April 05, 2019
CHICAGO, April 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- United Airlines today announced Michael Leskinen has been named to vice president of Corporate Development and Investor Relations. Leskinen currently serves as managing director of Investor Relations. In his expanded role Leskinen will also lead United's strategic investment activities including United's investment activity in partner airlines.
"Mike's experience as an investor and knowledge of the industry, along with his success in building strong shareholder relationships, make him the right executive to also lead our corporate development efforts," said Executive Vice President and CFO Gerry Laderman.
"We have demonstrated that United is on the right path with our strategic plan and have just begun to realize United's full potential. As we look to the future, we will continue to make disciplined investments that further our competitive advantages. Mike's background makes him uniquely qualified to weigh those investments against the intrinsic value in our own shares," said President Scott Kirby.
Leskinen joined United in January 2018 and in that time has played a vital role in improving the company's relationship with shareholders. Prior to joining United, Leskinen was an executive director at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, where he led the firm's investment efforts in aerospace, defense, and airlines.
Leskinen received his bachelor's degree in finance from Arizona State University and his M.B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania. Leskinen will report to Laderman. Leskinen and his wife live in Chicago and have three daughters.
Every customer. Every flight. Every day.
In 2019, United is focusing more than ever on its commitment to its customers, looking at every aspect of its business to ensure that the carrier keeps customers' best interests at the heart of its service. In addition to today's announcement, United recently announced that luxury skincare line Sunday Riley will make products exclusively for United customers to experience in amenity kits, released a re-imagined version of the most downloaded app in the airline industry and made DIRECTV free for every passenger on 211 aircraft, offering more than 100 channels on seat back monitors on more than 30,000 seats.
About United
United's shared purpose is "Connecting People. Uniting the World." We are more focused than ever on our commitment to customers through a series of innovations and improvements designed to help build a great experience: Every customer. Every flight. Every day. Together, United Airlines and United Express operate approximately 4,900 flights a day to 355 airports across five continents. In 2018, United and United Express operated more than 1.7 million flights carrying more than 158 million customers. United is proud to have the world's most comprehensive route network, including U.S. mainland hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. United operates 779 mainline aircraft and the airline's United Express carriers operate 569 regional aircraft. United is a founding member of Star Alliance, which provides service to 193 countries via 28 member airlines. For more information, visit united.com, follow @United on Twitter and Instagram or connect on Facebook. The common stock of United's parent, United Continental Holdings, Inc., is traded on the Nasdaq under the symbol "UAL".
SOURCE United Airlines
