technology and has held several Leadership roles in Technology and Corporate Strategy.

Jonathan Clarkson was recently promoted to Vice President Marketing, Loyalty, & Products. Clarkson was most recently a Managing Director, overseeing general management responsibilities for the Company’s award-winning frequent flyer program, Rapid Rewards®, as well as our partnerships. He also has responsibility for business management of Southwest’s ancillary revenue products (EarlyBird Check-In®, Upgraded Boarding, Hotels, Cars, etc.) and leads the Business Performance/Data Science and Customer Insights/Testing & Optimization Teams in Marketing.

Jim Dayton is transitioning to Vice President Cybersecurity and Chief Information Security Officer, following Managing Director of Chief Information Security Officer Michael Simmons’ departure from the Company. In Dayton’s new role, he will be responsible for all aspects of cybersecurity across Southwest’s facilities, airports, and aircraft. Dayton joined Southwest in 2012 and has held several senior-level Leadership positions. In his most recent role, he had responsibility for leading the Operations portfolio within Southwest’s Technology Department and worked alongside Flight Operations, Inflight Operations, Network Operations Control, and Safety & Security to modernize many of Southwest’s most critical operational systems.

John Herlihy has also been promoted from Managing Director to Vice President Technology Operations and Enterprise Initiative Delivery. Herlihy will oversee the Technical Operations Portfolio supporting Southwest’s aircraft maintenance applications and ecosystem of products. Additionally, he will lead the newly formed Enterprise Initiative Delivery Team, which is focused on the delivery of critical department-wide cybersecurity improvements and data privacy. He joined Southwest in 2017 and oversaw several major product implementations within the Technical Operations Department.