Meet Brett J. Hart from the southside of Chicago. He is the first African American to become President of United Airlines in the airline's 94-year history. Launched in the year 1926, United Airlines has grown to become one of the largest airlines in the world with over 4,900 flights a day to 362 airports across six continents.
As President of the airline, Hart will continue to lead the company's public advocacy strategy including the Government Affairs, Corporate Communications, Legal and Community Engagement teams. He will also continue to oversee business-critical functions like the Corporate Real Estate team and manage United's industry leading environmental sustainability efforts. His responsibilities will expand to include managing the Human Resources and Labor Relations teams.
Since joining the company in 2010, Hart has taken on a variety of significant strategic responsibilities for the company at critical moments – most notably in October 2015 when he served as interim CEO for six months while Munoz recovered from a heart transplant. His promotion reflects United's commitment to leadership continuity and underscores the value of leveraging Hart's regulatory and strategic expertise, which complement Kirby's strong commercial acumen and industry experience.
He previously worked as Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer for the company.
However, before joining United, Hart was executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary at Sara Lee Corporation, where he directed global legal operations.
He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy and English from the University of Michigan and a juris doctorate degree from the University of Chicago Law School.