Southwest Airlines Announces Executive Changes in Technology Department

DALLAS, March 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) today announced executive changes within the Technology Department at the Company.

Randy Sloan has been named Vice President and Chief Information Officer. In this role, Sloan will oversee all Technology functions at Southwest Airlines. Sloan comes to Southwest from Pepsi Co., where he worked for 25 years in various management roles.  Most recently, Sloan served as Senior Vice President and CIO for PepsiCo International with responsibilities for all business transformation and supporting technology for PepsiCo's Europe, Asia, Middle East, Africa, and Latin America businesses.  Prior roles held include Vice President and CIO for PepsiCo's European businesses based in Switzerland, Vice President of Enterprise Systems Development including the support of all supply chain capabilities within the North American businesses, and many management roles primarily supporting the manufacturing, supply chain, and go-to-market functions.  Prior to PepsiCo, Sloan began his career with Texas Instruments as a programmer.

Kathleen Wayton, Southwest's current Vice President Change Leadership and Business Performance, has been promoted to Vice President Technology, Commercial Portfolio. In this role, Wayton will oversee an expanded portfolio that charts the course for future strategic commercial capabilities and provides solutions for southwest.com, Network Planning & Revenue Management, Customer Loyalty Programs (Rapid Rewards), Airport Concourse, Customer Support & Services, and Optimization Solutions. Wayton joined Southwest in 2004 as a Director in Technology, leading the Enterprise Data Team. She was then promoted to Senior Director over the Rapid Rewards and southwest.com teams. In April 2007, she moved to the Strategic Planning group as a Senior Director.  Prior to joining Southwest Airlines, Wayton worked for Capital One Auto Finance in their technology organization, and has more than 20 years of experience in the travel and transportation industry.

Jeff Buhr, Southwest's current Senior Director Technology, has been promoted to Vice President Technology, Aircraft Operations Portfolio. In this role, Buhr will be responsible for Leading Southwest's Technology solutions for Crew & Operations, Maintenance, Operations Coordination Center (OCC), as well as Airport Operations/Cargo/Ramp. Since joining Southwest Airlines in February 2010, Buhr has served in a Senior Leadership role within the Technology Department. Prior to joining Southwest, Buhr founded Trinity Integrated Solutions, Inc., a company that provides business process consulting and I.T. solutions to clients across various industries, including food and beverage, health care, and logistics. He served more than 13 years in various Leadership positions at Frito-Lay, Inc., where he was ultimately responsible for delivering supply chain and process-changing solutions across their manufacturing/distribution facilities and logistics network.

All changes are effective April 2, 2012.

For photos and bios, visit www.swamedia.com.

About Southwest Airlines
In its 40th year of service, Southwest Airlines continues to differentiate itself from other low-fare carriers—offering a reliable product with exemplary Customer Service. Southwest Airlines is the nation's largest carrier in terms of originating domestic passengers boarded and has recently acquired AirTran Airways, now a wholly owned subsidiary of Southwest Airlines Co. Southwest serves 73 cities in 38 states and is one of the most honored airlines in the world known for its commitment to the triple bottom line of Performance, People, and Planet. To read more about how Southwest is doing its part to be a good citizen, visit southwest.com/cares to read the Southwest Airlines One Report(TM). Based in Dallas, Southwest currently operates more than 3,200 flights a day and has more than 35,000 Employees systemwide.

SOURCE Southwest Airlines

WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM?

440k+
Newsrooms &
Influencers

9k+
Digital Media
Outlets

270k+
Journalists
Opted In

GET STARTED